<p>I'm going to be taking AP English Language next year. The problem is that my writing skills are not spectacular. Does anyone know of good books that would help me get better at writing? Also, does anyone have any other suggestions to help me get an A in the class and a 5 on the AP test? </p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>Study hard & ask for help, and just try some teachers tend to grade harder while others tend to grade easier! Also use the Barrons review book for the actual Ap test but thats a while away.</p>
<p>thanks, does anyone know of any books that would help me become a better writer? something like "how to write well" lol.</p>
<p>Theres this book called the dynmaics of writing by Louis Palnieck it's suppose to be really good alot of my friends use it! I would suggest go to your local bookstore. I know barnes & nobles defiantly will have what your looking for...</p>
<p>Past superficial guidelines for writing, you're not going to get much help. Writing is more of an art than a science...you're not going to get good results from some "10 steps to becoming a better writer" type of thing. The only way to get better at it is to practice.</p>
<p>Trust me. I was in the same position you are starting out. I couldn't write a decent essay to save my life when I started my Junior year, and I, like you, tried to "learn" from these stupid guides you find on the Internet. They really aren't worth it...everybody has a different formula they think is so great, but they ultimately have all failed to realize that there is no formula for a good essay. </p>
<p>What I ended up doing was getting a notebook and practicing with prompts I found on the internet. After a couple of months of writing a couple times a week, I started to develop a feel for it. How long it would take me to write one thing, how much longer I could draw out one argument compared to another one, how I should introduce and organize it, et cetera. By the second semester I was getting 8s or 9s on everything I wrote in class, and I got a 5 on the test.</p>
<p>I can't speak for you, but I believe that if you really want to become a good writer, if you really practice, you can achieve it. Just don't try to take somebody else's advice on how to write. You need to develop your own voice.</p>
<p>I personally love "Grammar Smart" by Princeton Review. It also has a great section on "7 Easy Ways to Look Bad", as well as test taking tips.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips.</p>
<p>@rpgaction - lol I know that I can't really become a good writer by just reading a book. But I need at least something to work off of.</p>
<p>Anyone else know of any other books/ways to help me improve my writing skills?</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>"Theres this book called the dynmaics of writing by Louis Palnieck it's suppose to be really good alot of my friends use it! I would suggest go to your local bookstore. I know barnes & nobles defiantly will have what your looking for..."</p>
<p>-I googled that and I couldn't find it...did I type it in wrong?</p>
<p>Just go through some grammar/writing books.</p>
<p>lol thanks...any specific ones??</p>
<p>anyone? /**/</p>
<p>i never opened an ap book. and the one practice test that i took in class i looked up the readings the night before so that i would do better because it was counting as a test for my class....and i still got a 5.</p>
<p>my ideas....just write with passion and be interesting and different. don't use the same boring 4-5 paragraph syntax that everyone else will use</p>
<p>*The Elements of Style<a href="Strunk%20&%20White">/i</a> and *On Writing Well<a href="Zinsser">/i</a> are the two classics for learning to write. My AP English teacher swears by them.</p>
<p>thanks, i'm going to buy those.</p>
<p>Get used to timed, prompted writing, as that's what the majority of your exam grade is based on.</p>