I have been given the opportunity to take AP English Language next semester; however, I do not know if I should take this opportunity. English just happens to be my worst subject. With that being said, I am not horrible at English. I can analyze literature really well and I pick up grammar pretty fast. I am worried about this because I do not want my GPA to be destroyed because I underestimated this class. My teacher recommended me to do this next semester. He spoke to the head of the English Department and she said that I should definitely move up.
In order to do this, I will have to test out of English I and English II.
Should I do this?
AP English is a one semester course at your school WTF
I think it depends on how you feel about your workload RN like if i was given an opportunity to take an AP next semester I’d say no because i feel like i’m being pushed to the limit right now but if you’re easily getting 8 hours of sleep a night and feel like you can pull off at least a B in the class take it. Also, talk to upperclassmen in the course right now is it considered a light AP, or a really heavy one tat would definitely require more qualified prerequisites, but if it is considered a fairly easy course like it is at my school and youre confident you can pull offf at least a B then take the course
@BucketsUCSC, it is a one-semester class at my school.
If your teacher recommended you, then obviously they have confidence in you. I would ask current students how the class is, especially workload wise. I would also consider what you have going on such as other hard classes, APs, extracurriculars, etc. I think it would be fine to take as a freshman, as long as you have a rec and good English skills.
Would you have post AP English classes? Only have two or less years of English is probably not a good idea…
If plenty of English classes are available, and you feel comfortable with it, then go for it.
Not sure this is a good idea if you want to do well on the exam. You really learn a lot in 2 years of English, especially from reading and analyzing in class. I don’t know anyone that has taken AP Lang before 11th grade.
First of all, congratulations on your success in English! You are very gifted, and it takes a lot for one to be recommended for AP Lang as a Freshman. So kudos to you! As far as whether you should take up the offer or not, I say go for it. Your teacher wouldn’t have made the recommendation unless he/she that you’d be up to the challenge. And it is a challenge. It’ll take studying, but based on what you have stated, I’m sure you’ll do absolutely great! Best of luck.
High schools and selective colleges generally expect or require 4 years of English. There’s no sense in taking AP English and then going back and taking 10th grade English to get the 4 credits. So unless your school has extensive post-AP English offerings or you are planning on taking college English courses while in high school, I don’t see how this makes sense. Yes, it’s possible you could do well in it this year, but then what? I wouldn’t do this unless you have a clear idea of how it fits into your overall academic program.
Neither do I. However, apparently there is a very small number who do.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2015/Program-Summary-Report-2015.pdf
Personally, I would not have done it as a freshman. However, I would think that the chair of the department knows what s/he’s talking about. If s/he thinks you can handle it and there are strong post-AP options available, go for it. Good luck.
After AP English Lang, we are supposed to take English IV honors and then AP English Lit.
then prob take AP english lang as a sophomore
I think you should complete English 1 Honors & English 2 Honors before tackling an AP English course simply because you gain a lot of the skills necessary for AP in those courses (especially English 2, lots of writing essays and analyzing everything!) also like mathyone mentioned, you should really be taking English all 4 years.
Why did your teacher and the department head recommend to move up? How often do they recommend freshmen to move up? Do you have academic evidences telling that your are ready? Have you taken any standardized test?
Have you seen past scores of people at your school? Usually Ap classes were for an entire year.
My school operates on block scheduling.
Hmm…
So is the English sequence at your school English I → English II → AP Lang → English IV → AP Lit?
Are you not taking any English class this semester?
"After AP English Lang, we are supposed to take English IV honors and then AP English Lit. " Ok, but that’s only 3 years of English. Have you already taken English 1 this year? If so, why cram 2 years of English into your freshman year when you say English is your worst subject? If not, where is your 4th year of English coming from? I would only do this if there’s nothing else that makes more sense to take at this point. If you take a course in something you like better, it may open up more options later on.
I will have completed four units of English either way.
@IrrationalPepsi if you will have four units of English even with taking it- go for it, as long as you feel up to the challenge.