<p>Anyone have some tips for how to survive an AP English class?</p>
<p>My teacher is a total hardcore nazi, basically he says that he's going to 'truly' prepare us for college, and make sure that college and grad. school look like cake compared to his class - and he's suceeding pretty well right now (he's had kids come back from college telling him how easy college is compared to his AP English Language and Composition class)...</p>
<p>...but prob is that, frankly, his class is stressing me out through a combination both of his self-arrogance and simple stupid grading scale. We have a large paper weekly that he expects to be 'perfect' literally, since he says its not timed so it should be 'perfect'. While my papers are excellent and I'm a superb writer (my teachers since middle school have claimed im one the most passionate,best, and most persuasive/effective writers they've ever seen) he just doesnt seem to interpret my writing in the same way >_< (part rant here, lol)</p>
<p>And to add insult to injury, the other AP english class has a teacher who believes that AP English is supposed to be a joke class and thus gives 100s to everyone....a 98 in that class, my teacher says, is equivilent to a 70 in his class. </p>
<p>Any advice/help??</p>
<p>P.S.: any advice on how to suck up to him/ make him love me? I plan to ask him to write my recommendation since he himself is simply such a great writer and because of our papers he knows a lot about us and such, but I wouldn't want possible shows of arrogance or bad vendentta from him to be snuck into that recommendation.</p>
<p>I'm taking AP English right now and it hasn't been hard for me so far at all. My teacher basically has us do timed essays every once in a great while, read a book, answer questions, watch a movie, and finally write a final paper on the book. The only lame suggestion I can think to give you is to just do the best you can to get the work done and maybe get some work done ahead of time. In AP US History I had a teacher who sounds very similar to yours. Despite my English instructor giving me A's on all my papers, my arrogant self-centered AP teacher never gave me a good score on any of my writing (2 due every month). I sincerly regret taking AP US History. My teacher also said that his class was going to be harder than any class we'd take in college. He told us that students from colleges came to him and thanked him because he was the one who taught them to write. What a flamming lie that was, I automatically discarded his "proven methods" and resumed my straight A writing in AP English. Anyway, the only thing I can suggest is that only let him write the recommendation if you know for sure that he won't be rude and arrogant. My personal opinion is that men are usually the worst AP teachers. Every one of the AP teachers who are men in my school have all been accused of being nazis but none of the women. Even though I and my AP teacher had an okay relationship, I never even thought about ever letting him write a recommendation for me. Only let teachers write a recommendation who you instinctually know will write a superb one. If you really want his recommendation badly though the only thing I can suggest is to be nice to him, raise your hand and answer a lot in his class, and show significant progression in his impossible amount of work. I sincerly wish you the best of luck :)</p>
<p>I'm taking AP Lang and have a similar teacher
This teacher is somewhat crazy, extremely demanding, and a fantastic teacher. The stuff we learn about is applicable to like, everything (trust me, this can be very annoying at times, especially when you want to rant).<br>
She doesnt make us do a paper a week but the work is about the same. What would you write about every week anyways? Whatever. We get 100 pts off for being absent from class (only 50 if you're late!)
We learn a ton about writing (like the steps of argument, etc) and do excercises in diff methods of writing (like emulation) and after reading a book we spend about a week or two discussing it before doing a paper on it---there is also additional stuff like a grammar assignment every week and 4 Op-Eds (a paper analyzing a opinion-editorial) every quarter, etc.
It's probably the most difficult and most helpful class I have/will take and tons of people have toldher that they are grateful after watching their friends suffer through their college English classes.
We had a huge paper due on Monday that everyone stayed up extremely late/didn't sleep for.
I figure I'd rather suffer through it now than in college</p>
<p>^ lol, i see. My teacher just makes up a new random topic each week for us to write about, he has a big storagebin of ideas apparently. He's a good teacher, but prob. is that for the papers (60% of the final average) he doesnt ever tell us 'how' to do them, instead his reply is simply;</p>
<p>^^yeah that sucks
luckily my teacher will give help when asked for.
of course, you have to be able to muster the courage to go see her, lol
she's kind of....harsh? cuts right to the chase basically, haha.
she's definitely the most respected teacher in our school. nobody messes with her--she doesnt take any bull.</p>
<p>My experience: My AP History teacher is nutty, and makes up presidents and facts, and we're up to Chapter 29/41 for the Pageant before Christmas (and folks, it goes til May...1/3 of the class done, but almost 3/4 of the book....) for no apparent reason. She HATES me/my writing, and my grade has gone from bad to worse, while everyone else is doing much better than at the start (like, my friend who never got above an 80 in the freshman year class has gotten such great grades that she thinks she doesn't deserve it!). I am literally the only person not getting 90+ and still getting 65's on her weekly essay tests! She's nuts though.
MY AP Lang teacher this year is okay. We read a book, write an inclass or take-home, and she grades it based off a rubric of what's in the paper. She gets way too caught up in details though, and we get questions like, "Jane Eyre is known for x and y. Using Gateshead and Moorshouse, give two examples each for x and one for y in each paragraph with one quote from an essay about Jane Eyre and two quotes from Jane Eyre itself in the essay." (literally what I got in a timed test) in a timed situation. What makes it worse is that it is always COMPLETELY obvious what we're supposed to choose and requires no thinking on your part at all. You are just basically trying to get through her convoluted question! I don't see how this will prepare me for anything-it's like extreme hand-holding!</p>
<p>What I'd Suggest: You should NOT let him write your recommendation unless you see a distinct turn-around in his liking you-for example, getting a 100 in his class the last semester would be enough for you to get him to write it. Otherwise, you should get someone else. Also, you should just do the best you can, and even if he doesn't grade you better, you should try to make your writing better.</p>
<p>oh yeah and consider going to him for extra help. be like: I would like to do better in your class and wanted to know if I could come in after school and you could go over my last essay with me and tell me how I can make it better so I can improve on the next one</p>
<p>Bad teachers can be conquered. You're on the right track by trying to get on his good side. You're halfway through the class- congratulate yourself on making it this far. This is a hard class- it's AP- you can't really blame anyone but yourself because you were the one to sign up for it. Be glad that he's trying to give you college level work. It may seem stupid, but you will probably appreciate it soon.</p>
<p>Now, here's what you should do now.
1) Talk to the teacher. Ask him what it would take to get an A on an essay. Ask him what you personally need to improve on. Ask if you can do an essay early, so that he can look it over and let you fix major mistakes before you turn it in for a grade. Do NOT ask him why he grades so hard, or talk to him about the other 'easy' teacher, or try and get him to change his techiniques. These will all backfire, guaranteed.
2) Talk to A students. There is always that one person, even in the hardest class, who has a A. Talk to him/her. Ask to see one of their old essays. Ask what sources they use (cliff notes? spark notes?) and how they outline/prepare for an essay.
3) Question yourself. Are you working as hard as you can? Are you starting essays the night before, or giving yourself a day or two so you can read it over? Do you have other people read it over? </p>
<p>All of these things can help you become a better writer, and will certainly help you in this class. Good luck!</p>
<p>same ***** happens to me. My English class' B- is equivalent to an A+ in the other english class, which is bull. I really feel unlucky, because the teacher I have dosn't even know how to teach properly.</p>
<p>I think it might be too late to drop this late in the semester.</p>
<p>Definitely read the books very closely. I know it sucks, but analyze them to a pulp. Buy an AP English Language prep book that has an index of literary terms and use it to identify rhetorical devices within the text. Look up allusions to religion, books, etc. and research those references.</p>
<p>Also, a good way to suck up to lit teachers is to come up to them after class and engage in a discussion about the literature and other things surrounding it. They get really into it. Who knows? You may just pick up on the conversation yourself.</p>
<p>my class is a disgusting amount of work, but my teacher really cares about what she does so we all do it. It a-rapes us, but it's worth it IMO. She grades pretty hard, but gives credit when it's deserved. She ultimately cares about us getting better as writers and as individuals, not grades. I really like the class though it destroys other grades.</p>
<p>My honors teacher sounds like your teacher. Withn the next three days, I have to read half of the Scarlet Letter and write him three essays. He gave us an essay exam for the first quarter. Everyone who is in the AP class says their class is a joke which endlessly aggravates me. At least we are learning how to write properly, so it is worth it.</p>
<p>Definitely see him outside of class and ask what you can do to improve your writing. I also suggest talking to him outside of class about things discussed in class. (Like, "I found x passage/poem interesting, and I'm curious about a couple themes not discussed in class. Do you mind if I went over them with you?") I would be cautious of asking him how to get As, since you don't want to come off as a grade-grubber. </p>
<p>I don't think you should focus on getting a recommendation from him at this point. I mean, you should talk to him but don't suck up; he can probably see through that. If you develop a real respect for him, you probably won't have to suck up anyway. Show genuine interest for his subject and motivation to succeed - not just the "I want an A" mentality, but I-want-to-learn-so-I'm-going-push-myself. And if, after your efforts, you still feel that your personality and learning style are completely incompatible with his, then I think you would be doing a disservice to yourself if you push too hard. Plus, just because he's a good writer doesn't mean he'll end up writing a good recommendation for you.</p>
<p>It sucks that the other class is so much easier, but you'll probably walk out of his class feeling a lot more satisfied. Just focus on your own work. Pay close attention to the kinds of questions he asks and his comments on your papers. Even if he's the first teacher not to love your writing style, it doesn't mean he doesn't have valuable advice for you.</p>