I’m currently a sophomore at a top-rated highly competitive public high school (1450 avg. SAT). I’ve selected my courses for junior year but was very conflicted between deciding whether to take APUSH or APLAC. Most teachers/counselors at my school recommend taking one or the other. In hindsight, I sort of regret not selecting APUSH. I’m able to change my course selection later and I was wondering if I should add APUSH.
Current courseload for next year:
AP Calculus BC
AP Language and Composition
AP Physics C Mechanics
United States History
French IV Honors (will be skipping French III)
I’ve always been a strong history student (one of my best subjects), tore through middle school US History, and currently excelling at sophmore World History (school doesn’t offer honor/AP). When I mean good, I’m able to read and quickly contextualize ideas, take effective notes, think critically, and express myself coherently through writing and socratic seminars/discussion. The pace I’m able to do classwork/homework at is really advantageous because I barely have to spend time on the class but still get a comfortable A.
However, I did horribly on the APUSH diagonistic exam because it was completely multiple choice. My current history class is mostly writing/socratic seminars which are both my strengths. I chose APLAC because I did better on the diagnostic exam and find literature more interesting than US history.
Should I take APUSH for junior year considering my strengths, weaknesses (multiple-choice tests, memorization), and courseload?
Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you CC community
I’m a junior right now and my schedule is pretty similar to what you have, I instead take APUSH and AP Music Theory (instead of a language). Honestly AP US isn’t too hard just a lot of work, conceptually its not terrible it’s just a lot of busywork.
Tip: Physics C isn’t thaaat hard it’s just you need to practice practice practice problems for each topic. Same with BC Calc
I can’t give specific advice but my junior son is taking APUSH and AP Lang this year. APUSH is by far the more difficult. It is considered the 3rd most difficult class at his high school (behind AP Physics and AP Calc B/C). Until now he has never gotten less than a high “A” in any history class and he is fighting for a B+. That isn’t to deter you - I actually think he has learned a lot and the rigor is definitely more representative of college level work than most HS AP classes.
AP Lang is EASY, don’t even bother taking the class you just have to know how to write a decent analytical/argumentative essay. Don’t know anything about physics or calc. With AP Lang though chances are you’ll get a lot of busy work-- taking notes and doing annotations, essay prompts, etc. APUSH is easy too it’s just a sheer truckload of information. Not gonna lie, some of the units might seem a little dry but if you’re into history and politics and that sort of thing you’ll probably enjoy it. APWH was much more interesting. For APUSH you’ll need to know a lot of policies and names and stuff. The writing part is so easy if you know what’s going on but you’ll need to know how to break down documents quickly and analyze them, similar to AP Lang. For the multiple choice, you need to do a good job of analyzing, but quickly enough so you manage your time well. It’s not necessarily like a traditional standardized test like the SAT but there are specific things you should have down. Junior year a lot of people get burned out by the sheer workload so maybe consider what you did last year and how you were able to manage it. Calc BC is pretty work heavy I’ve heard and for APUSH I pretty much guarantee you’ll be assigned notes, packets, readings, or a combination of the three. Also, if you’re pursuing a major in history or politics, I recommend taking APUSH, but at the same time, make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew.
Your opinion/experience that AP Lang and APUSH are easy is far from universal.
Don’t confuse AP Language and Composition with AP Literature. AP Lang is a composition course
Students cultivate their understanding of writing and rhetorical arguments through reading, analyzing, and writing texts as they explore topics like rhetorical situation, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style.
If you are a very high performing student, is there a reason not to take both?
If you like literature and history, and are only allowed to take one jr year, one senior year, then you should take APUSH jr year and AP lit senior year -AP Lang is NOT a literature class.
For my current English class (sophomore year), we do a novel/play every three weeks and a corresponding “final” (paper) every three weeks. We do a timed writing (my teacher’s version of tests) every week, and also a reading log. We only have two classes a week, so half my English classes are tests…
How do you think that would compare to AP Language and Composition? Do you think my current English class will prepare me well enough?
I agree with you about APUSH, US History is sort of dry in my opinion, I’d much rather take AP Euro or AP World History but unfortunately, my school offers neither of the classes.
I meant AP Language and Composition, my school calls it “APLAC” though. I’d like to take both, which is why I’m on CC to gauge the difficulties of the classes.
What do you mean not a literature class? So it is more writing-based and less reading? If so, then my school’s diagnostic exam was quite misleading because it was solely literature analysis…
If you want to gauge the difficulty of the classes you are better off asking upper classmen at your school than strangers on CC. The difficulty of classes (even AP) is heavily dependent on your school and teacher. My junior is taking APUSH and he has a notoriously difficult teacher - the other APUSH teachers aren’t nearly as hard (although I understand it is still a challenging class).
70+% will be non fiction: newspaper or magazine articles, scientific non fiction, narrative nonfiction, essays, speeches…
==> from the college board:
The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the development and revision of evidence-based analytic and argumentative writing and the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts.The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods.
Lang is about nonfiction analysis, rhetorical devices
Lit is more of a “traditional” English class ig b/c you analyze books and symbolism after you read them. With both classes, you have a multiple choice and 3 essays I think. You’re probably more prepared for AP Lit. For Lang you need to read some kind of nonfiction fairly often, such as newspaper articles, autobiographies, speeches, etc. You will need to know stuff like irony, oxymoron, metaphor, etc. For example, you would write stuff like, “In his letter to his cousin, the author implements colorful imagery, precise diction, and emotional appeals to effectively convey his argument that the French Revolution was indeed a worthy cause.” You need to have an assertive voice when you write as if you are debating but don’t use 1st person. Maybe take a look at practice exams
Thank you so much for the insight! I’m pretty accustomed to nonfiction writing. I read magazines (TIMES, WIRED, Nat Geo, etc) growing up and I mainly read the Economist and Financial Times now. However, I definitely prefer literature because of the artistic component. I do plenty of nonfiction writing through my involvement with Model United Nations (researching obscure topics and writing 10+ pages of research/arguments). With that being said, do you think AP Language and Composition would be feasible for me? Or would I be better off taking APUSH and regular English?
Based on your interests, it sounds like APUSH+ regular English-> AP Lit+ (AP Gov?) would be the optimal choice since it’s recommended you don’t take both.
ONLY exception: if you MUST take APLAC to take AP Lit.
If there’s a path from regular English to AP Lit (and I say “regular English” assuming there’s no “honors English” in-between), then APUS+reg English-> AP Lit+ AP Gov sounds like the best combination for someone who likes US History and Classical Literature.
