Hey everyone! I’m currently a sophomore, and I am attempting to self-study Ap Lang. I originally had this course with a teacher, but I decided to drop it because my next semester was extremely rough (AP Lang, AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1-semester at my school, and APES- Teacher gives a ton of work). I have AP Euro instead of AP Lang next semester, but it’s pretty easy at my school. Do you guys have any ideas for practicing the essays? I feel like my MC scores will be fine (I got 30 out of 52 right on a diagnostic test), but I’m kinda scared of the essays. I’ve tried to allocate at least 1 hr of time to self study for AP Lang everyday, and my teacher is willing to give me all the material to study, but I don’t know how to adequately prepare for the essays.
(My goal is to get a 4 on the AP Exam- if I’m allowed to take it lol)
Does anyone have any advice at all??? I’ve read the previous posts about this, but I’m still not sure as for my plan of action.
Practice writing quick outlines for the essay prompts (more specifically I think outline practice is most helpful for the literary analysis essay). Also read the high scoring student sample essays posted on collegeboard’s website, they can give you a good idea of how to write a successful essay. Know your lit terms.
The synthesis essay is very similar to a DBQ (if you’ve taken a history AP before). Usually they have a prompt where you can argue for either side. You get a bunch of “documents” or selections to read; identify the sides of the argument that each document is taking, and argue your point using evidence from those documents. It’s important to use opposing documents as well, to both strengthen your own rebuttal and to respond directly to the opposing argument.
For lit analysis I’d recommend structuring the essay around 3 important lit devices, and arguing how those lit devices enhance/reinforce the passage’s argument and message.
Honestly for the argumentative essay, my teacher didn’t really prepare us for it, so I just wrote a standard persuasive essay and used a few argumentative techniques (I think I remember using anecdotal evidence…). My impression is that you can’t really fail the argumentative essay if you can write persuasively, but someone can correct me if they know more.
Try to use direct quotes often in the first two essays. Make sure you are not only explaining what something means, but how it connects and supports the big picture of your thesis sentence.
Quite honestly, there’s not much “studying” that can be done daily. You should periodically write out an essay within the time constraints to get used to the time limit, but there’s not much more that can be done. Good luck!