By Sophia Doan and Sadie York
As Juniors who’ve just completed their AP Lang exam, this year has taught us that there’s definitely a way to get the most out of your environment. These tips will not just help you better prepare for the daunting AP exam, but to help you acclimatize in a great class with like-minded people. Armed with information taught by your incredible AP teachers at Westmont and the tips from this article, you can make the most out of your Lang experience!
Tip #1: Participate in class conversations!
This one is so important! Engaging within class discussions by stating your opinion, adding on to others, debating, etc. are great ways to get the most information out of your peers! It’s great to be able to hold meaningful conversations on topics from others with varying perspectives. If anything, by speaking up or asking a question, you might be helping someone else in the class understand a topic better. AP Lang is a class where you should never feel afraid to speak up, as it’s a class where you’ll benefit the most from expressing ideas and opinions.
Tip #2: Get used to timed essays
In-class essays will be a constant in Lang—while it may seem daunting, I assure you, you’ll get used to it. However, when entering the class it’s imperative that you understand the amount of content you’ll have to in-take on different types of essay writing, and the 40 minutes you’ll have to complete them by. In this class, essays are a huge (if not the biggest) contributor to your grade, so when you receive feedback from your teacher, implement it into your next essay!
Tip #3: Read the books!
Although Junior year quickly fills with assignments, notes, tests, and more, prioritizing the reading of the book remains so important. Do not just rely on SparkNote summaries, make sure you comprehend the ideas and themes of the books. Along with tests, you will have debates, interactive discussions, and even act out the characters, so SparkNotes will NOT be enough to get you through.
Tip #4: Create a relationship with your teacher
We both had Chris Haskett, and developing a relationship where we could ask questions, voice opinions, and receive help was essential to our success in the class. Make sure that you are frequently going to study halls in your Lang class and asking the questions you are wondering.
Tip #5: Do the 9 Week Plan on time
Although you won’t get to this until second semester, completing the 9 Week Plan on time is so important for preparation, and so your grade does not drop. Essentially with the 9 Week Plan, you have several assignments—essays, MCQs, CEJs—to complete every week. Second semester becomes very stressful when taking several AP classes, so intentionally carving out time to work on these assignments remains imperative to both your grade and your performance on the AP test.