AP Lang Prep
In preparation of the AP Language & Composition Test, what would you like to focus on? Where do you need practice? Where do you feel comfortable? What did the online instructor state that you didn't know?
You don't have to respond to anyone's post unless you feel compelled.
You don't have to respond to anyone's post unless you feel compelled.
My main focus for the AP essay is to apply the things I have learned in both years of AP English. Learning and comprehending the techniques we talk about has never been hard for me, but the challenging part is applying it when it comes time to write. I tend to stick to what I am comfortable with. I would like to focus on applying the deeper, more sophisticated rhetorical devices we have talked about. On the other hand, I feel really comfortable with my organization. Before I even begin writing my essay, I annotate and then come up with some sort of outline. This is where I get my paragraphs and quotes in order so when I begin writing, everything just flows. This also helps me with time management. The online instructor talked about the rhetorical situation that includes 5 main focuses. I have never heard of this method before, however, this makes it easier to make sense of what you are reading. My only concern with this is that it took us almost a half hour to go through it all. Clearly we don't have that kind of time when it comes to the actual test. Overall, I feel pretty confident going into this test, but more practice is definitely necessary for me.
ReplyDeleteI think that before the test I would like to have more practice and review before the test. I remember one day in class we went over ways that we could be more specific in our analysis of rhetorical strategies, and I think that reviewing this again could be helpful. Doing this would help refresh my memory and make me more confident in my ability. I think that I have a pretty good understanding of what the online instructor went over. At first I had trouble differentiating exigence and purpose, but I think I understand it better now. I think some practice could help me become more comfortable with this. Even if we don't write an essay, maybe we could have practice texts that we can go just through and annotate to become better at it. I also think that expanding vocabulary would be good. I'm not great at memorizing vocabulary by reading a list of words, so maybe we could utilize vocabulary.com or something to become more comfortable with tone diction and other vocabulary that could be useful on the AP test. Overall, I think that I should do fine on the AP test; but stuff like this could help refresh my memory and make me more confident in my abilities.
ReplyDeleteMy main focus would be incorporating all of the SPACE CAT acronym in the essay. I'm sure we all use the parts already, but I'm not sure if there's a specific way we're supposed to use the acronym or if it's just an organized way of thought. Along with that, for me personally, I need more practice with finding the best answer rather than the right answer. Basically just more practice with analyzing since I'm usually hit or miss. With the online teacher, the method she used seemed like it took a very long time. I thought that it was maybe because she was teaching as she was going, but in the past we've been told to spend no longer than around five minutes on pre writing and the rest of the time on actually writing the essay, so I'm just concerned with how to implement that in our pre writing strategies.
ReplyDeleteI also feel like we should compile a list of all of the rhetorical devices we have learned and do a review of those.
DeleteI'm on it! My task for the day.
DeleteConsidering how the AP test has been drastically reduce time frame wise, I think really going in depth with analysis would be helpful. I liked the video in how she broke down the prewriting process; it was similar to what we did in Carcelli's. My biggest concern is how is one essay going to determine my score on a 1-5 scale. The entirety of the 3 hour test allows for some mistakes, but not just one essay. I feel pretty stressed out about this because I would like to keep the streak of doing well. I have never heard the word exigence LOL.
ReplyDeleteI hope we see more of those videos because I just worry that I won't be able to write a single good essay. I would like to see how she develops her idea and how it can relate to similar prompts so I can ease my woes about this upcoming AP test.
I am seriously stressing over only having one essay to prove to the College Board that I have some sort of intelligence. I've been banking on the MC to help raise my score if I were to bomb the essays and vice versa. I really enjoyed how the instructor broke it down in little pieces. I find that my rhetorical analysis is always a mess thanks to me getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of details to take in. Just by going through the annotations with her, I feel like I could write a pretty good paper. I never truly annotate my paper as well as she did. If I follow her style, I will easily write a solid essay. I think I fly through the text, rushing to get started on the actual essay, and I end up missing very important details. Also, I really liked how she broke down the purpose as a whole, the author's perspective, and what the reader should get from the text. It helped me see things from a new view, and therefore helped me actually understand what I was reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of mad that the test is reduced from a multiple choice section and three essays to just one essay. I usually feel more confidant on the multiple choice than the essays, even when I get all the questions wrong. I would like to look at more short example pieces like that one but of completely different styles and context. If we get something that I have no idea about like last years test and there's only one essay, I'm kind of screwed. The video was helpful though. You should make videos like it and compete with her for viewers Mrs. Leugers.
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of panicking about writing just one essay that determines my score. I just don't want to have the worst luck and write a garbage essay and then get no credit. I almost wish they would just split it up into a little multiple choice and one essay, but it sadly isn't up to me. After watching the videos and looking at the documents, I need to focus more on how the rhetorical devices contribute more to the text as a whole rather than a certain section if that makes sense. I am definitely going to look over everything to review because it will benefit me in the long run. Like T'nyah said, the SPACECAT acronym was helpful, and I need to start using it. As long as I have a good plan when I pre-write, life and my essay should be relatively fine.
ReplyDeleteI've always felt like the essay prompts kn the test end up being just different enough from practice that it shakes my confidence in my ability to write an effective essay response. I share Kelsey's anxiety over having my score based on one essay. It seems very risky and it scares the bejesus out of me. I really appreciated the triple venn diagram as a visual aid. The quick reading part makes me nervous because I know I've made errors about purpose or the meaning of literary devices when I do that. However, I think practice will let me work on that and as long as I take extra time to focus on them I should be okay. It's just nerve wracking to know that, not only will the test be an entirely new medium-- it's also aall riding on one essay.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest concern is getting a prompt that I have no experience in or a prompt that has to do with analyzing poetry. Whenever I attempt to critically analyze poetry I either seem to hit it right on the mark and understand exactly what is being written, or my analysis is so far off and convoluted it's not even worthy of reading.
ReplyDeleteI am fairly confident in my ability to analyze prose without making a critical error. I can always use more practice in my ability to improve on the writing that I already have. The process of editing and finding small areas that can use more effort or more detail is something I struggle with but I believe I've improved in that area.
I am not happy that they decided to remove the multiple choice. I usually can get pretty lucky on multiple choice and not having that will definitely make the test much more stressful. Overall I perform well under pressure and can deliver when called upon and I hope I can keep that trend going on the AP test.
Geno...We have been told that you will write a Rhetorical Analysis--poetry won't be on this test. It is not a part of the AP Language at all in its full form--all nonfiction.
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