When I came into AP lang last August as a junior, I knew that it would be, without a doubt, my most challenging class. The thought that the skills this class taught--stylized writing, critique of arguments, analysis of literature--were infinitely less objective than, say, how to solve differential equations was... daunting. (Massive understatement.) I realized with the very first assignment we were given, a timed writing on Kingsolver's argument in her The Poisonwood Bible, that AP lang was not going to be a "fluff" class. The thought, thankfully, didn't cause me to melt into a puddle of tearful expectations and broken dreams. (And let me tell you, getting a 4 on that first timed writing was only slightly better than minor dental surgery. Seriously, dental visits are just... no.)
Before lang, I was a processed-writing kind of student. However, having the freedom to sit down and mull for thirty minutes about the punny-est way to start an essay was not a luxury I would be able to afford, as I soon discovered. (Math confirms my revelation. 40 minutes total minus 30 minutes of mulling = a great deal of panic/hyperventilation/generally bad things.) At first, I dreaded timed writings, but over time, I learned to appreciate writing in a timed situation as a chance to improve my coherency under pressure. (Seeing improvement in my SAT essay scores was a bonus.)
Before lang, I was also a religious rule-follower when it came to grammar. (Yes, I was the kid that would differentiate between "who" and "whom.") By trying asyndeton and polysyndeton and other rhetorical devices, I learned that rule-breaking was acceptable and even encouraged when it added variety and interest. I found that relaxing grammatical rules also allowed me to take a more informal tone towards my audience, which (I hope?) made my writing a bit more fun to read.
The most meaningful activities for me were actually large-group discussions/seminars, especially because there were so many talented, thoughtful students in my class period. In a perfect world, we would be able to have ungraded time slots to express our opinions on the reading. (In a world of lazy teenagers, this is, of course, not feasible.) Nonetheless, I think the informal seminars were a great opportunity for everyone to try out their ideas and develop opinions on the pieces we read.
In terms of preparing for the AP exam, having another few full-length multiple-choice practice tests and more detailed feedback on timed writings would have been helpful. Given the limited amount of time we had to prepare (and cover a traditional American lit curriculum) though, I would say that we are very well-prepared to take on the exam and progress to AP lit next year.
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