May 19, 2008

Dear AP English Student...

Now that registration is over, and class lists have been set, I hope you have done your research about AP English and are aware of the requirements of the class.

First and most importantly, I have to emphasize the necessity of summer reading. While I cannot technically "require" it, per school board policy, I can tell you that the students who did the summer readings last year performed much better overall than the ones who did not. There were far too many people who thought that just because they weren't tested directly on the books that they didn't have to read them.

What they failed to understand is that the act of reading is itself a preparation for the AP exam. Our classrooom discussions and practice exams are meant to build on the experience you gain through the active reading. Without that foundation to build upon, even if you attend every class and strive on every test, you simply will not gain the same preparation as if you had read the text. It would be like reading reviews of a movie, watching commercials and previews, and listening to other people talk about it without ever actually watching the movie itself...there's just going to be stuff you miss.

That's not to say a brilliant student couldn't pass the test without doing the reading (just like a sharp film buff can fake knowing about movies he's never seen). But, if that same brilliant student could score a 3 without reading, I guarantee that he would've scored a 4 or 5 if he had.

Some of you are going to score 3s on the diagnostic, so you may think that's good enough and that you can coast for the rest of the year. Let me remind you that a 5 has more tangible benefits than a 3...you're waived out of TWO classes instead of one, and it can also waive you out of placement tests such as the UC's AWPE.

I hope I've made my case for summer reading, and reading in general. The list of titles I'd like you to tackle this summer are:

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare

1984 by George Orwell

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

You can see a list of all the texts for next year here.

With affection,

mst

AP English Syllabus (Updated 8/17/08)

AP Calendar
Nothing is definite, but the class should be organized basically along these lines.


You can check out all the AP Essay Questions at the following site:

Prior AP English Exams from 1999


If you have ANY questions, PLEASE feel free to email me. I am more than happy to answer them.



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