Help with AP English Language?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and my school offers no AP exams. I'm extremely competitive and ambitious and I registered/took the AP world history exam this year .

I want to take the AP english language this year but because I want to attend a pretty prestigious liberal arts college, a 2 or below on AP eng. lang would be disasterous for goal.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to online courses, places where I can get course info/work (besides collegeboard), or any other helpful suggestions that would help me pass. I already have several prep books (cliffs, princeton review, etc.)

many, many thanks

Answer 1

Maybe your English teacher or a friend/sibling who's in college would be willing to help you out on any practice essays you write. I think you need to know some pieces of literature and their themes...so you can work those into yur essays. I would read a lot this summer.

Answer 2

If you are taking AP English Language (not English Literature), learn to start close-reading essays. Pay attention to anything and everything that may come up in the questions (from tone to lit terms), and don't be afraid to look back over the selection to help you find the answer.

Also, you will have to write three essays: an argumentative essay, an analysis essay, and a synthesis essay (where you need to incorporate at least three of the six provided sources into your essay. It is basically an argumentative essay with the documents already provided). When writing the argumentative and the synthesis essay, be sure to make to opinion clear. Don't try to flip-flop and say both sides have a good point. Also, don't write what you believe-- write what you can argue.

Finally, learn the literary terms. Your prep books should have a list of them and their definitions. Try to incorporate them into your writing and into your thought process when analyzing.

Other than that, just do practice writes (try to use about forty-five minutes per essay) and take practice tests. Read a lot and try to expand your vocabulary.

Best of luck!