May... at last

May & June

       Finally the time had come to take the test. We spent two weeks or so preparing by reviewing what we had learned. None of us could believe how fast the year had flown. I still remember beginning the year, everyone congregated in the hall before class to make sure they had done the right assignments. We were all too scared to participate and worried about our grades to much to share them. By the time we were reviewing, sixth period had become a family. We had all worked hard for the test and were ready to take it. No longer scared to speak up, a fun and self-functional environment had taken over the classroom. We were responsible but trusted each other and our teacher enough to be ourselves and enjoy the end of a tough year. 

    

     For me, the exam was not exactly as expected. I had experienced a family emergency just days before the exam and my schedule was thrown for a loop. Fortunately, I was able to attend the Lang exam on the scheduled date and despite distraction, completed the test confidently. Afterwards, we were all relieved and overcome with joy and satisfaction. The week of the test was a stressful end to a stressful year for me, however I know I have learned important skills from AP Lang. 

    As previously mentioned, I have learned to be less focused on number grades. Academics have always been, and will always be a big part of my life, but I have realized I don't want them to be the only part of my life. This year I have branched out, joining interact club, green team, and running for secretary of Honor Society. These activities and others have certainly interfered with my grades at times, however Lang has taught me how to balance them efficiently. I have also taken a bigger interest in my health recently. I realized that so much work had brought me stress yet limited my activity. Now, I make more effort to exercise and take time for myself as needed. This time does not take away from my academics, but instead makes me more focused when I devote time to them. I await my AP scores impatiently, however I know the value was in the journey, not the end result.

     I have also learned to speak up and reach out. The emphasis on participation in lang was right up my alley as I love forming opinions. Through the class however, I have also applied this energy to talking to new people and making friends. Even the people I sat next to in class have become very close to me and without the pressures of lang, perhaps we would have remained distant. I have taken an interest in caring for our planet and its physical and political issues. When I hear of a problem, I research it instead of trying to forget it. Without knowledge we can go nowhere but backwards.

   In addition, Lang has taught me to challenge myself. In September, my eyes couldn't bear to look at a dense or old passage. Now, I see progress in other classes and SATs as I confidently assess information more efficiently. Ms. McMahon's approach is intimidating as she is all in from the start, however setting expectations high is the best way to reach them. An expectation to be independent and hard working encouraged me to be the best student I could and to try again when I did not succeed. I will miss the class a lot this summer and next year, however I will strive to maintain the drive I have today.

Lastly, I have learned to be 'a student of the universe'. Where one lesson ends, another is always around the corner, waiting to be learned. 

March - The Home Strech

March & April

       By March I had met my match; multiple choice. March had begun quite okay. We had begun preparing for a debate on gun control and, despite some miscommunications over the written essay, we had a successful tie by the end. The debate was a fun way to showcase my passion for argument and forming rebuttals. Once the debate was over however, we began the dreaded multiple choice review.
   

     Multiple choice is a safe haven for many in tests and quizzes as answers are practically provided. For me, I would much rather write a five paragraph essay than answer fifty multiple choice questions. To this, AP Language prep questions were no exception. The questions themselves ranged in difficulty and were overall manageable, however each one required attention and revision that I always ran out of time on. I reassured myself that the multiple choice only made up part of my grade and Ms. McMahon reminded us 50% of the multiple choice would still allow us to pass with good essays. I worked hard to bring up my multiple choice average and eventually did, however I still struggle with the time management. 
  
    In addition to preparing me for the AP exam, AP Lang has taught me how to accept failure as well. Last year, I would be extremely upset at any grade lower than an A-. With new responsibilities of work, driving, and clubs I have realized that every last grade will not define who I am. Now, a less than exciting grade simply motivates me to try harder and bring it up next time. I have learned to make time to put my health and wellness first, while recognizing academics as extremely important. Although I run out of time on multiple choice, AP Lang has strengthened my time management in life. In order to complete assignments properly I have disciplined myself to get work done on time and more efficiently. This has been crucial to my junior year as Every week is busier than the last. March and April were full of preparation for SATs and AP exams, Lang was simply an engine to focus and challenge procrastination.

    After multiple choice we approached our last unit of synthesis essays. Synthesis was not my favorite style and I did worse than with RAs and Argument, however taking AP US history had previously prepared me through DBQs. The essays involve using sources to take a stance on a given topic and prove one's reasoning. I liked being given the facts needed to answer the questions and the topics resembled those of argument prompts I had practiced. I began to write my pieces in pen in preparation for the test. Synthesis turned out to be less scary once I had gotten used to the format, just like RAs. Finally, in late April we completed our last unit and began to review for the Exam in May. I felt as though the test covered lots of material, however I knew that our class had worked hard to prepare and felt ready.

Synthesis Essay

(We often peer edited each others pieces and in this one my classmates had given me fives and sixes. The seven on top was from Ms.McMahon. So confident in our skills we had begun to grade harshly, with even higher expectations for each other than our teacher. In a prep video we had watched, a teacher told students to aim for a six. In H406, everyone aimed for a nine.)

On Cloud Nine (degrees)

January & February

             As the snow continued to fall into February, we began to transition from RAs to argument. Before we did, we wrote an essay on Newton Minnow's piece on the FCC and media. I had worked hard on the more formal style essay but was still shocked to find I had scored a nine when it came back. With a nine in my grades I felt more confident in changing gears to the new topic of argument. 

Minnow Essay

        Argument is one of my favorite outlets of writing. As a naturally stubborn person, I am always up to the challenge of stating my point and arguing its reasoning. Through persuasive and argumentative writing I was passionate on the topics I wrote about. We discussed everything from trump, to sports, to definitions of leadership. Argument is an open platform that allows writers to use their own knowledge as evidence. Without needing to refer to a text I was able to let loose and write whatever I could think of. Spending time throughout the summer and school year keeping up with the news had helped immensely in this unit. I found myself becoming more involved in issues I had not thought I could affect previously. As net neutrality was being voted out, I sent emails to my local congressmen and women and urged them to vote against it's repeal. Becoming more invested in pollution and climate change, I have joined the schools green team and signed up for AP environmental science next year. Looking at the world through a wider lens allowed me to act on what I found to be unsatisfactory.

     

   After recognizing my love for argument, I soon received my second nine of the year in February; this time, on an argument prompt on artifice. At the beginning of the year I had received a D on my Boys in the Boat piece on adversity. Now, I looked at my artifice prompt with a nine and a smiley face on top and felt the same joy I had a month before with the Minnow piece. By February I had no trouble writing the piece in one class period, reaching about three full pages when the bell rang. Although my hand ached I could keep going for hours, eagerly making connections between motives and success or failures I had witnessed in the past.

Artifice Essay

   Argument was a much needed confidence booster as snow days had forced a heavy winter workload into an even tighter schedule. Second semester was ending by the end of January and our practice AP midyear exam was approaching. After scoring a five I began to hope for a five on the real exam in May. The annual essay was also assigned in February. I have always loved persuasive writing in the same way I had taken to argumentative. Tackling the topic of Net Neutrality I expressed my concerns for our future without free internet access. The argument and persuasion units truly spiked my appetite for change as I researched our worlds leading issues.  Although we cannot change everything that upsets us, knowing everything I can about a topic that frightens me always makes it seem more manageable. 
    
Annual Essay

  With a blooming source of analysis from RAs and a new interest in movement from argument, I headed to third term with a new determination.

November & the feast of RAs

November & December

    As Thanksgiving approached, AP Lang was all RAs all month. We began by taking a test on Rhetorical devices. Everyone prepared furiously and the test was difficult; I hadn't realized there were terms beyond simile and onomatopoeia. Metonomy, synechdoche, litotes, and more filled my brain as we discussed how every sentence a writer includes in a piece has rhetorical purpose. Just about every week in November and many in December featured a new prompt, in class review, and a grade. I began to do better with my responses and noticed my classmates were improving as well. 

     In lang, our class had finally grown more talkative and more people were willing to participate. I was making new friends and learning more about voicing my opinions. With the crazy government and changes in net neutrality, there was lots to discuss in class and in essays. By keeping up with the news I could hold conversations about what was going on and felt more in control. The practice also helped in other classes such as history. I also enjoyed lots of the pieces we were reading as we were supplied with peculiar and intriguing stories. Because the course is almost entirely non fiction, it was interesting to know the material was realistic and my views were broadened.

     We had begun our Gender and humanity unit and the pieces opened my eyes to how other cultures and countries lived. One piece called, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" was particularly interesting. The piece described strange people and their rituals of personal care, only to leave readers to realize "Nacirema" was simply American backwards. The pieces exposed me to different perspectives and the class would have discussions and debates over the topics of them. The days when we would read and annotate a new story became my favorites and I would try to pick out as many rhetorical devices as I could. By recognizing the strategies in older and more abstract pieces I was more intrigued to analyze diction, syntax, and of course purpose.

      As we did RA after RA I began getting quicker at getting my point across. Looking back now, RAs are pretty simple once you have the formula down:

• Annotate with rhetorical devices as you read the piece.
• begin with a short intro discussing the author, the topic. and three main devices to be used.
• Write three or more body paragraphs on a device and how the author uses it to convey his/her point.
• if time allows, add a brief part on tone and mood.
• Conclude the piece in a brief paragraph summarizing the overall purpose of the author.

   RAs were not about fitting in the most description and big words as I had once believed, instead they were essentially the opposite. I learned that the key to a good piece was making deep inferences and connections based on the author's word choice and keeping the piece structured and concise.

  We practiced with pieces like letters in times of war, satires, and political pieces. On one piece on the Queen to English troops, I received an 8 atop my paper Queen RA where I had recorded my time; 35 minutes.  Ms. McMahon had prepared us to write the best essays we could in the shortest amount of time, ensuring we would be overly prepared when the time of the exam came.

September.. and so it begins.

September & October

        I can still remember my first week of AP Lang. I rushed up the stairs after lunch, knowing the bell had rang and I was going to be the last one to class. When I did arrive at H406 I was greeted my the one and only; Ms. McMahon. "Where were you" she asked, to  which I replied meekly, "at lunch". "So were we, get here on time" she said, dismissing me to my seat. 

      At the time this exchange was terrifying. I was so sure I could be a perfect Lang student; one who had read the news over the summer, was prepared with an empty 3 inch binder, and who would be on time at class. I felt doomed for the year and slumped in my seat, only beginning to understand what I had gotten myself into. 

      Right off the bat the class was unlike any I had experienced before. We couldn't raise our hands to use the bathroom, and we were expected to be extremely independent. Although I adjusted to getting and printing the papers I needed for class, years of requesting permission to use the bathroom still make it seem wrong to simply get up and leave. However, the biggest shock for me was getting my first grade: a 70%. 

     I had received a B- or maybe even a C before, but nothing had prepared me to see that grade at the top of my Boys in the Boat essay. Like me, others had received upsetting grades; here we were thinking we had written the best essays of our lives only to be told they were below average. At this point I was sure I was done for. I had always thought teachers took a week or two to assess students' preparedness and then provide material accordingly, yet in Lang I was placed at a high expectation from the get-go. Then I was surprised by my grade, but looking back at it now, i'm shocked at where I had begun. 

  I attached the link to the hot mess below. At the time, none of us had been able to write a full essay in just one class period. Now, I can turn out a six paragraph essay in just forty minutes, and be proud of it. The most striking detail of the essay is its organization. I remember struggling with the time constraint and being panicked that my computer would not allow me to type the essay. Ms. McMahon assured me that the physical organization would not affect my grade, (although looking back at the piece the layout is very distracting), and graded it like the others. In September, I had only known how to analyze a story and not a style of writing as the rhetorical analysis had required. My piece itself had been full of typos and messy words like "plentiful" that I had hoped would sound intelligent. In reality, the short time caused me to panic and I was unable to convey a meaningful point throughout my first piece.

Boys in the Boat essay

😓

    As September progressed so did my writing and comprehension skills. I raised my grades for the first term by participating whenever I could and focusing on more specific assignments like reading sheets. Although the workload exceeded any I had taken on before, I was sure I was improving. Eventually I was flooded with relief when I received my grade on the Santa Ana essay.  Ms. McMahon had warned us that last years students had struggled with the piece at first and suggested that we reach out to them and read their second drafts. After doing so, i felt prepared and worked on the essay as much as I could. When I got the notification that I had received a 96 I was overjoyed that I was finally understanding the material. Although we had had more time to work on the Santa Ana piece, I recognized that I was making huge strides in interpreting literary devices and the expression of authors. By October I still understood the difficulty of the AP Lang course, but I felt excitement instead of dread.

    Once I had recognized my level of ignorance from September, I understood that my classmates and I were more than unprepared when we entered the classroom in September. Once I had gotten the hang of things however, I began to love the class and its discussions. I knew Ms. McMahon had begun stern to get us motivated, and it had worked; I focused most of my time on learning what I could in class and keeping up with the news outside of Woburn.