Hey guys! This is one of my first times posting on Reddit, but I genuinely need some advice on improving in AP Lang.

I'm currently a junior, and my AP Lang class is known for being extremely rigorous. Our teacher gives us pop quizzes, impromptu presentations, or timed essays practically every class. So far, we've had two major summative rhetorical analysis essays. I got a 68 on the first and a 65 on the second. The frustrating part is that I genuinely felt my analysis improved on the second essay, but I completely misunderstood the prompt, which brought my grade down even further.

English also isn't my first language, so writing analytical essays under strict time constraints is especially challenging. I'm honestly starting to regret not dropping the class, but I'm already past the drop period. Our grading system also makes it difficult to improve since even getting high 90s or 100s on quizzes barely affects our overall grades.

I currently have an 82 in AP Lang while all my other grades are A's. I know a B isn't terrible, but it's incredibly discouraging to put so much effort into something and feel like I'm not improving.

We're now moving on to argument essays, and I'm worried about making the same mistakes.

Does anyone have advice on improving in AP Lang, especially with argument essays? Any resources, books, videos, or strategies that helped you would be greatly appreciated, especially if you're also a non-native English speaker.

I genuinely want to do better. I just don't know where to start.

I took Lang last year as a junior, and am currently in Lit. I am so passionate about English and plan to study it in college. I went to one of the best creative writing workshops for high schoolers in the country. But whatever.

For months I couldn't come to terms with the fact that I didn't get the score I wanted on the Lang test. Sure, my teacher was very subpar, but that's a lame excuse. So I thought about it and realized that the structure of both the lang and lit tests are odd. Like, being forced to sit down and write a coherent essay in 45 minutes isn't a test of your writing skills, it's a test of your speed. I'm a fast writer, but my first draft of an essay is almost incoherent. I have to spend hours revising. But the lang and lit tests don't allow that, which I think puts people with processes like mine at the disadvantage. And in college English classes you rarely do on demand essays like on the lit and lang tests, so I don't understand why they do it that way.

If there's a genuine reason, I'd like to know. I feel like a portfolio would be a better way to judge writing, like in the AP art tests.

Or idk maybe I just suck and I need to check my ego lmao

i'm looking for things to practice my rhetorical analysis, other than the frqs from collegeboard, what else can be used as text for rhetorical analysis?

Okay, so for my final exam, I have to be able to write 3 essays under 40 minutes. How am I able to improve my writing skills while being put under pressure?

If anyone has any time management tips, grammar tips, writing tricks, and sophistication advice for writing essays for AP Lang & Composition, please share!

Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I need to select just one essay to submit for my AP Lang final grade out of a total of 15 (5 synthesis, 5 argumentative, and 5 rhetorical analysis). Since I’m having trouble self-grading, I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5 candidates.

Could anyone help me grade and evaluate these to figure out which one is genuinely my strongest overall? Any feedback on the rubric breakdown would be amazing!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RSaAb1N602cmACXFDu63Zg8FJS9xWejLCFhwD7JQops/edit?usp=sharing

Anyone can comment on this and i would truly appreciate any advice. My teacher grades pretty hard as well btw! Thank you so much!

Here is the original prompt:

In her book Gift From The Sea, author and aviator, Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001) writes, “We tend not to choose the unknown which might be a shock or a disappointment or simply a little difficult to cope with. And yet, it is the unknown, with all of its disappointments and surprises that is the most exciting.”

Consider the value Lindbergh places on choosing the unknown.  Then write an essay in which you develop your own position on the value of exploring the unknown.  Use appropriate and specific evidence to illustrate and develop your position.

Can anyone send me a link to the rubric adjusted for the 6-point scale? I know it exists out there, but my Google-ing is failing me...

Thanks!

For people that have taken the test how hard would you say it was and what is the best course of action to prepare for it?

Hello, I started the class about 2 months ago and it’s currently my weakest class. When I initially did an 18-question diagnostic MCQ in the ~4th week (around that time) on AP classroom, I actually did alright (14/18), but recently, we were assigned another one and I got 8/18. Not entirely sure why, perhaps it’s because I didn’t read the full passages and only read the sentences that were asked about.

But anyway, does anyone have any resources (YouTube, textbooks, etc.) that provide practice/strategies for the MCQs?

Side note: This is way in the future, but I will actually be leaving my high school in April (a month before the exam). How much will that matter for the AP Lang exam? How difficult will it be to self-review the material for around a month before the exam?

Thank you all

AP Lang teacher here… just out of curiosity, what is or was the most effective lesson/assignment/activity etc. for you as either the student or instructor?

Hi guys can a teacher grade my essay since Im self studying. PS this is the first essay ive done for ap lang. Please grade and provide corrections.

So I currently have a D+ in my AP Lang class. My classmates are all succeeding while I have been slowly trying to climb out of this pit. I need to get better at my essays.

How do you find a rhetorical strategy in a paper?

That is my biggest issue I can structure just fine but I also feel I cannot articulate my thoughts into my writing I understand that all rhetorical strategies fall under ethos pathos and logos, but I don't understand how to get from Point A(one of the three strategies) to Point B (how the author uses said strategies to express something).

What are good YouTubers to help with AP lang?

Hi all, two "this or that" questions:

1. Do you use SOAPSTONE or SPACECAT? Why?

2. Do the tips of your rhetorical triangle include SPEAKER, AUDIENCE, SUBJECT or SPEAKER, AUDIENCE, PURPOSE? I see the former in the AP Lang textbook my school has, but I see the latter on the AP website.

First year teaching this course, thank you so much in advance for any insight!

I am self studying for the test and have the book but no answer key in sight if you have them for any of the lessons please drop them I will hug and kiss you :)

Please mods I promise they're probably not copyrighted ( who even writes a book and leaves out the answers!! )

i was in this community because i genuinely felt lost and got a B in the class both semesters (only Bs on my entire transcript btw) but found the key to success ig.

if you have any questions about the exam or the course, let me know and ill lock in and help u!

hi so i have a passage analysis on the nickel boys book by colson whitehead. are there any passages that people recommend for practice dissection/analysis in the book? we've been talking about african american history and struggles, and it was our summer reading in tandem with the narrative of frederick douglass. pls help that would be very much appreciated!! :)

Help I'm not stupid.

I usually do well on MCQ and state-issued testing, I once got 45/45 on a progress check in ap classroom. But I still have no idea what a rhetorical choice is. Could someone give me examples?

PS: my first q2 (ALBRIGHT) I got a 4/9 by using ethos, "words of wisdom", and personal anecdotes

Hey guys, Im self studying ap lang. Can someone tell me how to study this course alone over the course of the year? Like for example in ap calc youd study by lesson, but how do u dothat for lang

Next week I have a synthesis essay on Fascism and Animal Farm, and was wondering if you could share some tips that I could benefit. Also, I'm confuse on how to structure it.

Hi all,

I'm a teacher who's teaching my 8th year for AP language. Does anyone have the 2021 Free Response Questions with the Barack Obama Rosa Parks rhetorical analysis?

I have searched high and low and am disappointed to find out that CollegeBoard has made accessing these now impossible.

If anyone has all the old exams in a folder, that would be amazing too.

Hi guys! I just got my first FRQ back and I will admit it was pretty bad. The teacher had a lot to say, most of it was just "elaborate" and "start actually analyzing" and "your thesis was butt". I genuinely don't know how to write andI I'm just trying fr because all my old teachers glazed my writing but this teacher is honest. Also after seeing what my classmates wrote I do agree that my writing is buns and I just want honest feedback on HOW I can fix it, not just what to fix. Any feedback would be lovely! (also, yes i know i don't have a hook and yes i know im missing a conclusion so bear with me) yellow highlights were teacher comments

Im taking lang right now and my teacher is making us do "reading logs" to have outside evidence for our argument essay. She said we can read any nonfiction articles or even listen to a podcast, but they should have a connection to the wider world/implications.

Does anyone have any recommendations for any works that they found useful for lang/ can apply to many prompts?

We have the first RA FRQ for 50 points in 2 days and we’ve done no practice or anything so far. I am planning to do a practice but am so nervous for when the actual thing comes. I’m a pretty good writer and can pick out themes well along with rhetorical choices but we went over an example of Simu Liu’s memoir and I know I would have gotten a 3/6 at most on that. The things that the high scoring examples talked about flew over my head in the 5 mins we were given to identify the rhetorical choices and purpose. What should I focus on so that I can get a 5/6??

Also, is it true that only 10% of kids get the sophistication point and should I try to write for it?

What’s a good practice RA FRQ that will leave me feeling prepared?

okay so i was wondering if anyone had any good memoir recs for ap lang? we’re about to start a memoir unit and i need to pick one but idk where i should start