As Joshua completed the AP Lit exam yesterday, during today' s session he studied for his upcoming AP Calc exam. He prepared a study guide for differentiation and integration rules as well as for sum and difference formulas.
For our final session before the AP exam , we reviewed Joshua's literary argument essay taken from a practice exam. I stressed the need to choose a literary work with which Joshua was very familiar as well as the need to offer an interpretation in the introductory paragraph . I further demonstrated how to tie the paragraphs together by incorporating thematic ideas raised in the introduction. We further worked on stating an interpretation without incorporating. trite maxims . Last, we studied how to earn the sophistication point by referencing similar literary works that reflect on the theme of the essay.
We continue to prepare for next week's AP exam by completing practice tests. Today, we addressed strategies for analyzing and composing the prose analysis essay by reviewing the essay Joshua completed for homework last evening.. We first focused on the prompt -a character's complex view of her changed environment . Joshua's essay impressively addressed many techniques and elements but we addressed how to expand the scope of his analysis to earn what the AP describes as the "sophistication point." I explained the contrast in environments can also be described as a contrast between order and dissonance with the main character yearning for dissonance which the passage symbolically associates with sunlight. For our final test review, I assigned a literary argument essay which we will review and discuss next week before the exam.
Today we worked on two types of AP essays-the literary argument and the poetry analysis. First, I provided editing and rewrite instruction on the literary argument essay that Joshua prepared last night. I demonstrated how to fit an analysis within the parameters. of the prompt emphasizing the need to avoid summarization. Next, we analyzed the poetry essay . We first discussed the overall intent and meaning of the poem followed by identifying. poetic techniques and elements that create meaning. We noted the use of metaphors as well as the narrator's complex struggle to find meaning in his life since the narrator feels God has not responded to his prayers.
We first reviewed Joshua's practice test essay analyzing a prose passage. He has significantly developed his
AP writing style. We noted where sentence order could be reversed to create a clear topic sentence, and incorporated some "key words" from the prompt to clarify that his essay was responsive to the prompt. We then began our next practice essay-the literary argument. We studied the practice test prompt and discussed which of the novels we studied this year would provide the best textual evidence. Joshua then wrote an introductory paragraph . We discussed how to rewrite this paragraph so that it includes an interpretation rather than a summary. He will complete the essay for homework.
We completed a review and analysis of the MCQs on AP Practice test 3. Joshua did very well. We addressed the questions where Joshua was unsure how to derive the correct answer by practicing process of elimination strategies . Additionally we stressed the importance of paying close attention to the question in order to determine if the question seeks an inference or a more literal answer. . Last, we studied the Shakespeare sonnet that was on the practice test and reviewed the structure of the Elizabethan sonnet noting how the final couplet often resolves the question or problem raised in the first stanzas.
