Beebalm Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 My dd wants to self study for the AP English Lang and Comp exam next May. She's done this with a number of courses before but this one has me really worried..primarily about MY ability to coach her in improving essays. I've read about Momsinthegarden's success (many thanks!) and have books she suggested on the way. However, some posts have mentioned the great difficulty of the course. The syllabi I have seen (there are a LOT) take the teacher's ability to critique for granted (of course). Do the prep guides provide enough information for me to educate MYSELF to be able to critique essays well? How many have been successful with this AP course without a formal course? I'd love to sign her up with PA homeschoolers but just can't spend that kind of money right now on one course. Please help with any advice, warnings, information, or encouragement. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 this one has me really worried..primarily about MY ability to coach her in improving essays. Do the prep guides provide enough information for me to educate MYSELF to be able to critique essays well! We were nervous about the essays, too, but the prep books and the CB past FRQs give you great critiquing hints. With each essay prompt, the sources give you at least a couple of sample essays and a critique of each, with a number grade or at least a range. The CB samples are especially useful because they give you photocopies of actual student responses. I really believe that you and your dd can do this, especially since she's self-studied for APs before. I suggest that, along with 5+ works of literature, she spend September studying prep books and writing only 1 essay a week, then Oct.-Mar. writing 2/week, and in April write 3/week. She should write them in black ink, and time them (40 minutes/each, plus about 10 min for synthesis prompt reading time). Don't stress if she can't do that many for some weeks; as long as she's writing at least 1/week for school, she should be fine. The Cliff's book has a chart that shows what it takes to get a 5. If she gets about 3/4 of the MCs correct and writes three 6-7 scoring essays, she should be there. And most importantly - Just Give Them What They Want. When the synthesis prompt says to use at least 3 sources - do that. When they want you to talk about rhetorical strategies - do that. When they want pros and cons - do that. Stay on topic! If an essay is extremely well written, but does not address the prompt fully, the score will be low. If an essay is fairly well written, and addresses the prompt fully, it will get a good score. Aim for 7's. If she can write a decent 7 essay consistently, she will be fine! If you need more help, you are welcome to PM me. I'd be happy to critique some of her essays. I'm not particularly talented in this area, but I can muddle through with you. You can do it! GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebalm Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 Oh, GardenMom, you are the BEST! Thanks so much for the encouragement, and I WILL take you up on the offer to pm you with more specific questions when I'm better informed. The books came today (Literary Devices, Cliff's, etc.) and I'm feeling a little less helpless. My dd seems confident that she can do this...she told me this morning that what you said about sticking to the topic sounded very much like what she just worked on in her AP world history essays. Her prep book told her how many points she got for this or that and she just had to remain mindful of that when writing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your past posts and your encouragement. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 I WILL take you up on the offer to pm you with more specific questions when I'm better informed. Sounds good! I'll be here. My dd seems confident that she can do this...she told me this morning that what you said about sticking to the topic sounded very much like what she just worked on in her AP world history essays. Her prep book told her how many points she got for this or that and she just had to remain mindful of that when writing. Oh, wow, if your dd can do the World History exam, she'll do just fine on English Language, especially the synthesis FRQ. In my dd's opinion, WH is harder than the English exams because there is so much content. For her, WH would be about 9 out of 10 in difficulty, and English Lang & Lit would be about a 7. Everyone is different, but that's her take on it. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your past posts and your encouragement. Thanks again! You're welcome!:001_smile: Two years ago I posted asking how to have dd self-study for the Eng Lang exam. No one responded! I'm just tickled to be able to help someone, and hope your dd does very well on it. Has she decided what she's going to read? My dd read a lot of C.S. Lewis, and also Darwin's Black Box. If she's into intelligent design, Darwin's Black Box could be a great fit because it uses a lot of rhetorical techniques; it's fun to learn about them and see how the author uses them. GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebalm Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 Sounds good! I'll be here. Has she decided what she's going to read? My dd read a lot of C.S. Lewis, and also Darwin's Black Box. If she's into intelligent design, Darwin's Black Box could be a great fit because it uses a lot of rhetorical techniques; it's fun to learn about them and see how the author uses them. GardenMom Darwin's Black Box is one of the books that came in today...I've wanted to read that forever! My dd likes C. S. Lewis too. Both of my dd's and I read Screwtape Letters together recently. Till We Have Faces is on my mind too. She would probably enjoy that. I'm reading the Grapes of Wrath again now too....I saw it in several plans on the web and thought it would come in handy. Wow, I so appreciate your help. You've helped me to get moving in a positive direction. Bless you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 My dd wants to self study for the AP English Lang and Comp exam next May. She's done this with a number of courses before but this one has me really worried..primarily about MY ability to coach her in improving essays. I've read about Momsinthegarden's success (many thanks!) and have books she suggested on the way. However, some posts have mentioned the great difficulty of the course. The syllabi I have seen (there are a LOT) take the teacher's ability to critique for granted (of course). Do the prep guides provide enough information for me to educate MYSELF to be able to critique essays well? How many have been successful with this AP course without a formal course? I'd love to sign her up with PA homeschoolers but just can't spend that kind of money right now on one course. Please help with any advice, warnings, information, or encouragement. Thanks in advance! Could you please direct me to Momsinthegarden's post about her success? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebalm Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 Self study for AP language... Michelle in AL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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