AP Literature before AP Lang?

[SanDiegoMom]

My kids are 10th graders in B & M school.  Their English teacher says that the school is allowing kids to choose which to take first -- and she was suggesting my son might prefer Lit first. She suggested also that AP Lang was more aligned with a freshman composition class in college, so that Lit might be a better choice to have first.  Any opinions? Anyone done it in this order?

[matrips]

I don’t know the best order, or the reasons why, but my boys’ private school makes them take AP Lang first.  AP Lit is not an option until senior year 🤷‍♀️

[Alice Lamb]

Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, my school didn't even offer AP Lang, but did offer AP Lit.  Back then, many fewer people took AP courses, usually only Junior or Senior year, and seldom more than 4 altogether.  This was a private school with 99% direct admissions to 4 year colleges and even 25% to Ivy League.  Expectations have changed radically, but I don't think that the tests have.  My local public school brags "We celebrate our 3s" because even though a score of 3 usually doesn't earn credit, repeating the class in college is easier than taking it for the first time.  I know some teachers that don't believe anyone with less than a five should use that credit as a prerequisite in any really sequential subject, like math, science or foreign language.  It would be less problematic for fulfilling general eduation requirements for a nonmajor.  I re-took physics despite 4s of both parts of the Physics BC test and made sure the college didn't know I'd taken it.

 

[daijobu]

I'm not an expert on these classes but my sense is that AP Lang and Comp is more about your ability write on topics that are presented during the exam.

AP Lit tests that plus you need to bring some prior knowledge of texts to the exam.  That is, you will write about material (classic novels?) you read before taking the exam.  

I'm sure there are many students who take both classes, but I think more often students take one or the other, with future English majors (or those who have read the classics widely) opting for AP Lit.  If you are taking both, I'd recommend starting with AP Lang/Comp.  

Some colleges offer some credit for a high score on either AP Lang/Comp or AP Lit but not both.  Check with the colleges your student is interested in.  It may not be worthwhile to take both exams.  I think it isn't worth taking both classes unless, again, you have a future English major who really wants to.  

[Arcadia]

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Edited March 25, 2022 by Arcadia

[Roadrunner]

59 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

DS17 did AP eng lang followed by AP eng lit. AP Lit is easier for a good reader. AP Lang doesn’t require that level of analysis or familiarity with literature works. In DS17’s case, his AP Eng Lit score is used to check off a humanities course for IGETC. AP Lang can only be use to check of the English 1A requirement of IGETC.  DS16 is doing dual enrollment English 1A instead of AP Eng Lang.

How would you compare them?

 

here also AP Lit is only open to seniors and is considered a much harder course. 

[Arcadia]

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Edited March 25, 2022 by Arcadia

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Community college English 1A is usually less stringent than the AP eng lang exam. 

Do you find the content comparable? 

[Arcadia]

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Edited March 25, 2022 by Arcadia

[Samantheia]

My son did this. I'm glad to read this because I spoke with a college consultant who left me with the

impression that I had done it wrong, i.e. you are not supposed to take Lit before Lang. He took AP Lit

last year as a 9^th grader. I signed him up for that first because he loves literature. He's an avid reader who

wants to be a writer. He is taking AP Lang this year. I think for him AP Lit was actually easier, but he is

widely read and had already read many of the books they read in AP Lit at least once. It's hard to say though

because we've been dealing with health issues that are making everything harder this year. My impression is

that one is not really more difficult than the other. It comes down to if you have a preference for

reading and contemplating literature, or non-fiction topics.

[SanDiegoMom]

Thanks everyone.  My impression was that the Lit exam would be harder overall, and Lang has been traditionally an 11th grade class... so I think my kids are opting to stick with Lang first.  The school opened it up for the first time this year, and my son's teacher thought my son would enjoy Lit more.  But he is more attuned to the fact that when asked, after hearing about the two different offerings, almost the entire class said they were still going to take Lang first.  His biggest focus is making friends, and he wants to be with other 11th graders. 

He probably would enjoy Lit a lot more, but he's planning on taking both, and not planning on graduating early, so it's not a huge difference either way.  

 

[Farrar]

AP Lit is one of the hardest AP exams. The more you've read, the better you'll do. It's a tough exam. And many of the books commonly cited on the exam have grown up topics. Stuff like Song of Solomon and Portrait of the Artist. I'd always wait on it until junior or senior year.

AP Lang is whatever. It's not that it's not hard, but it's more about writing skills. It's still better once a student has a lot of practice, but less need to wait on it.

[SanDiegoMom]

On 1/21/2022 at 3:50 PM, Farrar said:

AP Lit is one of the hardest AP exams. The more you've read, the better you'll do. It's a tough exam. And many of the books commonly cited on the exam have grown up topics. Stuff like Song of Solomon and Portrait of the Artist. I'd always wait on it until junior or senior year.

AP Lang is whatever. It's not that it's not hard, but it's more about writing skills. It's still better once a student has a lot of practice, but less need to wait on it.

That's what I was thinking.  I think his teacher was approaching it based on how much my son really engaged with her class -- it was a surprise to him and to us how quickly he took to lit analysis -- but he is also a very slow reader and has so far only done one on demand essay.  It seems like Lang would be a gentler on-slope. 

I have no idea what they will use here in SD as far as book list, but definitely waiting on the really tough subjects would help.  It's been a slog trying to get this kid to handle anything intense, sad, etc.  

Really the biggest impact is the teacher at this point.  His English teacher this year was a god-send. Mentors the Neurodivergent club,  did mental health checks every week individually with the students, communicated with me about my son's anxiety, and brain-stormed ways to work through it with him.... she was amazing. We'll see what happens next year.