Your last blog of the year!!! I want for you to give some helpful advice to the AP Literature class of 2014-2015. Be specific and think back to all of the assignment and units we have done all year. Good Luck!
Rachel, I think you forgot one very important piece of advice. I forgot it too. Shakespeare is not nearly is awful as you think. Hahaha you know how I like Shakespeare. Good job, Rachel. We made it!
Tip number 8 for me: Shakespeare sucks, so don't even bother reading it. Instead, read the right side.
In my eyes those are some of the most inspiring words ever. No just kidding he's alright. Too bad someone forgot to put that in her blog (Rachel you slacker). Anyways good job. I could agree with all of those because at some point throughout the year I did the exact opposite of everyone of those points.
I agree with your points that you made. I think that the blogs are something that are essential to boot your grade. I think that your other points also were very good. Nice job
So what would I tell the AP Literature kids for next year. I guess I would impart a few great pieces of wisdom to the kids that are gonna be in my shoes next year. I mean I don't know if I have a whole lot of good advice or anything, but here it goes anyway.
The first major piece of advice that I would give to them would be to manage their time well. It seems like such a simple thing, but I don't think they realize how important it really is. I have had some really demanding teachers in the past. Like more demanding than you may realize. In this class, however, you have a teacher who is more than willing to work with you. If you are anything like me though, you find that you still don't do stuff until the night before its due. Don't be like that. Get it done early, it saves you the stress and the hassle. Use your time well!
The second piece of advice is dig deep. This one has two parts, so here is part one. It's senior year, and trust me, I know all about senioritis. I had a severe case of it, but you have to keep going. The three words that I said the most were "I'm so done." It is really easy to just quit, give up, and call it a year. Don't. You get just as much homework either way, and you might as well do it. The second part to this comes to your reading. When you read a book in this class, you might get lost. I most certainly did. I would have no idea what to think. This is a classic dig deep moment. If you dig deep while your thinking about a book, believe it or not, the meaning will eventually come to you. Be patient, if you think hard enough about it you will get it.
The last and most importance piece of advice, however, is JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT. Don't take everything literally. Stick to your guns even if somebody else thinks differently than you do. We had such a fortunate opportunity to have six people in a class and we were all friends when we walked into that room. There was literally no awkward situations between any of us. There was such a good environment between all of us. Every time we had a project, there was some kind of craziness. It was beautiful. You have to be able to laugh often to be in a class like this. It's only as serious as you make it, so make it a good time. Have fun with everything you do, and you will know that you are doing it right.
Good luck to the AP kids next year. You may hate it while its happening, but it is also one of the greatest classes you will take.
I liked the number two point. Heck, to be honest I don't even know why I'm writing this. But I might as well keep going and make a dumb joke about a sea and a bagel or something. And having fun with it, yeahhh.... I hope they don't read anything I wrote down right now...
Awe. Your blog made me happy. This has been such a great class with great people. We had a great time...I think that is what you best imparted on the juniors. They need to realize they have to enjoy it while they can. We never could have had that much fun answering " A Midsummer Night's Dream" questions in college.
Ok. After an intense year of AP Lit, here's my survival guide.
Procrastinating is bad in the long run. I did it a few times but you will get the most out of the class if you just grind it out during the year.
The whole point of this class is to pass the AP exam, so pay special attention to things that will go on the test. Pay special attention to literary elements and the whole poem section, because I got the most out of that part.
Go hard on the MWDS's. After every book you read make one, because there is a big chance that you will be able to use one on the AP exam. Luckily I went hard on Tale Of Two Cities and it was on the exam. Have a few books up your sleeve to use for the exam. Literally, it's worth the risk if you don't know anything... Just kidding. Struble will catch you.
Don't procrastinate on the big assignments. Even though I wrote a book in a week, and it got the job done, I was kind of lucky. But the literary specialist in the middle of the year, go hard on that.
Don't listen to anything I said in this blog. Read everyone else's because you will get a terrible impression of what kind of student I was, even though I barely did any of these (especially number three). Sure I red sparknotes when I was behind, but my papers sucked those weeks. When you read the books it's a lot better for you.
Blogs are easy points. I blew off two easy ones because I had stuff to do, but they come back to haunt you.
Have fun and don't contemplate going into depression just because you have a couple assignments due the next day. "You can do it!" - Rob Schneider
I, as always, enjoyed your blog. It was very funny and I was laughing at my computer while reading it. Anyways I agree with your advice. I think the MWDS were very important. Also, I think avoiding procrastination is essential. Nice job
I am also going to miss your blogs. And your bromance with Kraus. The MWDS was good to hit one. I slacked so hard on those because I really didn't see the point until it was too late. Good advice. Nice job, Matt :) as always, you made me laugh.
It is hard to believe that I am writing my final blog of my high school career. Looking back on all of the past year of English there are many lessons that I learned that I can pass along.
The main lesson I learned in AP English is to never procrastinate. This is something that holds true in all classes, but must be followed in this class. The main reason for this is because there are many different assignments due at different times. It is easy to think you will have plenty of time, and then you will have the assignment due before you know it. This was especially true with the literary specialist project. There was over 2 months for me to work on it, but I procrastinated for a few weeks which caused me to have a lot of work all at once.
The other piece of advice I have is to enjoy the class. It seems difficult to enjoy a class, but if you come to class with an optimistic attitude you would be surprised. The workload can be overwhelming, but it is good practice for college when all classes are like it.
One tip that had been mentioned before is to do the blogs. Although it may seem like overkill they are easy points and allow an informal discussion of a variety of topics. They can be strenuous when you have a lot of homework, but they will payoff in the long run.
Kraus, I can't believe it either. I never thought that we would make it this far! I think that your second piece of advice is the best. The class seemed to drag on at times, but in the end we all had fun. It's been a good run, Kraus. Nice job!
Okay, kids, advice time. 10 pieces of AP Lit advice.
take the class. I know AP Lang makes you want to quit because everyone hates rhetoric and nonfiction can suck sometimes but AP Lit is so fun and sooo beneficial. AP Lit takes you back to what you remember English being, ya know, books and discussion and interpretive values instead of facts, and right and wrong answers. Take the class, I don't think you'll regret it.
Take the AP test. I'm getting out of stuff in college because I took the tests and did well, and as I calculate the amount of debt I'm going to be in after college, the quicker I can get out the better. That's everyone's situation so, do something to lessen it for yourself.
Read the books. It opens so many doors for both doing well in the class and just expanding your mind. The books you read in this class are important. They are relevant today for a reason even if they speak so weirdly you have to read it three times. They are beautiful and wonderful, but only if you choose to look at them that way which takes me to...
Be open to the reading. Don't hate it before you start because these stories are going to surprise you. After this class I now have a very earnest and personal interest in broadening my reading of the classics. I like the way they make me think, I think you will to. But give the poor book a chance. The relationship between the reader and the author is two-fold. Your role is important to making the story what it is so...play it well.
Don't procrastinate. There is too much reading for that.
Somewhere in the middle of the year you're going to start hating your life because you have to read Crime and Punishment. It's winter, and dark, and almost Christmas and you won't want to do it because it is so hard. But read the book because it's pretty much genius and can be applied to almost every single third AP Prompt question in the history of ever. Plus, I was never more proud of myself for finishing a book then when I finished that one. (Well, I was pretty proud of getting through Endurance to...but whatever.)
Fully engage yourself when writing the papers. Writing papers every week gets tiresome. By the end of the year all you're going to want to do is read the book without thinking about it, however, the papers really do force you to look at the book in a way that is so much deeper then you probably could manage on your own. Don't get lazy. Try to use the paper to improve your vocabulary, critical thinking, whatever! Be present in your work.
Learn to be convincing. It really doesn't matter if you know what that sonnet means or not when it comes to the first essay question, so formulate your own opinion on it and role with it, but be convincing. The Lordship AP Council People are not there to put you in a box. They will let you convince them if you do it well. Don't be afraid of being "wrong."
Don't ignore the second essay question. For some reason I thought it wasn't going to be hard and it is so...actually pay attention and prepare yourself for it. Characterization is a fickle business.
Grow. Use this class to grow. Literature is so important and this class celebrates it. Celebrate with it, you'll develop your mind in ways you'd never expect.
Okay some advice.......where to begin?? First don't be intimidated at the beginning of the year. The work will seem like a lot and it will be overwhelming, just get used to it. Don't start freaking out because you will then freak out all the time. Take everything as it comes and work ahead when you can. But most importantly have fun, it's your senior year. So have fun with your homework and have fun discussions. Megan and I would often make fun of characters and have fun with your papers. Be creative Mrs. Messineo loves it when you are creative. Focus on your ideas and your writing will follow. Read and do your questions at the same time, it saves time and helps you write the paper. Try to read as much as you can at time, it is easy to get it out of the way at the beginning of week. Try to read on Sunday it is very relaxing thing to do over the weekend and you can often read for a long period of time. I would say to not wait until the last minute to write your weekly papers but it happens so just push through it. However do not wait until the last minute to write your literary specialist paper and short story, it is not fun, trust me. Read your literary specialist books for about a half hour every night before bed when you have time after Christmas break. This way you will have plenty of books read for your paper. Joke around during class and don't take anything to seriously, otherwise it's just another class. We had a lot of fun because we made it fun, I loved going to class everyday and was excited to talk about the novels that we were reading.
Advice to future AP English Lit students:
ReplyDeleteRead all of the novels. Avoid spark-notes at all costs. This really pays off when it comes to the last essay question on the AP exam.
Do all of the blogs. They are easy points that boost your grade.
When learning about poems, pay special attention to poetic devices. You will need to know these for the AP exam.
Try to enjoy a novel, even if it is not your favorite.
Take the AP exam. Yes, it is $90, but you could easily earn credits that are more expensive than that.
Do not cram your reading or procrastinate large assignments, this becomes daunting after a few times.
Sunday evening is a great time to just sit back, relax, and read.
Mark Twain is your friend.
Good luck to all of the AP English Lit students next year!
Rachel,
DeleteI think you forgot one very important piece of advice. I forgot it too. Shakespeare is not nearly is awful as you think. Hahaha you know how I like Shakespeare. Good job, Rachel. We made it!
Tip number 8 for me: Shakespeare sucks, so don't even bother reading it. Instead, read the right side.
DeleteIn my eyes those are some of the most inspiring words ever. No just kidding he's alright. Too bad someone forgot to put that in her blog (Rachel you slacker). Anyways good job. I could agree with all of those because at some point throughout the year I did the exact opposite of everyone of those points.
Rachel,
DeleteI agree with your points that you made. I think that the blogs are something that are essential to boot your grade. I think that your other points also were very good. Nice job
So what would I tell the AP Literature kids for next year. I guess I would impart a few great pieces of wisdom to the kids that are gonna be in my shoes next year. I mean I don't know if
ReplyDeleteI have a whole lot of good advice or anything, but here it goes anyway.
The first major piece of advice that I would give to them would be to manage their time well. It seems like such a simple thing, but I don't think they realize how important it really is. I have had some really demanding teachers in the past. Like more demanding than you may realize. In this class, however, you have a teacher who is more than willing to work with you. If you are anything like me though, you find that you still don't do stuff until the night before its due. Don't be like that. Get it done early, it saves you the stress and the hassle. Use your time well!
The second piece of advice is dig deep. This one has two parts, so here is part one. It's senior year, and trust me, I know all about senioritis. I had a severe case of it, but you have to keep going. The three words that I said the most were "I'm so done." It is really easy to just quit, give up, and call it a year. Don't. You get just as much homework either way, and you might as well do it. The second part to this comes to your reading. When you read a book in this class, you might get lost. I most certainly did. I would have no idea what to think. This is a classic dig deep moment. If you dig deep while your thinking about a book, believe it or not, the meaning will eventually come to you. Be patient, if you think hard enough about it you will get it.
The last and most importance piece of advice, however, is JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT. Don't take everything literally. Stick to your guns even if somebody else thinks differently than you do. We had such a fortunate opportunity to have six people in a class and we were all friends when we walked into that room. There was literally no awkward situations between any of us. There was such a good environment between all of us. Every time we had a project, there was some kind of craziness. It was beautiful. You have to be able to laugh often to be in a class like this. It's only as serious as you make it, so make it a good time. Have fun with everything you do, and you will know that you are doing it right.
Good luck to the AP kids next year. You may hate it while its happening, but it is also one of the greatest classes you will take.
Megan,
DeleteI liked the number two point. Heck, to be honest I don't even know why I'm writing this. But I might as well keep going and make a dumb joke about a sea and a bagel or something. And having fun with it, yeahhh.... I hope they don't read anything I wrote down right now...
Megan,
DeleteAwe. Your blog made me happy. This has been such a great class with great people. We had a great time...I think that is what you best imparted on the juniors. They need to realize they have to enjoy it while they can. We never could have had that much fun answering " A Midsummer Night's Dream" questions in college.
Ok. After an intense year of AP Lit, here's my survival guide.
ReplyDeleteProcrastinating is bad in the long run. I did it a few times but you will get the most out of the class if you just grind it out during the year.
The whole point of this class is to pass the AP exam, so pay special attention to things that will go on the test. Pay special attention to literary elements and the whole poem section, because I got the most out of that part.
Go hard on the MWDS's. After every book you read make one, because there is a big chance that you will be able to use one on the AP exam. Luckily I went hard on Tale Of Two Cities and it was on the exam. Have a few books up your sleeve to use for the exam. Literally, it's worth the risk if you don't know anything... Just kidding. Struble will catch you.
Don't procrastinate on the big assignments. Even though I wrote a book in a week, and it got the job done, I was kind of lucky. But the literary specialist in the middle of the year, go hard on that.
Don't listen to anything I said in this blog. Read everyone else's because you will get a terrible impression of what kind of student I was, even though I barely did any of these (especially number three). Sure I red sparknotes when I was behind, but my papers sucked those weeks. When you read the books it's a lot better for you.
Blogs are easy points. I blew off two easy ones because I had stuff to do, but they come back to haunt you.
Have fun and don't contemplate going into depression just because you have a couple assignments due the next day. "You can do it!" - Rob Schneider
Matt Bobby,
DeleteI, as always, enjoyed your blog. It was very funny and I was laughing at my computer while reading it. Anyways I agree with your advice. I think the MWDS were very important. Also, I think avoiding procrastination is essential. Nice job
Matt,
DeleteI am also going to miss your blogs. And your bromance with Kraus. The MWDS was good to hit one. I slacked so hard on those because I really didn't see the point until it was too late. Good advice. Nice job, Matt :) as always, you made me laugh.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe that I am writing my final blog of my high school career. Looking back on all of the past year of English there are many lessons that I learned that I can pass along.
ReplyDeleteThe main lesson I learned in AP English is to never procrastinate. This is something that holds true in all classes, but must be followed in this class. The main reason for this is because there are many different assignments due at different times. It is easy to think you will have plenty of time, and then you will have the assignment due before you know it. This was especially true with the literary specialist project. There was over 2 months for me to work on it, but I procrastinated for a few weeks which caused me to have a lot of work all at once.
The other piece of advice I have is to enjoy the class. It seems difficult to enjoy a class, but if you come to class with an optimistic attitude you would be surprised. The workload can be overwhelming, but it is good practice for college when all classes are like it.
One tip that had been mentioned before is to do the blogs. Although it may seem like overkill they are easy points and allow an informal discussion of a variety of topics. They can be strenuous when you have a lot of homework, but they will payoff in the long run.
Kraus,
DeleteI can't believe it either. I never thought that we would make it this far! I think that your second piece of advice is the best. The class seemed to drag on at times, but in the end we all had fun. It's been a good run, Kraus. Nice job!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOkay, kids, advice time. 10 pieces of AP Lit advice.
ReplyDeletetake the class. I know AP Lang makes you want to quit because everyone hates rhetoric and nonfiction can suck sometimes but AP Lit is so fun and sooo beneficial. AP Lit takes you back to what you remember English being, ya know, books and discussion and interpretive values instead of facts, and right and wrong answers. Take the class, I don't think you'll regret it.
Take the AP test. I'm getting out of stuff in college because I took the tests and did well, and as I calculate the amount of debt I'm going to be in after college, the quicker I can get out the better. That's everyone's situation so, do something to lessen it for yourself.
Read the books. It opens so many doors for both doing well in the class and just expanding your mind. The books you read in this class are important. They are relevant today for a reason even if they speak so weirdly you have to read it three times. They are beautiful and wonderful, but only if you choose to look at them that way which takes me to...
Be open to the reading. Don't hate it before you start because these stories are going to surprise you. After this class I now have a very earnest and personal interest in broadening my reading of the classics. I like the way they make me think, I think you will to. But give the poor book a chance. The relationship between the reader and the author is two-fold. Your role is important to making the story what it is so...play it well.
Don't procrastinate. There is too much reading for that.
Somewhere in the middle of the year you're going to start hating your life because you have to read Crime and Punishment. It's winter, and dark, and almost Christmas and you won't want to do it because it is so hard. But read the book because it's pretty much genius and can be applied to almost every single third AP Prompt question in the history of ever. Plus, I was never more proud of myself for finishing a book then when I finished that one. (Well, I was pretty proud of getting through Endurance to...but whatever.)
Fully engage yourself when writing the papers. Writing papers every week gets tiresome. By the end of the year all you're going to want to do is read the book without thinking about it, however, the papers really do force you to look at the book in a way that is so much deeper then you probably could manage on your own. Don't get lazy. Try to use the paper to improve your vocabulary, critical thinking, whatever! Be present in your work.
Learn to be convincing. It really doesn't matter if you know what that sonnet means or not when it comes to the first essay question, so formulate your own opinion on it and role with it, but be convincing. The Lordship AP Council People are not there to put you in a box. They will let you convince them if you do it well. Don't be afraid of being "wrong."
Don't ignore the second essay question. For some reason I thought it wasn't going to be hard and it is so...actually pay attention and prepare yourself for it. Characterization is a fickle business.
Grow. Use this class to grow. Literature is so important and this class celebrates it. Celebrate with it, you'll develop your mind in ways you'd never expect.
Enjoy your senior year, guys. It flies.
Okay some advice.......where to begin?? First don't be intimidated at the beginning of the year. The work will seem like a lot and it will be overwhelming, just get used to it. Don't start freaking out because you will then freak out all the time. Take everything as it comes and work ahead when you can. But most importantly have fun, it's your senior year. So have fun with your homework and have fun discussions. Megan and I would often make fun of characters and have fun with your papers. Be creative Mrs. Messineo loves it when you are creative. Focus on your ideas and your writing will follow.
ReplyDeleteRead and do your questions at the same time, it saves time and helps you write the paper. Try to read as much as you can at time, it is easy to get it out of the way at the beginning of week. Try to read on Sunday it is very relaxing thing to do over the weekend and you can often read for a long period of time. I would say to not wait until the last minute to write your weekly papers but it happens so just push through it.
However do not wait until the last minute to write your literary specialist paper and short story, it is not fun, trust me. Read your literary specialist books for about a half hour every night before bed when you have time after Christmas break. This way you will have plenty of books read for your paper.
Joke around during class and don't take anything to seriously, otherwise it's just another class. We had a lot of fun because we made it fun, I loved going to class everyday and was excited to talk about the novels that we were reading.