"Top 5" Tip #1: Read, Read, Read, Read, Read. Read for Speed. Read for Vocab. Read for Fun. READ.
Across the board, reading is possibly the most important thing that a potential AP Language and Composition student can do. Reading stimulates the brain, makes one thinks, and encourages true learning. Reading will enlarge one's vocabulary and open a world of possibilities and opportunities to those who are willing to open to the first page. Reading can be not only informative, but pleasurable and relaxing. As a successful student of literature and academia, my favorite free time activity is settling down with a good book to enjoy the great adventures and deep philosophy that a myriad of books can provide. Developing a love of reading before taking on the challenge of AP Lang will make the extensive essay and book reading not only doable, but enjoyable and fulfilling. Although not all reading one has to do in life will be adventurous and exciting, better reading habits will help one easily move through those texts and delve into those that contain true pearls of wisdom.
This year, we AP Lang students have read a plethora of scholarly articles from Transcendentalists, historians, and eye witnesses to major events. The serene words of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson inspired us to connect with nature. William Bradford extolled the virtues of the early pilgrims while we imagined the whale-filled seas that Herman Melville created with his delightful descriptions. We have heard from an escaped slave in Frederick Douglass, The Life of an American Slave, and learned of the extent to which many will go to obtain their freedom. The firm and unyielding words of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence gave us strength and become a model upon which to base our arguments and our rhetoric. In short, our minds have been enlightened and our souls been strengthened by the excellent reading upon which we have learned to depend.
Additionally, many sites, articles, scholarly references, and scientific studies support the almost endless value of becoming an avid reader. Below are a handful of these that may help to convince you of the imperative nature of reading.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/weekinreview/25rich.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.norwoodschool.org/welcome/student_life/libraries/middle_school_library_home/the_importance_of_reading/index.aspx
Across the board, reading is possibly the most important thing that a potential AP Language and Composition student can do. Reading stimulates the brain, makes one thinks, and encourages true learning. Reading will enlarge one's vocabulary and open a world of possibilities and opportunities to those who are willing to open to the first page. Reading can be not only informative, but pleasurable and relaxing. As a successful student of literature and academia, my favorite free time activity is settling down with a good book to enjoy the great adventures and deep philosophy that a myriad of books can provide. Developing a love of reading before taking on the challenge of AP Lang will make the extensive essay and book reading not only doable, but enjoyable and fulfilling. Although not all reading one has to do in life will be adventurous and exciting, better reading habits will help one easily move through those texts and delve into those that contain true pearls of wisdom.
This year, we AP Lang students have read a plethora of scholarly articles from Transcendentalists, historians, and eye witnesses to major events. The serene words of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson inspired us to connect with nature. William Bradford extolled the virtues of the early pilgrims while we imagined the whale-filled seas that Herman Melville created with his delightful descriptions. We have heard from an escaped slave in Frederick Douglass, The Life of an American Slave, and learned of the extent to which many will go to obtain their freedom. The firm and unyielding words of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence gave us strength and become a model upon which to base our arguments and our rhetoric. In short, our minds have been enlightened and our souls been strengthened by the excellent reading upon which we have learned to depend.
Additionally, many sites, articles, scholarly references, and scientific studies support the almost endless value of becoming an avid reader. Below are a handful of these that may help to convince you of the imperative nature of reading.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/weekinreview/25rich.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.norwoodschool.org/welcome/student_life/libraries/middle_school_library_home/the_importance_of_reading/index.aspx
