Synthesis of Course Material Part 4

For the final section of the course, which will most likely be in continuation through the end of the course, is applying our various novel and poetry readings to the open and closed prompt on the AP exam. For myself, I saw a very distinct style of teaching from Ms. Holmes, where she gave us an open or closed prompt and caught us by surprise to see how well we would be able to tackle it with the skills that we already possess. Then, going over the closed prompt as a class and having a chance to gain the ideas that others had regarding their impression of the prompt further strengthened our conjunct understanding.

            The discussion session was the most beneficial for me, where I was able to see what I had missed in my analysis and improve on my own technique for understanding the piece in a limited amount of time. Later in the course, by giving us the same prompt again after we became acquainted with the basic literary terms, helped smoothly transition the application of our knowledge to the closed prompt. Personally, I was able to better understand the prompt and apply my perception accordingly so as to form a coherent argument and effectively portray it for the reader of my essay. Over time, my essay writing skills certainly improved, with practice, experience, and peer review. I now feel more confident with regards to how to most efficiently approach a closed prompt or an open prompt.

            Even though I have divided the course into four sections here, I feel that the class is analogous to net, where everything we did and will do is interconnected and comes down to using what we know, applying it to the task at hand, and improving our approach for the future. Starting with the literary terms and allusions to preparing for the AP test, I am now able to see how it all coalesces under the common roof of literary application and realization of the various perspectives in the subject that lend to nuanced perception.