AP Exam Experience

     If I had to pick one word to describe my AP English exam experience, it would be disappointment. I especially feel disappointed in myself for doing poorly on the essay section because looking back at it now, I had a lot of good points to talk about. Instead, I blanked and wrote about the first things that came to my mind. The multiple choice section was okay, although the passages were a bit bizarre. I feel like I did fairly well on the multiple choice section of the exam.
     To better prepare for the exam, I wish I had written more timed essays as practice, especially the third essay. I ran out of time and had to hurry though the third essay instead of organizing my thoughts.
     I definitely did well on the first essay, which I spent the most time writing. It was well organized and had good structure.
     My only complaint is that the author's purpose for the second essay wasn't clear. Was it to prepare the audience for the upcoming criticism or to criticize the press? It was unclear from the way that the prompt was worded. 

Descriptive essay: cat

     Sammy's head whips around to see me standing in the archway to the kitchen, hands on my hips. I've just caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing and she knows it, ears pulled back in a fighting stance and eyes blown wide, staring into my narrowed ones. The warm sunlight filtering in through the kitchen window pours over Sammy's fur, making it gleam with every inhale and exhale and I can see the mischief dancing in her eyes. I can tell she's not the least bit guilty for climbing on to table and swiping the fish from a plate that I had left unattended for mere minutes. The plastic wrap that had clung tightly to the sides of the dish are now splayed in different directions with bits of fish scattered over the top. Our staring contest continues and it's getting increasingly difficult not to laugh aloud, especially when Sammy slowly licks her lips, pink tongue darting out from one corner of her mouth to glide smoothly to the other end and disappear inside once again. Her shoulders have eased up a bit and her tail swings once, testing to see if I'm mad. She knows I'm not when I finally let out a laugh but jumps down from the table nonetheless once I take a step toward here and rapidly darts behind me into the living room. Once I crouch down in front of the couch to lecture her , she rolls onto her back, exposing her soft stomach to me. Sammy curls her head to the side and lets our a mewl, urging me to pet her. Cradling her head with both of my hands, I start massaging the soft tissue of the insides of her ears with my thumbs, at which she lets out a loud purr, like a car engine turning on but sounding more like a pigeon when the purrs die down as she gets sleepy. Sammy nuzzles her head into my palm right before she succumbs to sleep. Sneaky cat, she knows she won't get punished.

Religion Does Not Belong In School

Every morning throughout middle school, I stood up to face the United States flag and pledge my allegiance to it. Thousands of elementary and middle school students did the same. They diligently repeat the pledge every day, and each time believe the message more than the last. However, what might seem like a proud patriotic declaration engraves into children an idea which goes against the fundamentals upon which their country was founded. This idea in conveyed in the statement “in God we trust,” which has nothing to do with declaring one’s loyalty to their country. Instead, it introduces religion to schools, a place it doesn’t belong. It is so stated in the United States Constitution and must be viewed as such if equality and peace are to flourish.

            The first amendment of the United States Constitution mandates the separation of church and state, and because of this, public schools are not allowed to preach religion to students. Not imposing religion on students important because the United States is a diverse country where many different religions are practiced. If schools chose to include religion in their pupils’ curriculum, which one would they choose? The cannot make that decision because it is also stated in the first amendment that one religion cannot be favored over another and that no one religion can be declared as the official one that all people must follow. School is a place where students are supposed to grow and embrace their uniqueness so that they can each add something different to society. Forcing them to abide by the morals of a religion that is not their own will extinguish their self-confidence and sense of self, not to mention students who are atheists. It is immoral to push onto people a belief they don’t stand by; After all, the freedom of religion is one of the fundamental human rights in the United States.

Aside from being stripped of their rights, the students who do not preach the religion taught will be ostracized by their peers. Imagine being ridiculed, isolated and possibly facing verbal or physical abuse from the people who are supposed to be your friends, just for believing in something different from them. This rejection can lead to stress and hiding one’s true beliefs to fit in. Children who grow up thinking that their group of people are superior will turn into hateful adults and pass this ideology to their children. Hateful people would digress the country, and destroy all efforts of achieving equality made by people thus far.

The United States is a country where every person has the freedom of pursuit of happiness, life, and liberty. We are free to express our opinions and to disagree and to strive for change. Let’s look at what our founding fathers taught us, and see how we can use those lessons to better life for future generations. Religion in schools will shape provincial children. They will disparage anyone who does not think the same as them. We should instead teach them to be all-loving and to respect other people’s beliefs, including their religion before we end up in a dystopian nightmare.

David Sedaris, a writer from North Carolina, uses several rhetorical devices in his text "Me Talk Pretty One Day" in order to convey an important experience to his audience. In this text, Sedaris talks about taking a French class and not understanding anything the teacher is saying. He uses pathos by conveying a feeling of hurt when the teacher told Sedaris, "I hate you... I really, really hate you" (lines 120-122). This is a mortifying experience that anyone who went to school can relate to; being scolded, let alone told something so hurtful from someone one looks, like a teacher, up to can make one feel useless and embarrassed. Sedaris also remembers feeling anger at the teacher's unnecessary criticism (lines 101-102). Due to Sedaris' use of pathos, the reader is forced to relate to his feelings and will continue reading.

Sedaris also uses imagery to give as accurate of a description of his experiences and feeling as possible. In lines 3-7, Sedaris states, "I was issued a student ID, which allows me a discount entry fee at... amusement park that advertises with billboards picturing a cartoon stegosaurus sitting in a canoe eating what appears to be a ham sandwich". While this piece of information serves no overall meaning to to the text, it provides details which make the reader envision Sedaris' environment. This particular description of the billboard is also weirdly comical and lightens the mood of the otherwise sad text. Sedaris once again uses imagery in line 150-154 while giving an example of being "...engaged in the sort of conversation commonly overheard in refugee camps". This statement is very negative because of the image that goes along with it; readers imagine malnourished people in dirty tents, awaiting a better life. Sedaris goes on to describe the conversation,"sometimes me cry alone at night... Much work, and someday you talk pretty. People stop hate you soon". Upon imagining this conversation, the reader is heartbroken; these are people who can not communicate to anyone and therefor don't even have a friend to confide in. Sedaris employs imagery to give a detailed description of his feelings and experiences to the reader.

Sedaris brings up the issue of isolation of foreigners who can not speak the language of the country they are in. Being an immigrant myself, I can relate to Sedaris very well. I remember not understanding what was being said in class and instead of helping me, people would either ignore or laugh at me. Even the teachers didn't try to explain things to me. This kind of treatment made me discouraged and I felt like there wouldn't come a day when I could have a conversation with someone again. It is important for native speakers to help foreign student who are struggling with the language. Mastery of a language comes through practice and getting practice is impossible if people constantly shut you out.