CLASS REVIEW!

Alright, so the school year is almost over so it's time to review the class!

What I found most helpful about this class in terms of preparation for the AP test (after all, it IS an AP class) were the class discussions. Oftentimes (cough cough during the Puritan packet cough cough) I didn't really understand what the writers we had to read were saying, so it really helped me to gain perspective both through classmates' and Mr. Lazarow's input.

It seemed to me that we were very prepared for the AP test, especially for the rhetorical analysis essay (they posted the essays online by the way). By having timed essays throughout the year, I gained a sense of time so I knew how to start, develop, and wrap up my ideas for an essay. However, I didn't often find myself using the Toulmin model, even though I know that this strategy would have benefited me and that by avoiding it I hurt myself in various parts of the research paper construction. My one criticism, then, would probably be to introduce the Toulmin model earlier in the year. I felt that having semantics at the beginning was appropriate and necessary, but maybe having the Toulmin model follow would be more helpful in helping students to retain the structure Toulmin created. What do you guys think? Am I the only one who didn't use the TM as much as we were supposed to?

On a side note, I would suggest having lots of pictures in the literary packets for...umm...educational purposes?