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So you’ve had a relatively easy year in your Honors English and history classes. You want a challenge, something that will really test your abilities. Think you’re ready for AP?

Think again.

What few students realize is that the world of AP is completely different from Honors. After a few days in AP English, even the most diligent honors English students realize they’re not in Kansas anymore.

“The “leap” as we call it, between Honors and AP is much larger than the leap between regular and honors,” said Ms. Papa, who teaches 11th grade AP English Language & Composition. “In AP [English], you really have to think for yourself and apply it. Honors classes don’t call for such an independent intellectualism.”

So how can students prepare themselves? Aside from improving their writing skills, they can’t, said Papa. “It’s an art; it’s a talent. You can’t be tutored for a talent.”

Like singing or dancing, analyzing literature and rhetoric doesn’t come naturally for everyone, and often requires some preexisting skill. But what about the AP histories? While students can’t be taught to read between the lines, history is much more clear-cut in that it involves the memorization and analysis of facts. Why, then, do some students who did so well in Honors find themselves drowning in AP?

The answer lies in the essays. AP history and English classes place a major emphasis on writing—moreover a precise writing style that is rarely explained or taught in Honors and College prep classes. “The essays in AP histories follow very specific guidelines which are not covered in honors history classes. This causes us [students] to waste a lot of time learning to write these essays when we could be learning history,” said junior David Roach, who is taking both AP American History and AP European History. As a result, even if students know the facts, failure to present them in the accepted AP format results in lower grades and a reduced score on the AP exam.

Currently, there seems to be little preparation available that facilitates the transition from honors classes into AP. Ms. Milam maintains that the best way to become comfortable with the AP style of writing is to start taking advanced classes early. “With AP, it’s progressive,” said Milam, who teaches AP World, American, and European History. Students are expected to have already learned the writing style in AP Human Geography or AP World, an assumption which, according to Milam, makes it “very difficult for somebody to jump right into it [AP] junior or senior year.”

But what about AP English classes, which are only available to juniors and seniors? Junior Allison Konnors was recommended for AP English but dropped out after a couple weeks. “AP writing is nothing like Honors,” she said, “and because of this, I was failing the class, which killed my self-confidence. [AP teachers] expect us to know how to write AP style, which we are not taught in Honors.”

In an attempt to ameliorate this issue, the English department has begun to incorporate Vertical Teaming it its curriculum. “The premise…is that you build your curriculum under the assumption that all students are potential AP students,” said Ms. Hurtado from the English department. “[It’s] supposed to assure flow from one grade level to the next.” Hurtado maintained that the department’s emphasis this year has been develop students’ writing skills within each level in order to develop a solid foundation in proper essay writing. “Overall, we want to minimize the gap,” she said.

This “gap” between Honors and AP makes it extremely difficult for Honors students to move up in the academic hierarchy. Offering some kind of preparation to those who wish to take their learning to the next level is absolutely critical. AP essay writing basics should at least be touched upon in Honors classes, as few students Honors students are ever taught that the structure of an AP English essay differs dramatically from that of an AP history essay, let alone how to write a proper AP level thesis.

AP courses are meant to simulate courses students will encounter in college, and as a college preparatory school, AHS should equip all its students with the fundamentals necessary to successfully move up whether it be into an AP course junior or senior year, or into a college class after graduation.

To an Honors student, AP English should not symbolize a literary version of Dante’s Inferno, and AP history classes should be a means to acquire a more rigorous understanding of the past, not a sudden and overwhelming collision with a foreign writing style.

American Heritage urges its students to pursue knowledge at its highest levels, but how can students aspire to climb the academic ladder if the rungs are spaced so unfairly apart?