Word on the street is that Mrs. Browning’s AP Literature and Composition is one of the hardest, if not the hardest AP class at school. Students are convinced it ruins 4.0 GPA’s and upperclassmen are constantly warning Benson’s AP Lang students to stay away.

While seemingly daunting, Browning sets up the class like how a college course operates to prepare her seniors for their future. The workload goes in waves, some weeks with multiple quizzes and lit terms (about one page in length) due, and other weeks consisting solely of reading in class with no homework.

“I really enjoy the class I think it’s a really valuable class to take because it has expanded my ability to think critically about what I’m reading and understanding exactly what I’m learning, and also why I’m learning it,” Diego Cumplido said.

The class reads multiple plays and novels including Hamlet, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Invisible Man. The bigger pieces of literature that are read in the class not only help students learn about social issues, but they help in prepare students for the final essay of the AP test.

I have been surprised by the difficulty in grading, it definitely is a lot more intense than I expected, but I think that’s a natural consequence of it being an advanced class, and being a class that the teacher expects students to take seriously. I’ve really appreciated that before going to college I have a teacher who is serious about the topic and making sure that students produce the best work they can,” Cumplido said.

Even though the grading is hard, all students are allowed rewrites on major essays if they score below a 90, and almost all tests and quizzes are curved.

“It was hard, but you learn to be better. It has helped prepare me for college and I recommend the class if you want to do well in college,” Jack McChesney said.