Page 19 - AP Course Offerings 2019-2020

LANGUAGE ARTS AP COURSE OFFERINGS

AP CAPSTONE/RESEARCH - 11TH GRADE

Description : AP Research is the second course in the AP Capstone program. By the end of the
year, students will produce a 5,000 word paper similar to a college thesis which incorporates
research methodology, ethical research practices, and data analysis. The paper will include the
following sections: Review of current research literature from academic journals, rationale for
pursuing research based on a gap in the literature, methodology employed to obtain data,
analysis and inference of data, discussion of how project filled the gap in the literature, and
implications for future research. Students are also required to give an oral presentation of their
project and orally defend their research process. There is not an AP exam. Rather, the paper is
75% of the AP research grade and the oral defense is 25% of the grade.

Skills for Success : Students must successfully complete and pass the AP Seminar exam. AP
Statistics is strongly suggested for the data analysis portion of the course but not required.

Academic Suitability : A student who is recommended for AP Capstone and passes the AP
Seminar exam will most likely be successful provided they are self motivated to meet deadlines.

Out of Class Commitments : Students are given many days during class to research and write;
however, it takes most students about 10-15 minutes to get started which only leaves about 40

minutes of class time. Most students need a 2-3 hour block of time to feel as though they
accomplished a goal. Therefore, most students do the bulk of their research and writing at
home. This class allows for more freedom than other AP classes; therefore, some students
unfortunately delay starting a large project until the night before the due date. Students who
are able to balance their schedule with this class will not find the time commitment stressful.

Summer Work : Students are to decide on the topic of research that they would like to pursue
for their year long project during the summer.

Contact : Sabrina Hancock - Sabrina_Hancock@gwinnett.k12.ga.us