You will have to work extremely hard on topics that seem menial and useless (which they are and they do not help at all on the AP exam). If you're good at English or took AP English 11 with Mrs. Ustare, you will notice a huge step down in the quality of the class, the experience of the teacher, and the usefulness of the material you learn. You will not be a better writer when you finish the class. Expect to be stressed and not know what the grading criteria are. If you get on Mrs. Duncklee's good side you will most likely be fine. However, be prepared to suffer if you aren't. The material you learn will seem easy and boring, but when it comes to grading, you will not expect how hard she grades. You will be better off preparing the AP exam by yourself with AP practice exams. I genuinely felt unprepared to take the AP exam. There was little emphasis on taking practice exams and preparing for what the class is actually meant for, and a huge emphasis put on useless worksheets and "tips" that don't help you unless you have memorized the format and numerous acronyms on the worksheets. The AP exam requires you to be quick and accurate, something that memorizing acronyms and worksheets don't allow and instead hinder your progress should you actually have wasted your time memorizing the "tools" they give you. In short, the class won't prepare you for the AP exam, which is exactly what it should prepare you for. You won't be a better writer because the majority of the writing you do is words on a worksheet, not actual writing. Should you take the class, find people to work with and you might do well.