Seniors in AP English 4 presented their thesis projects this past week to a panel of judges. Seniors have worked on their thesis since the first semester and finally were happy to showcase what they’ve been working on.

“Senior thesis is a huge part of the AP English 4 curriculum,” AP English 4 teacher Mrs. Quick said. “It is a long process and I’m so proud of my students for sticking to it and they all did very well on their presentations.”

The production of the thesis proved to be a long process. The project started with students having to choose and read two novels over the summer. After reading the books, students brainstormed connections between the two novels in preparation for a  research paper.

“Reading the books was my favorite part,” senior Paige Welch said. “I really enjoyed reading my books which were Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I loved reading the books because I got to explore different authors writing styles.”

Once school started seniors in AP English began to write their thesis papers about their two novels, and about the theme that connected them both and other connections that the students found in their books.

“Finding the connection and theme between the novels was tricky,” senior Nikita Batra said. “Having to know that all the seniors would be having to write a paper on the connection between the two novels was stressful!”

Seniors spent the entire first semester preparing and writing their senior thesis paper. After winter break, students started to put together a presentation about their books and theme preparing to showcase what they learned and how they connected their two novels.

“It was a tedious process,” senior Max Bernhardt said. “Having to find sources and make connections and write a long paper took a very long time but I’m excited now to present what I have learned to judges.”

Students presented one by one to a panel of judges consisting of teachers, coaches and administrators. Judges then graded each student’s presentation on the students understanding of the theme, connection of their theme to the real world today, their personal reflection on their novels, speaking skills and their visual slide.

“It was really stressful,” senior Dana Brannon said. “You spend half the year preparing for this and presenting in front of judges was nerve-racking but it was cool how everyone got to showcase what they learned from their own books which hopefully the judges liked.”

Now that seniors are done with the stress senior thesis, they will spend the rest of the year gearing up for the AP English 4 exam.

“We are finally done with senior thesis,” Mrs. Quick said. “I’m extremely impressed with all my students. They made such great connections this year and took senior thesis to a new level and I’m so proud of them.”