If a student were to take AP Seminar, it would sound a lot like “Do you have your IRR done? What about the TMP? Still working on the IWA? It’s time for your IMP!”

According to the College Board, AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills on topics of the student’s choosing. Its main focal point is to understand research and gather it all to create an argument or statement.

AP Seminar teacher Lori Dameron, Ed.D., said it not only has these skills, but it’s also about meeting deadlines and preparing for public speaking.

With AP Seminar being such a fast-paced course, it’s easy to fall behind on assignments. In the pacing guide, students are assigned to turn in one or more assignment a week due on Sundays in the second semester. Dameron said these mini-deadlines help students pace the work.

Senior Ivy Byers said, “It’s not like they ask a lot of you, so as long as you just get it done on the Sunday, your life is going to be so much easier.”

However, other students said those assignments consist of large amounts of work and information. Students need to plan how to stay on track.

“What really motivates me is I know that we are going to start something new the next week, and I don’t want to cause myself to get behind on that and lose track. I feel like I wouldn’t get as much knowledge from the teacher if I was behind,” senior Carley Freeman said.

According to some AP Seminar students, AP Seminar is one of the most difficult classes to take at Oak Park. However, they have also said it is one of the most useful classes to take to prepare a student for the future.

“It will definitely prepare me for college,” said junior Martina Guerra. “With the note taking, the research, it is a college class. And it’s going to benefit me in a lot of ways.”