After surviving the daunting AP exams, juniors and seniors have finally made it to the other side and are starting to get excited for the highly anticipated summer break. While most school stress has alleviated now that AP and most final exams are over, one subject lacks this end-of-year relief: English. 

Every year, students conclude their AP English courses with personal writing. While most students do attend college after high school, not all plan to take that path.  The question remains: should college essay writing be mandatory for everyone?

AP Language teacher Mrs. Krafchick views these pieces of writing as an opportunity to advance personal writing skills rather than just college essay practice. Considering that most of the year is centered around analyzing non-fiction and writing analysis essays, concluding the long and tedious year with a creative piece engages a different type of critical thinking. Krafchick shared that “telling stories is crucial wherever you go in life; we as teachers tend to approach the prompts as memoir writing.” 

For students, though, it may seem like the homestretch of junior year is solely about writing drafts for college essays. Charlotte Patnode (’26), a student who completed AP Literature as a junior, explained how the assignment felt very college focused. Patnode, who is attending Dartmouth College this fall, noted that she really enjoyed the help and the preparation it provided. “At the end of the year in Lit, I was walked through many stages of the process and I am so grateful for the help!”

The assignment, it appears, lands differently depending on where a student is headed. For students not going to college, end-of-year college prep can feel like a useless task. Still, being able to write narrative pieces is a key skill for everyone. 

As Mrs. Krafchick put it, memoir writing is relevant to all students as there is “little opportunity in class to exercise this skill.” While college application prompts are often used as the basis for this writing, their value extends well beyond any application. Regardless of where students go after graduation, practicing personal essay writing is a skill that follows them there.