If I were to look back on my experience in AP Research, the thing I am most proud of would definitely be earning a score of 5 on the final AP exam. To be honest, when I saw that result, it felt as though all the struggles and effort along the way had finally paid off. At the beginning of the school year, I had just moved up to 11th grade with a score of 3 in AP Seminar, and I would have already been satisfied if I could achieve the same score in AP Research.
During the first semester, we had a different teacher. I think one of the main reasons for my eventual success was my choice of topic. At first, I planned to research something related to music. Specifically the pattern of genre of music tracks in rhythm games, but I gave up because it was difficult to construct strong arguments and find reliable sources. I struggled for a long time to settle on a topic and felt lost for direction. Eventually, I almost casually proposed the idea of “reducing congestion in the school cafeteria,” which came from my daily frustration of having to wait in long lines during lunch. (After the school later switched to a buffet system, the issue mostly disappeared, but when I chose this topic back in Fall 2024, it was still a serious problem with students crowding in front of the food counters.)
Mr. Phillips only taught me during the second semester, so most of my reflection focuses on that period. I know that some foundational work like topic selection and early data collection was guided by my previous teacher, but the second semester was also important to me. What helped me the most was that he didn’t just teach how to write a paper, but he also regularly shared past AP Research samples for us to study including scores of 5, 4, or 3. This was valuable because by the time I had nearly finished my paper, I began aiming for a higher score beyond what was covered in normal instruction. After reading those sample papers, I also read their official scoring comments provided by the College Board. The comments were quite formulaic which phrases like “this student successfully achieved A, B, and C…” Discovering that was like finding a new continent. Suddenly, I knew exactly what I needed to do next. I repeatedly read those scoring comments, then rechecked my paper to see whether I had met those standards. I repeated this process many times, and throughout April, I spent nearly all my time refining details slightly optimizing the research method. Since my paper was based on a clear mathematical foundation queueing theory, it didn’t require a huge number of references like many other studies. That allowed me to spend more time to improving the precision and quality of my writing.
I also deeply appreciated Mr. Phillips’s course structure, especially regarding the presentation preparation part. For someone like me who tends to procrastinate, his frequent progress checks during each class were truly lifesaving (to me). Without them, I probably would have finished everything at the very last minute, just like what happened in AP Seminar. Under his curriculum, I had plenty of time to prepare for my presentation and further polish my paper. I’m not sure how much the presentation weighted in the final score, but I’m certain that a well prepared presentation was also important.
I believe the best word to describe this entire experience is “Growth Mindset.” This class meant much more than just earning a 5 on the AP Research exam or receiving the Capstone Diploma. When I first entered Living Word Shanghai in 10th grade and took AP Seminar, I was completely new to academic research writing. I had no idea how to even start a paper. Now, my ability to write and conduct research has improved a lot. I wouldn’t say I’ve reached an advanced level yet, but the progress I’ve made is something I’m genuinely proud of.