<p>take it! AP Eng Lit is a great class. However, there is a pretty large time commitment due to all the reading. At the same time, I would discourage self study because you have to make sure to do a bunch of reading (helps out a ton for the essays, especially the question 3s). Also, a teacher would probably have more access to materials that would be useful for preparation. Finally, having a teacher grade practice essays is probably much more reliable than using a key from a practice AP book.</p>