ENGLISH LITERATURE/COMPOSITION 121Y HONORS

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an accelerated college-prep class designed for the student who has a serious interest in interpreting literature. Written critical analysis of literature is a major component of this course. Students will study selected British writers and works from the Anglo-Saxon Age through the modern period. Grammar, vocabulary, reading, speaking, listening, and research will also be included in this semester’s work.

I. WRITING

A.. Essay structure (minimum of 5)

1. Thesis statement
2. Introductory paragraph
3. Paragraph development
4. Transitional devices
5. Conclusion

B. Composition activities

1. Persuasion
2. Exposition

a. Classification
b. Comparison/contrast
c. Cause/effect

3. Literary analysis
4. Creative/expressive writing
5. Impromptu writing
6. Impromptu/timed writings

C. Revision techniques

II. READING/LITERATURE

A. The Anglo-Saxon Age

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including Beowulf
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Structure of the essay
b. Usage and style
c. Literary analysis
d. Internal documentation
e. Types (minimum of two)

i.   Persuasion
ii.  Definition
iii. Literary analysis
iv. Cause/effect
v.  Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

B. The Medieval Age

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including The Canterbury Tales
3. Suggested composition activities (minimum of two)

a. Revision techniques
b. Types

i.   Literary types
ii.  Comparison/contrast
iii. Classification
iv. Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

C. The Renaissance

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections

a. Shakespearean drama
b. Elizabethan sonnets
c. The King James Bible

3. Suggested composition activities

a. Revision techniques/application
b. Types

i.   Literary analysis
ii.  Creative/expressive
iii. Impromptu/timed writings
iv. Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

D. The Seventeenth Century

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including the metaphysical and cavalier poets, John Milton and John Bunyan
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Structure of the essay
b. Usage and style
c. Literary analysis
d. Internal documentation
e. Types

i.   Literary analysis
ii.  Comparison/contrast
iii. Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

E. The Restoration and the eighteenth century

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including mock epic and satire, fiction, and nonfiction
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Revision techniques
b. Types

i.   Argumentation/persuasion
ii.  Cause/effect
iii. Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

F. The Romantic Age

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including First and Second generation poets and a prose selection
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Revision techniques
b. Literary analysis
c. Types

i.   Classification
ii.  Comparison/contrast
iii. Creative/expressive

4. Literary terms

G. The Victorian Age

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including the dramatic monologue and other Victorian poetry, prose selections, and an excerpt from a Victorian novel
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Revision techniques
b. Types

i.   Cause/effect
ii.  Opinion
iii. Creative/expressive
iv.  Impromptu/timed writings

4. Literary terms

H. The modern period

1. Background
2. Representative literary selections including prose, poetry, and drama
3. Suggested composition activities

a. Comparison/contrast
b. Creative/expressive
c. Definition
d. Impromptu/timed writings

4. Literary terms

I. Parallel reading

J. Reading strategies

1. SAT format
2. Critical reading

III. USAGE/GRAMMAR

A. Usage and style
B. Sentence structure
C. Mechanics

IV. LANGUAGE/VOCABULARY

A. Defining words from literary selections
B. Expanding vocabulary through word-building skills
C. Completing units from vocabulary text
D. Utilizing extensive vocabulary in writing assignments
E. SAT format

V. RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGY

A. Development of the research paper

1. Choosing and limiting a subject
2. Developing a working bibliography
3. Taking notes
4. Outlining
5. Documenting sources
6. Writing first and final drafts including the works cited page

B. Technology

1. Word processing activities
2. On-line search
3. Documenting sources
4. Writing first and final drafts including the works cited page

VI. SPEAKING/LISTENING

A. Oral presentations
B. Class discussions
C. Group discussions/presentations
D. Note-taking
 

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