Literature

Honors Literature and Writing 4

Twelfth grade

1.00 high school credit

Core curriculum

to see where this is scheduled in your curriculum.

Description

This course has two major components: writing skills and literature.

Writing skills are taught using guide books that focus on three topics: 1) clear and concise writing style, 2) how to write academic research papers and 3) persuasive writing for academic and professional settings.

The remainder of the course consists of reading unabridged Great Books in their entirety. Instead of dividing books into American, British and world literature courses, we progress through the great books chronologically over the four years of high school. We feel this approach better facilitates appreciation of the progression of literature over time, and eliminating nationality restrictions allows for inclusion of more relevant books.

This course continues where last year left off, in the 1960s, and continues up to the present day. We start with the classic American novel To Kill A Mockingbird, then move on to selections from Latin America and India. The remainder of the year is spent on science fiction and contemporary classics like The Joy Luck Club, The Alchemist and The Kite Runner.

Most months contain both core and optional readings. All students should try to complete the core readings, and those looking for additional challenge may take on the optional readings as time allows.

It is not necessary to read the literary essays included in many editions of these works. Instead, we suggest that you prepare to read each book by reading one or two online reviews from publications like The New Yorker, and browsing discussions of the work on Quora.

You do not have to produce book reports, answer discussion questions or write essays on the books. Instead, we ask you to set aside plenty of time to experience and enjoy the works for their own sake, as we hope you will continue to do with great literature throughout your life.