2009-2010 Courses

English IV: Composition and Rhetoric

COURSE TITLE:                       English IV: Composition and Rhetoric
LEVEL:                                    12th Grade (Regular)
LENGTH/CREDITS:                  2 Trimesters and and 1.0 Credit
PREREQUISITES:                    Either the English III course or AP English Literature and Composition

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines prose writing (e.g., biographies and autobiographies, fiction, essays, journalism, social and political writing, science and nature writing) and poetry across a wide range of time periods and rhetorical contexts. Students develop writing for a variety of purposes, audiences, and rhetorical contexts. This course stresses the nuances of grammar and usage and the study of vocabulary and spelling, both for the purpose of improving the student's own reading and writing; continues to develop research techniques and citation methods; and expands several models of speaking, listening, and viewing. The student will research and write “The Senior Project Essay” and prepare the presentation for his/her Senior Project. In preparation for English IV: Composition and Rhetoric, over the summer all incoming students will read a work of literature, selected each year by the English Department; an assessment of the summer reading will be part of the first grading period.