Here, you will find class materials, resources, and assignments.
This class is divided into three broad sections. Throughout this course, you will develop the intellectual tools needed to analyze works of literature and understand the reasons behind the choices that authors make. You will also be introduced to basic logic, and practice forming arguments to express your ideas and opinions in a clear and constructive manner.
In this course, you will be exposed to language which you may find challenging. This is done purposefully, and is part of the learning process. Because of this, you will find a dictionary to be indispensable. You should use it dilligently and look up every piece of challenging diction you encounter. Frequent and proper use of a dictionary (especially a paper dictionary) will pay back the small amount of effort you spend many times over. If you haven't developed the habit yet, it is strongly recommended that you do so now.
A concordancer is another lexical tool which you might find very useful. Learning how to use a concordancer takes a bit of practice, but if you put in the effort, it will make academic writing much easier, and answer many of the questions and doubts that can make writing difficult for a second-language speaker. A useful guide to proper concordancer use can be found here.
There are three essential parts to the ELA Honors curriculum. Together, their purpose is to teach you to appreciate texts for their artistic merits, understand texts in their broader context, and bring your writing up to meet the high expectations of the world's best universities.
Being able to analyze works of fiction is an important skill that will enrich your life. Art, as a creation of man, is an important method of expression - especially when the message is abstract, or difficult to put into succinct words. Learning how to engage with texts on a deeper level will help you to access these messages.
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You're probably used to thinking of non-fiction texts as a convenient source of information. You may be familiar with methods of quickly identifying important details within a text, and have practiced extracting them, perhaps as direct quotations, to enrich your papers. However, accepting such information at face value might be a mistake. Even if the information is correct and written with the intention of being completely truthful, you would still miss important nuances and background information, parts necessary to understand the text as a whole. Learning how to analyze non-fiction texts is an important skill that you will draw on your entire life.
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Being able to express your opinions clearly is a valuable skill. All the more so, if you can express your opinion persuasively. But what makes one opinion more persuasive than another? People tend to accept a point of view which is close to their own much more readily than a point of view which differs greatly. In that case, perhaps we should speak of agreeable things to those who find them agreeable. Or, do you disagree?
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Q1 Assignments: TBD (To be determined)