English

E111 Foundations in Language and Literature - Honors  

This course is an accelerated version of E112.
(Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required.)  

E112 Foundations in Language and Literature 

Foundations in Language and Literature has four goals: to instill the basics of grammar and rhetoric; to teach students how to approach the study of short fiction, poetry, drama and longer fiction through annotation and reader response; to expose students to one longer work of fiction per trimester; and to present word skills for vocabulary building.  

E113 Foundations in Language and Literature 

Similar in structure and content to English 112, this course provides English language learners additional reinforcement in the basic skills of English, including grammar, organization of essays, spelling, and vocabulary. Daily activities foster conversational English and center around life at Salisbury, especially community experiences such as chapel and school meetings.  

E221 The Writer’s Journey – Honors  

 In the honors level English II course, the instructor augments the English 222 syllabus with works appropriate to this level of critical reading, thinking, and writing.  (Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required.)  

E222 The Writer’s Journey   

 The Writer’s Journey will focus on the building blocks of reading and writing for all boys of the Fourth Form. Students will read and respond to short nonfiction readings in order to reach the following course goals: to understand and to imitate how writers operate within various rhetorical modes; to learn and apply the grammatical, syntactical, and stylistic rules of standard written English; to write a cogent précis of a short nonfiction essay; to successfully analyze one longer work of literary fiction per trimester; and to incorporate supporting evidence into a student’s own writing. Students will also study classic and contemporary works of fiction to build and develop critical reading skills.  

E331A Advanced Placement English Language & Composition  

This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition through the study of non-fiction in American literature. The reading list in AP English Language is drawn from a body of non-fiction that dates back to Colonial times and includes such genres as sermons, journals, slave narratives, autobiography, speeches, political documents, and journalism. Students continue to develop reading comprehension and writing skills, while preparing for the AP Exam, which requires their analyzing non-fiction passages in terms of such stylistic elements as diction, syntax, tone, rhetorical techniques, and figurative language.  (Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required, as is additional summer reading.) 

E331H Modes of Written Expression – Honors 

In the honors level English III course, the instructor augments the English 332 syllabus with works appropriate to this level of critical reading, thinking, and writing.  (Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required.) 

E332 Modes of Written Expression   

Modes of Written Expression is a yearlong course that explores various themes and genres within American literature. Student writing in the course revolves around personal, persuasive, and expository essays. While the focus of each trimester will vary according to the instructor, all sections will investigate rhetorical devices, subtext, and context. Students will be asked to consider the author’s audience while integrating evidence into their own writing. During this year, students will refine analytical and discussion skills by questioning and presenting to their peers. In addition to working towards mastery of grammatical rules, students develop voice in their writing as they learn more about how a text’s purpose informs its design. 

E441A Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition  

This yearlong course will prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Test in English Literature and Composition. It is a course for students with a serious interest in reading, thinking, talking, and writing about some of the English-speaking world’s greatest literature. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, our principal text, will provide most of the material for a selective survey of literature in English from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to contemporary writers such as Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, Nadine Gordimer, and J.M. Coetzee. Shakespeare will be an important focus in the course. In addition to Hamlet, students will study closely a selection of Shakespearean sonnets. In recent years, the AP class has also read Henry IV: Part One. Other key texts will include Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, James Joyce’s Dubliners, Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, and Martin Amis’s The Rachel Papers. In addition to the summer reading required of all sixth formers, students preparing for AP English Literature also read Leon Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall. Projects assigned throughout the year give students a high degree of responsibility to make presentations and lead discussions. Some of these projects engage students with critical resources about a particular writer or work, which material is then incorporated in both presentations and essays. Students will also practice writing essays following the AP format and rubric as well as becoming familiar with the multiple-choice component of the test. Whether or not a student continues to explore literature in college, he will develop skills in this course that will serve him well in a variety of disciplines throughout the humanities. (Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required, as is additional summer reading.) 

English 441H English IV Honors: A Survey of English Literature

English IV Honors is an intensive (but not comprehensive) survey of British literature. The curriculum spans from the 14th to 19th centuries, with a few anachronistic but thematically relevant detours. Students will study many of the canonical works of the English language in order to develop an understanding of the social, political, and literary evolution of British society. During the spring trimester, the course’s scope will shift to American expat literature, specifically the writing of Ernest Hemingway. As an honors course, this class will move a brisk pace. Students should expect a rigorous workload in terms of nightly reading assignments. Furthermore, students will write frequently in order to demonstrate their grasp of the material and develop their composition skills.  (Permission of the English Department Chair and the Director of Studies is required.) 

Honors English   

GRADE: Eligible applicants must have a B+ or higher in Honors English or AP English Composition or an A- or higher in a regular English section through the winter trimester.  

RECOMMENDATION: In consultation with the Honors teachers, the applicant’s current teacher will make a recommendation based on the applicant’s performance, ability, work ethic, and in-class behavior.  

Opportunity to supersede initial placement: If a student does not meet the grade requirement but has demonstrated a strong work ethic and genuine desire to study English at a more rigorous level, he can sit for a 40-minute placement test that will be administered at the start of the spring trimester. This test will be evaluated by the appropriate Honors teacher who will consult with the applicant’s current teacher to make a final decision before the end of the spring trimester.   

GRADE: Eligible applicants must have an A- or higher in Honors English or AP English Composition or an A or higher in a regular English section through the winter trimester.  

FORMAL APPLICATION: To be considered for an AP English course, a student must write a formal application letter indicating to the appropriate teacher his interest in being considered. In this letter, the applicant will share something about his experiences with literature that will help the teacher gauge both the applicant’s readiness to meet the challenges of the course and the contributions the applicant is likely to make toward the effective growth of the group. The applicant will submit the letter to the appropriate AP English teacher upon returning from mid-winter break.  

RECOMMENDATION: In consultation with the AP English teachers, the applicant’s current teacher will make a recommendation based on the applicant’s performance, ability, work ethic, and in-class behavior. 

WRITING SAMPLE: In consultation with his current teacher, the applicant will choose a writing sample to revise and submit to the appropriate AP English teacher for consideration upon returning from spring vacation. 

MINI-AP EXAM: Applicants are required to sit for a 55-minute exam. This exam will replicate the AP English Language and AP English Literature exams by presenting students with one passage for multiple-choice responses (15 min.) and one passage for written analysis (40 min.). These exams will be evaluated by the AP teachers. This exam will be administered at the start of the spring trimester, conditional on the completion and evaluation of the formal application, the recommendation, and the writing sample (as described above).