The aim of this course is for students to explore and apply conventions of fiction and non-fiction writing, with an emphasis on writing coherent and focused prose with well-defined perspectives, tightly reasoned arguments, and an awareness of audience and purpose.

Students in this course will examine and produce writing according to the conventions of personal narratives, research papers, descriptive, persuasive, cause and effect, and argumentative essays. The majority of these pieces will be thematically linked to the literature studied in English Reading class.

Activities in class will be content-driven and the methods in which the content is studied will be wide-ranging from teacher-centered lecture-style classes, to group activities, to individual research and study activities.

Typically the content studied each term will be centered on English in use along with supplementary components of vocabulary building and grammar skill-building.

Assessment in this subject will consist of both formative and summative assessments. Students’ skills will be assessed each term through written essays, presentations, and participation in group discussions and activities.