Course Offerings: English

This course is the foundation for subsequent English courses and focuses primarily on the development of clear, concise writing and speaking. The course improves the students’ close reading skills to sharpen their precision of thinking, writing, and expression. Students focus on such qualities as word choice and literary devices as they seek to unearth the significance of literary passages. Since each assertion or claim that a student makes in writing must be supported by evidence from the text itself, students aim to integrate quotations smoothly and effectively in their critical observations. In the first semester, students work on writing individual paragraphs to build incrementally toward passage analyses, poetry explications, and longer essays written in the winter and spring terms. Some assignments afford students opportunities to practice critical thinking in creative exercises; such assignments include memorizing monologues or poems, acting out scenes from dramatic works, and writing personal essays that are linked to texts being read in class. Modeling various writing styles and modes allows students to begin fusing rather than isolating analytical and creative work as they seek their own voices. Students begin building their English Portfolio with essays that critically describe their learning process throughout the course; they will assess their own skills and knowledge as readers, writers, and students of grammar, and they will demonstrate through their portfolio work clear thinking and precise writing. The Portfolio also includes an oral component. This Portfolio will accompany them throughout their Taft English career. Texts studied in recent years include Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, A Gathering of Old Men, Great Expectations, Seagull Stories (an anthology) and Sound and Sense (also an anthology). Intensive study of vocabulary and grammar facilitates the students’ development of varied diction and sound writing. Effective class participation—both in informal discussion and more formal debates and presentations—is an essential requirement of the course.

Although similar to Lower Middle English in reading and writing objectives, the Honors Program offers greater challenges for a select group of particularly talented and dedicated Lower Middlers. With the standard course, EN130 shares the central goal of preparing students for future English courses by emphasizing the basics of clear writing, close reading, and critical thinking. However, the pace and level of sophistication of classroom participation, reading, and writing assignments are greater. The course is designed to provoke and inspire the most intellectually curious, disciplined, and creative English students. EN130 teaches writing as a deliberate process through which students learn to communicate clearly and purposefully as they find their own voices. Students increase their understanding of the structure and logic of expression through systematic study of grammar, and they learn vocabulary words in context from the literature, moving these words from passive to active vocabulary in discussions and writing. Class discussions challenge and stimulate students and encourage them to take risks. In addition, students prepare a number of oral presentations throughout the year; these may take the form of poetry recitations, dramatic monologues, or collaborative performance pieces. Readings throughout the year will include poetry, a Shakespeare play, short stories, and novels. Students are evaluated through a variety of assessments, including a portfolio of various writing pieces which they both select and reflect upon and which will accompany them into their Middle year. Admission to the course requires consent of the Department.

During the Middle year of English, students spend the first semester engaged in a substantial and systematic writing workshop that focuses on discovery and enhancement of the writer's voice. Students learn to express themselves clearly, purposefully, and creatively in both their speaking and writing. Students read, discuss, and analyze various models--essays, editorials, poetry, and short fiction by both classic and contemporary writers--and examine the choices a writer makes, the writer's purpose, and the resulting effects on the audience. Students consider the roles of emotion, logic, rhetoric, and authenticity as components of written expression, and experiment with narrative, descriptive, and expository forms. Students will create their own personal essays using the process of preparing drafts, peer editing, and revising their work. In the second semester, students turn to literary analysis, applying the writing skills gleaned during the first semester. Beginning with the study of lyrical and narrative poems, they develop their critical vocabulary and enhance their understanding of the forms of literary criticism, both in discussion and in writing, moving then to a Shakespearean play to exercise these skills in the context of a longer work. During the winter, students also engage in debates, recitations, and performances, both formal and informal. In the spring, students read a substantial novel, in recent years Jane Eyre, as well as shorter works as time permits. Writing assignments integrate the fall and winter work by challenging students to integrate their personal, reflective voice with the authority of criticism, and culminate with a longer critical essay on a topic of the student's devising; this developed, carefully supported, and well-argued essay facilitates the transition to Upper Middle English. At the end of the year students construct a portfolio that will demonstrate their growth as writers and thinkers as well as include substantial self-reflection. As in the Lower Middle year, the development of vocabulary in context, the study of grammar as a tool for effective written communication, and the discipline of both individual and group work are major components of the students' study throughout the year.

Although similar to Middle English in reading and writing objectives, the Honors Program offers a challenge to a select and limited number of particularly able and dedicated Middlers. This course introduces students to classic literary works from all genre and instructs students in the composition of personal essays and literary criticism. Given that these more able students have successfully begun the development of their personal voice in writing, the course turns to the use of that voice in a variety of contexts. Consequently, it differs somewhat from the regular course in pace, level of sophistication, and reading selections. Admission to the course requires the consent of the Department.

This course is designed for the Upper Middler whose writing skills need focused and intensive development. Through daily exercises, conferences with the instructor, and the study of models of writing, students will work systematically to improve their writing skills. The literature studied will parallel that of EN323/4, although the writing assignments will differ. The objective of the course is to help each student write clearly, concisely, and persuasively; to teach editing and revising techniques; to expand the student's vocabulary; and to enable the student to read carefully and critically. Evaluation is based on class participation, papers, tests, and an examination. Open to Upper Middlers who have been recommended by the Department.

This course is designed for the Upper Middler whose writing skills need focused and intensive development. Through daily exercises, conferences with the instructor, and the study of models of writing, students will work systematically to improve their writing skills. The literature studied will parallel that of EN323/4, although the writing assignments will differ. The objective of the course is to help each student write clearly, concisely, and persuasively; to teach editing and revising techniques; to expand the student's vocabulary; and to enable the student to read carefully and critically. Evaluation is based on class participation, papers, tests, and a final portfolio. Open to Upper Middlers who have been recommended by the Department.

This two-semester course seeks to develop critical thinking skills, making students better critics of the culture responsible for the complex, often contradictory and fragmented American identity. Students analyze and explicate literary passages and, subsequently, compose persuasive extended arguments in the form of critical essays and both formal and informal oral performances. Passage analyses in the first semester focus primarily on the influence of form and rhetoric on characterization, conflict, and theme. During the second semester, critical inquiry emphasizes and further develops students’ ability to move from a focused understanding of passages to a broader and deeper understanding of common thematic ideas in the literature. Consequently, the culminating writing portfolio synthesizes critical arguments about and personal experience with the literature. First, focusing on what being an American signifies, students explore their relationship to literature by tracing a thematic through-line they regard as personally significant. They then finish the portfolio with a reflection on their skills as an English student and perform a retrospective rhetorical analysis of their writing. Most of the readings—both classic and contemporary—are selected from 19th and 20th century American writers, representing a range of American experience; texts studied in recent years include The Scarlet Letter, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a selection of short stories, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, poetry by Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, and more contemporary poets, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun, The Laramie Project, Walden, essays by Emerson, and Beloved. Student writing—both critical and creative—emerges from textual themes and student interests. In a seminar format in class discussions, students begin the process of dialogue with inquiry, bolster assertions with textual evidence and sound reasoning, and draw conclusions. In addition to critical essays, students work through performance-based assessments in three parts: an analysis of a text (e.g. poem or scene); a dramatic performance; and a reflective self-assessment. While learning to read, write, think, and speak critically and communicate persuasively, students gain knowledge of essential grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills in the context of their work. The course is designed to continue the development of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes fostered in earlier English courses.

This two-semester course seeks to develop critical thinking skills, making students better critics of the culture responsible for the complex, often contradictory and fragmented American identity. Students analyze and explicate literary passages and, subsequently, compose persuasive extended arguments in the form of critical essays and both formal and informal oral performances. Passage analyses in the first semester focus primarily on the influence of form and rhetoric on characterization, conflict, and theme. These inquiries culminate in a personal essay in which students reflect on their performance—reading, writing, and participating—in English. During the second semester, critical inquiry emphasizes and further develops students’ ability to move from a focused understanding of passages to a broader and deeper understanding of common thematic resonances in the literature. Consequently, the culminating writing portfolio synthesizes critical arguments about and personal experience with the literature. Focusing on what being an American signifies, students explore their relationship to literature by tracing a thematic through-line they regard as personally significant. They, then, finish with a reflection on their skills as an English student and perform a retrospective rhetorical analysis of their writing. Most of the readings—both classic and contemporary—are selected from 19th and 20th century American writers, representing a range of American experience; texts studied in recent years include, The Scarlet Letter, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a selection of short stories, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, poetry by Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, and more contemporary poets, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun, Walden, essays by Emerson, and Beloved. As well as learning to focus and organize their interpretations into precise, well-structured, and persuasive arguments, students learn that writing and dialogue are ongoing and recursive processes. Student writing—both critical and creative—emerges from textual themes and student interests, providing a means of authentic inquiry. In a seminar format, while remaining conscious of their own subjectivity, students begin the process of dialogue with inquiry, bolster assertions with textual evidence and sound reasoning, and draw conclusions. In addition to critical essays, students work through performance-based assessments in three parts: an analysis of a text (e.g. poem or scene); a dramatic performance; and a reflective self-assessment. While learning to read, write, think, and speak critically and communicate persuasively, students gain knowledge of essential grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills in the context of their work. The course is designed to improve skills, knowledge, and attitudes fostered in earlier English courses.

This course is a workshop for students who need training in close reading, logical and critical thinking, and writing skills. The readings are used to increase respect for detail and inference, to inspire ideas, and to serve as models for student writing. The forms of composition range from personal narrative to exposition to analysis; students write almost daily, in or out of class, and the group edits much of their writing. The objective of this workshop is to unify the students in a group effort, guided by the instructor, toward self-confidence and marked improvement in reading and writing skills. Students must have the permission of the Department to take this course.

Experiments in Writing is a team-taught, intensive writing workshop for select students who are interested in writing about experience and exploring various genres and styles. Genres studied in the course include journalism, the personal essay, short fiction, poetry, and New Journalism. In addition to in-class writing and awareness exercises, students complete an average of three writing assignments per week. The writing exercises and assignments highlight the importance of concrete expression, evocative imagery, subtlety, editing, and rewriting. The course instructors act as coaches, editors, and constructive critics. In addition, student work is regularly critiqued by peers in class seminars and by teachers in individual conferences. Both professional and student models are used to illustrate various writing styles. In recent years, Experiments students have published literary magazines, writing portfolios, and newspapers. As in all senior electives in the spring semester, one significant assignment for this course will be a project that incorporates the students’ portfolio work through their previous years at Taft and that asks the students to reflect on their learning in English and the extent to which they have developed the skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the English Department sets as its goal to develop.

In her book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott suggests that writing is about telling the truth, and that often fiction is paradoxically more "true" than reality. In this course we will read a comprehensive and diverse collection of short fiction, paying particular attention to the variety of "truths" discernible in the texts. What worldviews do the texts contain and how are they creatively communicated? What artistic decisions do the authors make in terms of plot, character, and dialogue, and how and why are they effective? How can we creatively express our own truths through storytelling? Ultimately, we will look at the stories we read in comparison with our own lives while constructing our own "truths" through stories we will write ourselves. We will begin by emulating the artistic styles we have encountered, gradually breaking away to try original experiments in writing. In the end, we will have read and produced a sizeable body of work that will have deepened our critical and creative literary skills and challenged us to a fuller consideration of the human condition.

This course explores how place shapes the human experience. The reading includes a variety of genre- from non-fiction descriptive essays to short stories and novels - but in each work, place figures prominently, shaping the characters and authors. The focus will vary considerably, and students will encounter works with diverse settings: rural Montana, a public housing development in New York, a Colorado ranch, urban Ireland, and so on. Students will write expository essays about the readings, but they will also write extensively from personal experience, probing the way in which place (home and especially neighborhood) has affected them.

According to scholar Cheryl Glotfelty, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment. In this course we will think "ecocritically," reading texts, watching film, experiencing the outdoors in ways that will help us explore the complexity of our relationships to the natural world. Along the way, students will consider such questions as What does it mean for me to be connected to a landscape? How are my character and identity shaped by the natural world? What is wilderness and how have definitions of it changed over time? What is the relationship between internal and external topography? How has literacy shaped the way we apprehend the natural world? To help us tackle these questions and come to our own conclusions, we will blend critical and creative approaches to environmental literature, ultimately seeking to, as Barry Lopez suggests, "re-imagine" our relationhips to the land in healthier and more generative ways. The reading will include works by such authors as Emerson, London, Crane, Kingsolver, Krakauer, Abbey, Lopez, Silko, MacLean, McKibben, Stegner, Leopold, and Muir. Exercises and activities will incude such things as writing journals, creative and analytical pieces; rock-climbing; and hiking. As in all senior electives in the spring semester, one significant assignment for this course will be a project that incorporates the students' portfolio work through their previous years at Taft and that asks the students to reflect on their learning in English and the extent to which they have developed the skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the English Department sets as its goal to develop.

Should knowledge, glory, or revenge be pursued at any cost? For centuries, human beings have set out on the relentless quest for goals they consider to be vitally important, even worth risking their lives for. These quests have driven us to the heights of creativity and nurtured our imagination, all the while informing our literature, art, culture, and lives. In this course, students will read some of the classic epics of literature. Texts may include Homer's Odyssey, Beowulf, Dante's Inferno, Melville’s Moby Dick, and Hesse's Siddhartha. Through lively conversation, students will examine the literature of the quest and consider for themselves the worth of this physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual endeavor. Daily journal work, thoughtful participation in class discussion, and creative and analytical writing assignments will offer students the opportunity "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

Adolescence is the painful yet glorious birth of an adult out of the skin of a child. At different times in different ways, sometimes brutally, sometimes gently, all children must learn the ways of the world outside of the protection of a loving parent, often throwing off that protection to assert themselves and to experience life independently. The child must discover what he or she values and what relationships with others can offer, as well as learn the reality of a world in which often unpredictable consequences follow actions and no parent is around to clean up the mess or heal the painful physical or psychological wounds. The experience may be different in different cultures, as the readings will show, but the course of growth remains remarkably similar. The course will look at works of non-fiction, autobiography, fiction, and drama as they reveal the growth of characters into adulthood. Writing assignments and oral presentations will be analytical, creative, and personal. As in all senior electives in the spring semester, one significant assignment for this course will be a project that incorporates the students' portfolio work through their previous years at Taft and that asks the students to reflect on their learning in English and the extent to which they have developed the skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the English Department sets as its goal to develop. Possible works to be studied might include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Romeo and Juliet, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, This Boy’s Life, Annie John, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Black Boy, The Virgin Suicides, and Rule of the Bone.

Through this course students will explore the voice of the outsider in selected works of contemporary and classic fiction, drama, poetry, and film. The “outsider” is a familiar figure in literature, employed by writers as a device for examining the human condition and compelling the reader to question his or her own connection with the outsider and shared moments of isolation. We will work to understand more deeply how the complex dynamics of the outsider work in society and how literature portrays the relationship between the insider and the outsider or between the power structure of society and the outsider. We will explore this theme in work by writers of varying cultural backgrounds. Students will write essays of literary analysis, but will also have an opportunity to write their own fiction, memoir, or poetry dealing with insider-outsider experiences and themes. Possible works include The Stranger by Albert Camus, Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo by Oscar Zeta Acosta, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey, The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara, and The Necessary Targets by Eve Ensler.

Fundamental to the study of Western literature is an understanding of the idea of tragedy. This course will consider its origins with the Greeks in the writings of Aristotle, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Plato; its evolution in the Elizabethan era as represented by Shakespeare; its present incarnation in the works of writers like Conrad, Miller, and Williams. Fundamentally, “Tragedy is the narration of self-inflicted punishment. It is ironic that, in an attempt to further his own interests, the protagonist should actually destroy them.” In studying the tragic hero we discover a kindred spirit; in his humanity we find our own.

Reading a variety of classic and contemporary novels, students will encounter the novel as a unique and relatively young literary genre, beloved for its entertainment value as well as its ability to draw readers fully and for an extended period of time out of their own worlds and into another culture, another time, or another place. Each of these novels may have compelling characters, riveting plots, vivid descriptions of places familiar or wild and unknown, or may present familiar human dilemmas, but all have the power to hold a reader's attention. Students will both respond personally to the works as well as examine such elements as the patterns of plot, types of narrators, techniques of characterization, details of setting, and the development of theme to discover what makes each work effective. The course also examines the novel as an expression of the writer's interests, values, and time. Readings may include works by such authors as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Leo Tolstoy, Tracey Chevalier, Toni Morrison, J. M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, or Tobias Wolff. As in all senior electives in the spring semester, one significant assignment for this course will be a project that incorporates the students' portfolio work through their previous years at Taft and that asks the students to reflect on their learning in English and the extent to which they have developed the skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the English Department sets as its goal to develop.

The course aims to explore and define the themes which define the Southern tradition in American literature. The psychology and the sociology of the South give rise to a rich and unique tapestry of fiction, and this course will explore “the mind of the south” in reading the novels, stories, poems, and plays of such authors as William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Edward Jones, Erskine Caldwell, Flannery O’Connor, Kate Chopin, and Toni Morrison..

This course will examine how films create fictions and how those fictions intersect with contemporaneous American society. During the first third of the course, we will study the visual language of cinema through intensive readings in film theory and criticism, through frequent written analyses, and through occasional exercises in filming and editing. The latter two-thirds of the course will involve weekly film screenings followed by student-led seminars based on the film and on secondary readings in theory and criticism. Assessments will include weekly critical essays, a substantial research essay, and contributions to the seminar discussions as leader and participant. Films for study may include Casablanca, Chinatown, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Some Like it Hot, Vertigo, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Silence of the Lambs, and The Dark Knight.

Recognizing that competition represents a metaphor for the human condition, this course will explore how men and women explore the phenomenon of competition primarily through the written word. Through investigation, literature, as well as the entire spectrum of media, the course will look at matters of history, politics, personality, philosophy, race and gender and what they tell us about human nature as found in all aspects of sports reporting; topics will include the ramifications of Title IX, the use of performance enhancing drugs and the impact of professional sports on national culture. Students will also examine the similarities and differences between sports writing and other categories of written journalism. Written assignments will have students analyze and imitate different types of sports writing, as well as learn different investigative journalism techniques all of which leads to a final project where the student goes on the road and learns the ins and outs of being a beat reporter.

By reading the great short classics of Russian literature, and through brief cultural immersions in music, art, and film from the Golden Age through the the two world wars and the Stalinist period, this course will explore the interdisciplinary and collaborative exchanges between artists, intellectuals, and political figures. Be prepared for interesting and challenging discussions, cultural enrichment, and reconstructions of the dramatic stage of Russian history. Writing will be in three forms: historical essays, literary analysis, and creative fusions of personal and critical writing. Authors include Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, Bulgakov, and Akhmatova.

The purpose of this course is to explore literature that addresses issues of de-colonization in Africa during the mid to late nineteenth century. In addition to exploring a range of literary forms, including novels, autobiographies, short stories, and poetry, the course will consider the criticism and theoretical debates surrounding postcolonial literature. Points of discussion will include: Orientalism, resistance theories, nationalism, postcolonialism, gender studies, diaspora, and globalization.

This interdisciplinary course is a chronological introduction to some major figures and ideas of western civilization. Students explore how a seamless integration of philosophy, literature, history, the arts, and science comprises a cultural experience. As students learn about various cultures and periods, they will discuss the application of their understanding to their own lives in making responsible, informed decisions concerning philosophical, spiritual, and moral issues. Readings from the Old and New Testament, and such authors as Homer, Plato, Sophocles, Dante, Chaucer, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Galileo, Voltaire, Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Einstein, and Sartre reveal the thoughts and experiences that have shaped societies and individuals over the last 3500 years. Some recurring themes in the course are the nature and use of power; the relationships between men and women and between parents and children; the nature of spiritual experience and the divine; changing perceptions of the natural world and the position of human beings in the context of nature; and the causes and consequences of the development of science and technology. Discussions of art history illustrate the historical and social contexts of the readings. Various writing projects, period tests, oral presentations, and collaborative performances enable students to demonstrate their understanding of the moral and intellectual positions represented in the material and to exercise personal critical judgment regarding the value or validity of the ideas to which they have been exposed. And periodically students are asked to form and share their own opinions about the essential questions raised in the course. A student who completes the course may, with departmental permission, use it to satisfy one semester of the English requirement. A student enrolled in three, year-long Advanced Placement courses may, with permission of the English Department, use this course to fulfill the full-year English requirement. If there are spaces available in the course, a student who cannot otherwise fit this course into his or her program may, with permission of the English Department, use this course to fulfill the full-year English requirement. Open to Seniors.

This is an opportunity for a student to work with a member of the Department on a project in which they share a common interest. Open to Seniors by permission of the Department Head and the Dean of Academic Affairs.

This is an opportunity for a student to work with a member of the Department on a project in which they share a common interest. Open to Seniors by permission of the Department Head and the Dean of Academic Affairs.

This course is for Upper Middlers who have demonstrated exceptional ability, motivation, and achievement in previous English courses. While the fundamental objectives of this course are similar to those of EN323 and EN324, the course demands more engagement from students and sets higher standards. Focusing on nineteenth and twentieth century American literature of all genres, students develop their skills in critical thinking, purposeful writing, and effective speaking. The curriculum features assessments that are designed to offer not only analytical experience but also opportunities to develop both intellectual curiosity and a confident, disciplined approach to writing. Students will work both collaboratively and independently on activities related to these goals. In learning how to read nonfiction literature critically, how to write precisely and cogently, and how to think clearly and logically, students will also be prepared to take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition in May. Following the administration of the A.P. exam, students will complete the course with a final project that asks them to synthesize their ideas about the literature they have read throughout the course, examining a theme of critical and personal importance in both an oral presentation and an extended paper. Admission to this course requires permission of the English Department.

This course is for Upper Middlers who have demonstrated exceptional ability, motivation, and achievement in previous English courses. While the fundamental objectives of this course are similar to those of EN323 and EN324, the course demands more engagement from students and sets higher standards. Focusing on nineteenth and twentieth century American literature of all genres, students develop their skills in critical thinking, purposeful writing, and effective speaking. The curriculum features assessments that are designed to offer not only analytical experience but also opportunities to develop both intellectual curiosity and a confident, disciplined approach to writing. Students will work both collaboratively and independently on activities related to these goals. In learning how to read nonfiction literature critically, how to write precisely and cogently, and how to think clearly and logically, students will also be prepared to take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition in May. Following the administration of the A.P. exam, students will complete the course with a final project that asks them to synthesize their ideas about the literature they have read throughout the course, examining a theme of critical and personal importance in both an oral presentation and an extended paper. Admission to this course requires permission of the English Department.

Senior Honors English is divided into two distinct, but integrated, semesters. All students electing one or both semesters should plan to take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature and Composition. Students should elect this course on the basis of their strong commitment to English and their ability to excel in understanding and writing about literature. The curriculum of the course is sophisticated and demanding; more is expected of Honors students than of the typical Senior. The course includes British and other non-American literature. Consistent with the composition of the A.P. Examination, the course always studies poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. The course requires close analytical reading and an ability to communicate an understanding of the literature with organization, clarity, and supporting textual detail. Students write both critical and personal essays and are expected to participate extensively in class discussion. Although the teachers and content of the course vary, the course always includes specific preparation for the A.P. Examination in May. Admission to either semester of the course requires the permission of the English Department.

Senior Honors English is divided into two distinct, but integrated, semesters. All students electing one or both semesters should plan to take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature and Composition. Students should elect this course on the basis of their strong commitment to English and their ability to excel in understanding and writing about literature. The curriculum of the course is sophisticated and demanding; more is expected of Honors students than of the typical Senior. The course includes British and other non-American literature. Consistent with the composition of the A.P. Examination, the course always studies poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. The course requires close analytical reading and an ability to communicate an understanding of the literature with organization, clarity, and supporting textual detail. Students write both critical and personal essays and are expected to participate extensively in class discussion. Although the teachers and content of the course vary, the latter part of the course includes specific preparation for the A.P. Examination in May. After the A.P. exam, the course focuses on various forms of creative writing. As in all senior electives in the spring semester, one significant assignment for this course will be a project that incorporates the students' portfolio work through their previous years at Taft and that asks the students to reflect on their learning in English and the extent to which they have developed the skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the English Department sets as its goal to develop. Admission to either semester of the course requires the permission of the English Department.