The methodology and vocabulary of literary criticism is applied in writing assignments and individual projects. Instruction in the conduct and writing of research is provided. As the text for this course is the one that is used for senior academic English, a move from advanced junior English to academic senior English between the junior and senior years is inadvisable. The concept of literature as art is stressed. In regular writing assignments, the student relates the modern world to earlier eras of Western culture found in literature.
Students also learn the adaptations of the expository mode that are used in technical writing.
Standard usage and sentence structure are reviewed in preparation for college and job placement examinations. Vocabulary growth is stressed through words found in context and from prepared work lists and practice exercises. The Advanced Placement course is offered to the unusually talented and highly motivated senior English student. It prepares the student to take the nation-wide Advanced Placement Exam in May of the current school year. Students who are successful with that exam may be granted college credit by the academic institution they choose to enter after high school.