Occasionally, exceptional performers in the regular sections of EN200 and EN300 are allowed to enroll in an honors section. The Registrar, in consultation with the head of the English department, determines whether a new student is qualified to be placed in an honors section. Applicants for the honors program should also be prepared to submit a critical essay that has been corrected. This course introduces students to analytical reading of short stories, novels, poems, and plays. Many teachers also read Great Expectations or Jane Eyre.
Students study vocabulary, review grammar and usage, and write paragraphs and short essays.
While training students to write both descriptively and critically, teachers emphasize grammar, usage, punctuation, sentence construction, and paragraph organization. Required texts include Macbeth, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and selections from the New Testament. This course is designed to introduce students to the rich and varied multicultural heritage inherent in American literature. The balance of contemporary and traditional readings also serves to enhance students' knowledge of literary techniques and movements. In the fall and winter terms, major authors studied include Irving, Dickinson, Emerson, Douglass, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Whitman, Twain, Cather, and Chopin.