Students write six formal papers in addition to less formal written homework assignments.
Important topics include formulating a thesis, organizing an essay, employing concrete details, exercising logic, employing sentences effectively, developing vocabulary. At the end of the semester attention turns to the close reading and written analysis of literature. Exercises, papers, revisions, and vocabulary words should be kept in this notebook. Vocabulary words will be collected twice during the semester. Grades for the semester will be computed according to the following percentages.