Course Outline

Welcome to grade 12 Academic English! This course will focus specifically on the study of literary genres and on improving written expression and literary analysis. Students will study the art of writing the literary essay by focusing on literary genres such as essay, poetry, drama, short story and the novel. After each major unit, students will submit an essay, or other writing assignment, followed by several days of grammar and writing workshops devoted to improving consistent weaknesses in essays and assignments.

*Please Note: Laptops are not permitted in class unless I have given specific instructions to bring one.

Texts
Collection of essays
Collection of poetry
Shakespeare's "Othello"
Ann Marie MacDonald's, "Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet"
James Joyce's Dubliners
Frank McCourt's Angela’s Ashes
Alistair Macleod's No Great Mischief
Ami MacKay's The Birth House
George Orwell's 1984
Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale

Marks Breakdown
Term One:
20% Writing Assignments
20% Exam, Tests, Quizzes

Term Two:
15% Writing Assignments
15% Tests, Quizzes

Term Three:
15% Writing Assignments, Tests, Quizzes
15% Final Exam


Supplementary Book Assignments

Each student is required to submit one supplementary book assignment per term. The books will be provided for you, but you may choose the order in which you study each book. For each text there is a set of questions which must be answered in full sentences, to the best of your ability. The book selections for this year are, The Birth House by Ami MacKay, No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod and The Wars by Timothy Findley.


Writing Workshops

Writing workshops will cover such topics as: introductions; thesis statements; transitions; using textual evidence and proper citation format; literary analysis and concise expression. The purpose of the grammar and writing workshops is not only to put a strong emphasis on learning grammar, but also to ensure that students get thorough feedback on their strengths and weaknesses as well as strategies to improve their writing for the next assignment.


Plagiarism
Please note that plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate zero on any given assignment. Plagiarism includes using secondary sources without proper citation, copying from internet sources without reference, passing in essays used in other classes or essays written by someone else.