This course enables students to develop their technical skills in writing and familiarizes them with the habits of subtle, nuanced critical thinking. In the first semester, students will read, analyze, and engage with the works of various non-fiction authors, both ancient and modern (ranging from Seneca, Montaigne, and Kenko to G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and Virginia Woolf); students thus encounter a wide array of writing-styles and techniques. The course turns in the second semester towards fiction and poetry, again emphasizing a range of genres, from John Steinbeck’s Chrysanthemums to P.G. Wodehouse’s The Inimitable Jeeves, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Shakespeare’s sonnets to the twentieth-century poems of W.H. Auden and Wislawa Szymborska. In addition to learning the techniques of close-reading and analysis, students also learn the techniques of effective, meaningful, and persuasive writing, such as how to fashion engaging introductions; the crafting of precise and meaningful thesis statements; building coherent and focused essay-structures; the use of rhetorical appeals; and the use of MLA, Chicago, and APA styles of citation. Students craft original, argumentative compositions of their own in a variety of genres, including proposal, analytical, narrative, and research essays. Through this course, students learn both to expand and to give expression to their thoughts and ideas — articulating them, honing them, and ultimately conveying them skillfully and meaningfully to others through writing.
Flexible Scheduling: This course may be taken with live class attendance reduced or waived (recording only) if the student has a time zone or schedule conflict. Select this option when you enroll or notify TPS for approval.
College Credit: This course is pre-approved for college credit (Belhaven ENG 101, 3 credits). Upon successful completion of this course, the student may apply for a college transcript from Belhaven University for this course. These transcripted credits may be transferred to other colleges. More information is [urlnew=https://at-tps.org/subjects/college-credit/]here[/urlnew].
Note: Students typically take two or more English 4/5/6 courses. They may generally be taken in any order, though some sequences may be better for some purposes (e.g., preparation for a particular AP course). On a transcript, the courses will be listed to differentiate them in the best interest of the student while meeting guidelines of the applicable accrediting and certifying organization(s). Please consult TPS Support with questions about course sequence or transcripts.