No kind of writing we ask of students is more difficult than literary analysis. It requires an ability to read with creativity and insight and to communicate thoughts with clarity, subtlety and persuasive power. This course is designed to help students learn the basics of this challenging kind of writing. Students who have taken Essay Writing II will have had some exposure to literary writing. This class drills down deeper. An essential class for the college-bound.

Note: The assignments and lesson content of this course significantly overlap High School Writing 4. We therefore do not recommend this course for students who have completed High School Writing 4.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students who complete the course will be able to…

• Value literature and literary writing.

• Identify the major elements of narrative writing.

• Identify the major elements of poetry.

• Read carefully and analytically a short story and a poem.

• Create a clear, arguable, original thesis statement about a work of literature.

• Defend a literary thesis using various types of textual evidence.

• Draft literary paper with concern for their organization and content.

• Employ various techniques customary to literary analysis essays.

• Respond to feedback on their writing through revising and proofreading.