Course Introduction Transcript

In this course, your focus will be on literary texts. You will expand your understanding of the history of literature by reading a wide variety of fictional texts from different time periods and cultural, social, and economic settings. Throughout the course, you will read in full Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible.

As you read the selections in this course, you will learn about narrative and dramatic elements, understand characters and characterization, determine themes and central ideas, analyze the impact of diction and syntax on meaning, and discover the purposes behind an author’s uses of rhetorical devices, among other topics. You will also learn to recognize patterns in the way affixes change words and explain nuance. Additionally, you will use parallel structure, active and passive voice, and punctuation to create pauses to improve your writing. Writing projects will give you the opportunity to write your own fictional narrative as well as a literary analysis.

Through the lessons provided in this course, you will master techniques that help you achieve a deeper appreciation of literary texts and writing.

Click the link to read through the Student Course Overview, which provides more detailed information on what you can expect throughout the course.

Course Objectives

• Analyze explicit and implicit meaning, themes, central ideas, point of view, structural elements, and dramatic and narrative elements in literary texts. 
• Apply grade-level-appropriate techniques and skills to create presentations and review material. 
• Compose a fictional narrative and a literary analysis essay. 
• Demonstrate mastery of the conventions of standard English. 
• Determine the meaning and effect of figurative and connotative words in literary text. 
• Determine the meanings of academic and domain-specific words and phrases. 
• Participate in collaborative discussions and presentations while effectively integrating and presenting information from multiple sources. 

Major Concepts

• explicit and implicit meaning
• narrative and dramatic elements
• characterization
• diction and syntax
• themes
• central ideas
• objective summary
• structural elements
• point of view
• social, historical, and economic context
• characteristics of poetry
• literary devices
• figurative language
• nuance
• parallel structure
• active and passive voice
• punctuation

Projects

• fictional narrative
• literary analysis essay comparing characters from “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”