Students will explore history, culture, and heritage through the lens of American authors by reading and analyzing novels, short stories, plays and poetry. Composition will focus on thesis-driven essays that use evidence to support claims based on literary themes including the American dream and individuality.   

Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 9

Students will practice college-level reading, research, writing, and revision. Students will read and analyze poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and drama. They will also be exposed to literary criticism (e.g., moral criticism, new historicism). Students will complete a research project, learning how to build an argument through the integration of outside sources and how to navigate the research process from beginning to end. 

Students in both classes will follow the same curriculum, but the college-in-high-school (CHS) class will include supplementary reading and more complex assignments. Students will be held to a higher standard for their written work, as well.

Students taking the class without CHS credit will complete the same work as the college-credit students and will receive the same GPA class weighting. However, they will not incur the costs of the course nor receive credit from Seton Hill University.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of American Literature and teacher recommendation (CHS only)