English

The English department lives in the N building. Until the 2022-2023 school year, most English courses taught multiple grades.

Lower rotation

Freshmen and sophomores formerly participated in the lower rotation. Freshmen can now take a yearlong class of English 9 (College-Prep Lane) or English 9A (Advanced Lane), and sophomores can now take a yearlong class of English 10 (College-Prep Lane) or English 10A (Advanced Lane).

Upper rotation

Juniors and Seniors participate in the upper rotation, consisting of an English elective and a required course. Odd-Even years teach World Literature and World Classics, while Even-Odd years teach American Literature and American Classics. Instead of taking the required course, seniors may take AP English Literature, which is the only year-long English course.

Electives

(Main page: English electives)

• Analytic College Writing
• The Works of Shakespeare
• Escape Literature
• Classic Mythology
• Shakespeare in Performance or Dramatic Literature in Performance in alternate years
  • Part of the theater program — students must be concurrently enrolled in Theater 3 or Theater 4H, and vice versa
• Composition & Literature of Visual Media (Film Lit)
• Philosophy through Literature
• Reading Between the Lines
• Expository Reading and Writing
  • Option for dual enrollment
• Literature of Sports
• The Art of Visual Storytelling
• Asian American Literature
• Women Writers
• Analysis of the Writer's Craft (Creative Writing)

Idiosyncrasies

• English teachers do not tend to synchronize their curriculums and assignments, unlike the Math department, and tend to choose different books or order their units differently
• There is a wide range of grading harshness between teachers; some teachers give A+'s for essays that are just good, while other teachers grade more harshly on criteria such as analytical quality, grammar, and style
• More English department teachers than those in other departments choose to dress in a more formal style at school/work
• Lecture slides may be posted, depending on the teacher