Grade 10 | Credits: 5

English 10 explores significant works of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, from a thematic perspective. In addition to reading both short and full-length works, students engage in analytic discussion regarding themes and characters within the works and apply their understanding to personal experience, as well as make connections across texts. Frequent analytical, narrative, and synthesis style writing assignments are an important part of this course. This course will prepare students for the state mandated exam, which measures performance relative to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 10 | Credits: 5 | Prerequisites will determine placement into course

English 10 Honors explores significant works of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, from a thematic perspective. In addition to reading challenging short and full-length works, students engage in detailed discussion regarding the philosophical ideas, themes, and characters within the texts, as well as make connections across texts. They also write interpretive and argumentative pieces based upon the literature and spend a significant amount of time on developing analytical, narrative and synthesis style writing. This course will prepare students for the state-mandated exam, which measures performance relative to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 11 | Credits: 5

English 11 explores significant works of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, from a thematic perspective. In addition to reading both short and full-length works, students engage in analytic discussion regarding themes and characters within the works and apply their understanding to personal experience, as well as make connections across texts. Frequent analytical, narrative, and synthesis style writing assignments are an important part of this course. This course will prepare students for the state mandated exam, which measures performance relative to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Students will also have the opportunity to take the Accuplacer, an online assessment given to college students. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 11 | Credits: 5 | Prerequisites will determine placement into course

English 11 Honors explores significant works of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, from a thematic perspective. In addition to reading challenging short and full-length works, students participate in and lead detailed discussion regarding the philosophical ideas, themes, and characters within the texts, as well as make connections across texts. Students use ideas from the non-fiction texts as lenses for interpreting the fiction. They write short narrative and literary analysis pieces and longer synthesis essays.  Students prepare for the state-mandated exam, which measures performance in relation to the Common Core standards. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 12 | Credits: 5 | Prerequisites will determine placement into course | Dual-Credit Option

College Writing Honors is a senior year writing intensive course designed to immerse high school students into the expectations and rigor of college writing. During the first semester, students will learn the structure of personal narrative writing by reading and analyzing examples, and then model this structure, which will also be useful for writing the college essay. Then they will read, comprehend, analyze, and evaluate multiple college-level nonfiction texts.  They will close-read and analyze these texts in order to develop independent thesis statements for synthesis essays. There will be a research component as well. During the second semester, students will extend their understanding of the college writing process by reading and making connections across thematically linked fiction and nonfiction multimodal texts. Students will continue to learn and develop the skills of clear, correct, effective English by reading essays, longer works of non-fiction prose, and literary criticism. Students will complete a variety of writing projects requiring techniques such as cause and effect, analysis, evaluation, synthesis, argumentation and persuasion. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 11 or Grade 12 | Credits: 5 | Prerequisites will determine placement into course 

AP English I (Language and Composition) is a demanding college level course offered to juniors in which students employ an intensive, interpretative, and critical approach to modern and classic texts. Students develop their unique perspectives and writing voices through small and large group discussion, and through a variety of writing tasks. Writing assignments include the analysis of texts, including structure and style, and reflect all of the rhetorical modes. Students are prepared for and encouraged to take the AP Language and Composition Examination in May. There is also a required summer project for this course. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 12 | Credits: 5 | Prerequisite: AP Seminar

AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone diploma program, requires students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, students further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grades 10-12 | Credits: 2.5

This semester English elective course is designed for students who wish to develop their creative writing abilities through independent practice and frequent individual conferences with the instructor. This course trains students to express themselves through original poems, short stories, and essays, based upon their own experiences and sensory impressions.  Students read and discuss literary models, as well as read and discuss one another's work. Students also have opportunities to publish their work both within and outside of the school context. Ideal candidates for this course are motivated, self- directed learners who are able to complete and submit tasks independently. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements.

Grade 12 | Credits: 5

The results of standardized testing, Middlesex County College’s English placement criteria, and/or teacher recommendation, serve as the criteria for enrollment in this course. Students will have the same English teacher for both English 12 and English 12 support and will remain in the class for a double period. Emphasis will be placed on helping students overcome any deficiencies or difficulties they may have in meeting the state graduation requirements for English and the learning outcomes for college level English. A review of reading and writing basics using special materials designed to help students improve, specifically material that reinforces the English 12 curriculum, is the focus of the course. 

Grades 10-12 | Credits: 2.5 

Philosophy for Teenagers Honors is a semester Honors English elective course designed for diligent students interested in reading, writing and thinking about big questions. Students will explore complex topics through units such as Epistemology, Ethics, Free Will and Determinism, and The Meaning of Life. Through readings and class discussions, students will experiment with the basic methods of philosophical inquiry and, ultimately, use these inquiries as a lens through which they examine their own values and assumptions. Students will read selections from the great thinkers as well as selections from other classic and contemporary sources. Students enrolled in this course will be required to complete reading and writing assignments and engage in spirited class discussions on a daily basis. 

Grades 10-12 | Credits: 2.5 

This English elective course is designed to help students become more confident speakers and better speech writers. Students will learn to research, organize, write, and present various types of speeches: informative, persuasive, and demonstrative. They will also read, analyze, and deliver memorable speeches from literature and history. At the end of the course, students will understand how to effectively write speeches and how to deliver them using rhetorical techniques. Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements. 

Grades 10-12 | Credits: 2.5

This semester elective course is designed to help students better prepare for both the verbal and math portions of the SAT exam. Students will utilize a combination of in-person and electronic approaches, to experience the format, requirements, and scoring of the exam. They will also learn various test-taking strategies for success on the SAT. The verbal portion of the course will focus on evidence-based reading and writing tasks, as well as the optional essay component. The math portion of this course is designed to teach students how to approach each type of problem. The semester will be divided in half where students will focus on either verbal or math for the first quarter and then switch to the other content for the second quarter. Ideal candidates for this course are motivated, self- directed learners who can independently complete and submit tasks.

Grades 10-12 | Credits: 2.5

This English elective course will channel the passion that many high school students have for sports and use it to develop them into strong readers (of mainly non-fiction texts) and strong writers (of mainly analytic essays). The broad and complex role of sports in contemporary America provides a common intellectual ground for students of different grades, interests and ability levels. Likewise, they will become better readers through exposure to challenging texts of various lengths and better writers through constant exposure to several of the rhetorical modes (such as narration, definition, comparison and process analysis).