English Courses

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 | Dual-Credit Option

English 12 emphasizes the skills needed for successful college-level reading and writing. Students will closely read thematic-based college level texts to write a series of argumentative papers. By the end of the school year, students enrolled in English 12 will be able to compose coherent, well-developed, and grammatically correct essays. They will also be able to summarize and respond to texts, synthesize scholarly sources, apply inferential skills, and demonstrate mastery of the writing process. 

Students may select a “special topics” theme for their English 12 course. The English 12 “special topics” options are listed below with brief descriptions of the course content. If students choose not to take a special topics course, they will automatically be enrolled in our comprehensive course English 12: Writing about Social Psychology and Human Nature. 

Students will select one of the five options below. Please note, we will do our best to honor a student’s first choice, but requests are not guaranteed. Course availability is also subject to change.  The content for all courses listed below aligns with Middlesex County College’s ENG-121. 

1012 - English 12: Writing about Social Psychology and Human Nature

This comprehensive English 12 course is a study of several genres and themes related to psychology and human behavior. Some units of study may include, but are not limited to: media manipulation and skepticism, teens and privacy, bullying and the Bystander Effect, modern love, and mental health in modern society.

1015 - English 12: Writing about Crime and Justice

This special topics English 12 course will explore contemporary issues in the American justice system and the complex issues that arise, such as adolescents and the judicial system, punishment or rehabilitation, and life sentences or the death penalty. Units of study may include, but are not limited to: profiling/criminal psychology, juvenile detention systems, the evolution of laws, and “wars'' on ideas.

1016 - English 12: Writing about Sports and Gaming

This special topics English 12 course will channel the passion that many high school students have for sports and explore the broad and complex role of athletics in contemporary America. Likewise, emerging topics in gaming will engage students in exploring the role that technology has added to what were once considered “leisure” activities. Units of study may include, but are not limited to: fantasy sports and online gambling, the American sports hero, pressures on high school athletes, and the economics of professional sports.

1017 - English 12: Writing about Film and Television

This special topics English 12 course will analyze how film and television offers a window into society, and how both the form and content of media reflect social values and aspects of human nature. Offering students the opportunity to view visual texts through varied lenses, the class will examine the relationship between individuals and the media. Units of study may include, but are not limited to: comics and superheroes, the influence of the box office, censorship and ratings, roles of tropes and archetypes, the psychology of binge watching, and reality TV.

1018 - English 12: Writing about Music and the Arts

This special topics English 12 course will explore the societal significance of various mediums and genres of art and music, from classic to contemporary, from modern to postmodern. Students will also learn how to evaluate and respond to music and the arts in an intelligent, informed and passionate manner; furthermore, turn their ideas into written arguments. Units of study may include, but are not limited to: what defines art, music as rebellion, censorship and controversy, and the art versus the artist.

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 read, comprehend, analyze, and evaluate multiple nonfiction texts used in Expository Writing 101 at Rutgers University.  Through the process of writing multiple drafts of expository essays, students will develop independent theses that connect and respond to the ideas and information in the texts they read. 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. The course content aligns with Rutgers University’s Expository Writing 101 and Middlesex County College’s Composition I and II. Please note the College Writing Honors course is currently under review at Rutgers. There is a possibility students may have to choose between Middlesex County College credits and Rutgers University credits. Students and parents will be notified of the decision when the review process at Rutgers is finalized.

Meets NCAA Core Course Requirements

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

AP Seminar is a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary course where students investigate real-world issues from multiple perspectives, gathering and analyzing information from various sources in order to develop credible and valid evidence-based arguments. AP Seminar students develop and use inquiry skills to question and explore, understand and analyze, evaluate multiple perspectives, synthesize ideas, and create arguments. Students are assessed with two performance tasks throughout the year and an end of course exam. Students taking AP Seminar should be motivated and independent as well as willing to expand their understanding through research, share and defend thoughts and ideas, strengthen modes of communication, and accept fair criticism and use feedback to develop their writing. AP Seminar is a prerequisite for AP Research. This course is required for the AP Capstone Certificate and/or AP Capstone Diploma. Please refer to the Course Levels page for specific requirements about the AP Capstone program.

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 | Prerequisites will determine placement into course

AP English II (Literature and Composition) is a demanding academic course in which students employ an intensive, interpretive, and critical approach to modern and to classical literature through class and independent reading, through small and large group discussion, and a variety of writing experiences.  Writing assignments include the analysis of language, structure, and style and incorporate writing for formal and informal purposes.  Students are prepared for and encouraged to take the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Examination. There is also required summer reading 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