Students will engage in close-textual interaction with literature to heighten appreciation for those texts, improved critical and analytical skills in reading and writing, enhanced speaking and listening abilities, and enriched students' academic and personal vocabulary. This course is organized chronologically, so students can see the influences on and evolution of the ideas and forms. Writing, research, and speaking assignments will continue to focus on formulating and expressing ideas and arguments about the readings. Particular emphasis is placed on gaining critical perspective on the relationship between content and form and on synthesizing ideas into clear and concise prose and presentations. To become critical consumers of text, students will be exposed to increasingly more complex texts to which they apply those skills.