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English Department Frequently Asked Questions: (FAQs)
Do I have to take English?
In a word, yes. It is a mandatory course to help guide you to better writing, thinking and analysis.
What books do I read in English?
Everything you read is listed in the Course Overview which are subject to change based on popularity and availability (previous page).
How can I improve my mark in English?
Please see "How to Improve My Mark in English" page.
Are there any courses in senior grades I might not have heard of or would be interested in?
Yes! The English Department offers 2 other courses based on interest: Writer’s Craft and Studies in World Literature. These courses are for students who would like to deepen their understandings of the art of writing and literature they may not have been exposed to before.
Do we read any non-fiction? Why?
Yes. English courses all offer non-fiction reading mostly in the form of essays to help you analyze ideas and arguments. These works are to help you with reading comprehension and to deepen your understanding of how and why people write.
Do we read Shakespeare? Why?
Yes we do. Reading Shakespeare is important for many reasons but here are three to consider. Firstly, Shakespeare’s plays explore themes that are common to the human condition and his plays are psychologically and philosophically enlightening. As a result, the plays broaden our metaphoric sense. And subsequently, by deepening our own metaphors, we add subtlety and nuance to our everyday language. Secondly, that subtlety and nuance as a feature of language is scattered throughout culture and is an essential part of the history of the English language. Significantly, working through the plays adds to the complexity of our interpretive matrix, the lens, gleaned from language, through which we see and subsequently interpret ourselves and the world around us. And thirdly, studies in neurolinguistics have shown that struggling with Shakespearean language stimulates the brain in ways that are unique to the bard. Quite literally reading Shakespeare grows the brain. [For further information read “Theatre of the Brain”.]
We workout, exercise our bodies, doing activities that are difficult which results in a stronger physical fitness or we spend hours practicing our instrument, enduring increasingly difficult musical studies such as scales to become more proficient on our instrument. Shakespeare is the language equivalent of going for a strenuous jog/workout or of hours of strenuous practicing on an instrument. Reading Shakespeare makes us more proficient practitioners of the language arts, promoting greater intellectual agility and more nuanced articulation. Language is fundamentally the realm of the metaphor and the study of Shakespeare adds to our metaphoric richness which ultimately adds to the richness of both our internal and external lives.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. You must credit authors if you use their words, ideas, statistics or opinions in your written assignments. Not crediting another person for his or her work is known as PLAGIARISM. If a student is caught plagiarizing it will result in an automatic mark of ZERO so trust your own ideas instead of using someone else's.