During the first semester of English III students develop critical reading and writing skills, by analyzing a selected novel and short stories from American literature. Authors included in the course are Raymond Carver, J.D. Salinger, Langston Hughes, John Steinbeck, Ken Kesey, Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac. Student writing focuses on argumentative, expository and narrative essays. Learning is fostered by group discussion, peer review and an emphasis on rewriting for clarity, quality and content.

During the second semester we read from the works of America’s great poets and playwrights including E. E. Cummings, Ezra Pound, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg and Arthur Miller. In addition to further analytical writing and public speaking, students develop their own creative writing projects, including short stories, poetry and biography.