THIS CLASS IS TAUGHT AT THE HONORS LEVEL. The major purpose of this course is to analyze literature and expository text in greater depth and produce complex writing assignments. Students will continue to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier grades with more refinement, depth, and sophistication with grade-appropriate material. The California Reading/Language Arts Framework states that students in the ninth grade are expected to read one and one-half million words annually on their own, including a good representation of classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, and online articles. Students will apply and refine their command of the writing process and writing conventions to produce narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive texts of at least 1,500 words each.