Course Description (Contemporary Composition)

The major purpose of this standards-aligned semester course is to explore ideas, issues, and themes from
contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and informational materials and to focus on writing coherent and complex texts that convey well-defined perspectives and tightly reasoned arguments. Students will read, write, speak, and think about the structure, style, content, and purpose of contemporary literature, expository, and visual texts through different lenses and various perspectives to investigate personal, American, and global views on current events, issues, and themes. As a means of developing the critical thinking and communication skills necessary for the demands of college and work, students will engage in discussion to prepare oral and written arguments that provide all relevant perspectives and consider the validity and reliability of sources. The California Reading/Language Arts Framework states that students in the eleventh grade are expected to read two million words annually on their own, including a good representation of high interest, rigorous, and relevant contemporary texts including magazines, newspapers, and online articles.

 

In this course, there is a concentrated focus on writing. Two new compositions are introduced in the eleventh grade: reflective composition and historical investigation. Reflective compositions require the student to explore the significance of a personal experience, event, or concern, while maintaining an appropriate balance between describing the incident and relating it to a more abstract idea. The historical investigation report requires students to use primary and secondary sources to compare different points of view regarding a single historical event and explain reasons for the similarities and differences. Students are expected to write and revise a minimum of six academic compositions within the eleventh-grade year.

 

This course provides students opportunities to increase awareness of the audience, purpose, and progression of the stages of the writing process and writing conventions to produce narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive texts of at least 1,500 words each, including timed writing.

 

This course fulfills a B requirement of the UC/CSU Subject Area Requirements.