Literature and Composition (English 2) is a one year, college-preparatory literature and composition course, and is the second volume of the Excellence in Literature curriculum.

 In Literature and Composition, you will study:

• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

This fourth edition of the best-selling Literature and Composition features additional learning helps, a new pacing chart for each module, and updated context links and resources. It replaces ISBN 9781613220245. 

Softcover; 8.5 x 11"; 180 pages.

Literature and Composition (English 2) is the second volume of the Excellence in Literature curriculum. Each volume is available in print and/or ebook format.

What does Literature and Composition cover?

Literature and Composition is a college-preparatory literature and composition course. Focus works, including novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. Context readings provide background information about the author, the historical period, and the literary and artistic context of the focus work.

Students will gain an understanding of the development of literature and will practice the skills of close reading through essays, approach papers, and other creative and evaluative writing.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students will: 
• Understand the process of writing, including the use of tools such as a writer’s handbook, dictionary, and thesaurus.
• Have specific understanding of selected representative texts by major authors of the periods studied.
• Have a general understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the works.
• Be able to analyze literary texts and present thoughtfully developed ideas in writing.
• Demonstrate competence in essay organization, style, and mechanics.

What does Literature and Composition include?

Self-directed: Like all the volumes of the Excellence in Literature curriculum, Literature and Composition  is written mostly to the student.

The book begins by introducing the purpose and focus of the curriculum, then goes on to provide context information that will be useful as students work through the modules, including chapters on How to Read a Book and How to Write an Essay, as well as Discerning Worldview through Literary Periods. Online resource links are kept updated at the EIL site.

Formats and Models: This chapter provides detailed 
instructions for each type of paper, along with a student-written model so parents and students can see exactly what is expected.

Honors: In the listing below, the highlighted book is the focus text, and the honors book is optional additional reading for students who want to earn an honors grade or prepare for a CLEP. A brief chapter in each book provides instructions for the additional writing that will round out the honors grade.

Resources and References: Following the nine modules that outline readings and a week-by-week lesson plan for each of the classic works being studied, you will find reference resources, including instructions for evaluation, reproducible rubric and assignment sheets, and more. You can see an annotated listing of each of the introductory and reference chapters at the "What is included in Excellence in Literature" post. 

Each book below is linked to edition I prefer at Amazon. These are affiliate links, of course — that means I get a few cents from each book purchase, but it doesn't change your cost at all.

Module 1: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Honors: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss or The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Optional: The book of Jonah (any translation)

Module 2: Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Honors: “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Module 3: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Honors: The Man in the Iron Mask or The Three Musketeers by Dumas

Module 4: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Honors: Manalive by G.K. Chesterton

Module 5: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Honors: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Module 6: Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather

Honors: Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

Module 7: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Honors: King John by William Shakespeare

Module 8: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Honors: Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare or Rob Roy by Scott

Module 9: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Honors: Kim by Rudyard Kipling

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"Students completing these courses should be miles ahead of most of their high school contemporaries in their ability to read and analyze literature at a sophisticated level. 

The challenging writing assignments also promise to develop student skills in composition to a high level."

From a detailed review by Cathy Duffy

One of our loyal curriculum users shared the following list of the Literature and Composition modules, organized in chronological order. While the original order was created for the purpose of alternating longer, more challenging works with shorter ones, it is interesting and quite appropriate to enjoy the modules chronologically. Either way works just fine. Enjoy! 

• Renaissance: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
  
• Neo-Classical: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe (c. 1660-1731)
  
• English Romanticism: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
  
• Romanticism: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)
  
• American Romanticism: Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
  
• Romantic Victorian: The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
  
• Modernist: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
  
• Modernist/Regional: Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1873-1947)
  
• Modern Myth: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (1898-1965)
  

Get the print book and ebook together for just a bit more.

Print Plus eBook learning advantages:

• Printed guide is best for frequently referenced instructional articles and models
  
• eBook add-on can be one more than one device for use by others in the family
  
• eBook add-on allows students to click context resources links on most computers, rather than type in URLs (any link updates will be listed on the Excellence in Literature resource site in the Curriculum User Content)
  
• Extra copies of reproducible forms can be easily printed from the add-on ebook
  

Introduction to Literature (English 1) 
Literature and Composition (English 2)
American Literature (English 3)
British Literature (English 4)
World Literature (English 5)
The Complete Curriculum: Literature and Writing for Grades 8-12
Handbook for Writers