Central Bucks High School students are required to take four credits of English during grades 9-12. The required sequence of courses provides students with instruction in each basic area of language arts: reading, composition, literature, and oral communication.
All juniors must take a one-credit course, English 11: British and European Literature Connections or AP English Language and Composition. For students with a special interest in English and communications, enrichment electives are recommended rather than the acceleration of course sequence.
The honors program is for college-bound students applying to colleges designated as most competitive, especially if students are planning to major in English, communications, or law. Students in the most rigorous program should also consider electives such as SAT preparation.
British and European Literature Connections - 18 weeks, 1 credit
Honors (0100), Academic (0120), Basic (0140)
British and European Literature Connections is a course which integrates reading and literature study with composition, research, and oral communications.
The study of classical and contemporary British and European literature, both fiction and nonfiction, will enable students to develop an understanding of the evolution of Western literature. Students will read works by major British and European authors and will trace the cultural heritage by looking at common themes and genres.
Students will receive instruction in writing, with an emphasis on explanatory, analytic, and persuasive papers that are thesis-based. Students will receive feedback and coaching to improve their effectiveness as writers. Students will extend their knowledge of research skills through writing a research paper. Language skills will be addressed in the context of writing.
AP English Language and Composition - 18 weeks, 1 credit - (0100)
This course id designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition examination in the spring. Acceptable scores on this annual exam can result in credit and/or advanced placement status at many of the nation's colleges.
Students will become skill readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. The students will write research argument papers. They will produce expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that introduce a complex central idea and develop that idea with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and secondary sources, cogent explanations, and clear transitions. Since this AP course fulfills the requirement for grade 11 English, special emphasis will be placed on British literature and writers.