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Frequently Asked Questions About Excellence in Literature
What is included in an Excellence in Literature course?
The center of the course is the EIL book, which contains a course guide structured as a detailed college-style syllabus, plus supporting materials. For each unit, the focus work and context readings are listed, followed by a week-by-week overview of the assignments for the class. The reference portion of the book includes:
- Introduction
- Overview and Objectives for Excellence in Literature
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Read A Book
- Discerning Worldview Through Literary Periods
***Units 1-9 compose the bulk of the book, providing guidance for weekly lessons.
- Honors
- Formats and Models
- Approach Paper Format
- Historical Approach Paper Format
- Author Profile Format
- Literature Summary Format
- Sample Poetry Analysis
- What an MLA Formatted Essay Looks Like
- Excellence in Literature Evaluation Rubric
- Excellence in Literature Evaluation Rubric for IEW Students
- Semester Evaluation form (for personal records, high-school portfolio, or for obtaining advanced placement from a college)
- Glossary
- Selected Resources
- Courses are available as e-books or print-books for self-directed study.
How can I prepare my younger students to take Everyday Education Excellence in Literature classes
There are many excellent writing programs you might consider. I recommend making your choice based on the student's learning style as well as his or her plans for the future. You can find a quick overview of some of my favorite programs at my blog: http://www.janice-campbell.com/2011/03/15/writing-programs-i-like (The page will open in a new tab.)
Can I use Excellence in Literature courses to prepare for AP, CLEP, or other exams?
Students who choose the Honors Track in EiL may plan to take AP and/or CLEP exams. (You can read more about these on the Doing College Your Way pages, and in the Get a Jump Start on College! book.) Appropriate exams include:
- AP- English Language
- AP- English Literature (Counter-intuitively, this is not British Literature, but "Literature in English." Take it after you have taken EiL's English III and English IV.)
- CLEP- Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- CLEP- English Composition with Essay OR Freshman College Composition (Take the one accepted by your local community college or the four-year college you wish to attend.)
- CLEP- American Literature
- CLEP- English Literature
- Optional CLEP- Humanities (includes literature and fine arts)
- SAT Subject Test- English (Skills test, similar to AP English Language or CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.)
How should we evaluate papers?
There is an included rubric (checklist of standards) that helps you evaluate the following standards:
- Ideas and Content (details, development, focus)
- Organization (internal structure)
- Voice (tone, style, purpose, audience)
- Word Choice (precise language and phrasing)
- Sentence Fluency (correctness, rhythm and cadence)
- Mechanics (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.)
- Presentation (formatting, layout)
A rubric provides constructive feedback by allowing you to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness, so that the student understands the skill areas he or she needs to work on. If you need help with evaluating papers, you may want to contact Connie Schenkelberg, a retired teacher and the author of Grammar Made Easy and Spelling Made Easy. She offers excellent evaluations via e-mail at a very reasonable price.
You don't tell me how many pages to read each day. How will I know?
Time management! This is a college-prep class, so you will be learning to look ahead and pace yourself. For units based upon a novel-length work, you have a couple of options: 1) Sit down the first day and read the whole book in several hours, then use the rest of the time to gather supporting information, read another book by the author, and write your essay; or 2) Divide the book into three equal parts and read one part per week, leaving the last week to write and polish your essay. I prefer the first method, as the story is usually more interesting if it is not read in tiny fragments over a long period of time, and I prefer to have plenty of time to draft, revise, and polish the essay. Whatever you do, start reading the first day of the unit, and read every day until the book is finished. Don't procrastinate! And don't forget your context reading!
How much time will this take each day?
I anticipate you will spend a minimum of one hour per day reading and/or responding to the literature. Your vocabulary work may add an additional 20 minutes per day. This will vary according to how fast you read and write.
I haven't done a lot of writing, so how will I know what to do?
 There is only one way to learn to write, and that is simply to begin
with the assignment and write. The syllabus provides assigned reading
plus a very specific essay question. This gives you the topic and
thesis of your essay, so that you can focus on organizing supporting
points and presenting evidence from the text to support your thesis.
The recommended handbook (Writers Inc. for E1 and E2; or Write for
College for E3-5) provides a detailed introduction to the writing
process, and an overview of how to approach each type of paper. If you need additional detailed instruction in essay writing, my favorite resource is The Elegant Essay by Lesha Myers. It's a wonderful introduction to essays In addition, you may consult your parent, writing coach, or teacher for clarification and
additional help.
I have never done a self-directed class before. How is it
different from a regular class?
A self-directed class will help help you develop the skills you
need to succeed in college and business. First, you will learn to use
a syllabus, which is similar to those you will encounter in college. Second,
you will learn to manage your time in order to meet assignment
deadlines. Third, you will learn to use the assigned resources and
other reference materials to answer basic questions. Fourth, you will
learn when and how it's appropriate to contact your writing mentor (parent or teacher) for further information.
Finally, self-directed classes will help you learn how to apply
your own knowledge and learning experiences to new and challenging
assignments so that you can tackle any new subject with confidence.
Why so many essays?
We focus on essay writing because it is an ideal vehicle for practicing writing skills. Essays, like most non-fiction and fiction writing, are written in three distinct stages: planning, drafting, and revising. As the three-stage process becomes automatic through practice, the writer can focus on the most important parts of writing; content and style. There are a variety of shorter writing exercises included in the syllabi, but essays are the primary type of writing practice.
Can I use library books, or do I have to buy the the focus works?
I encourage active reading, especially of the focus works. This means underlining and notes in the margin, and librarians really hate that. So I recommend that, if possible, you buy the focus texts, and possibly the Norton anthologies for additional context and annotations (older editions work just fine).
You can usually find used copies quite cheaply (if you follow the links from the booklists to Amazon.com, you'll often find reasonably priced used copies of the recommended texts).
My last teacher/mentor never/always commented on this?
Use of the English language is ultimately an art, not a science. Although basic things like subject-verb agreement are not usually questioned, style is subjective. I'll always remember one essay I wrote in college that was lavishly praised by one professor as having "marvelous voice" and "wonderful style," and was roundly criticized by another professor as being "imprecise" and "impressionistic." It was the same essay, same information, but differing tastes and expectations on the part of the readers. Every instructor brings a different background and taste to the job of teaching, so an English teacher with a journalism background will most likely have different standards than an English teacher with a creative writing background. My goal is to encourage you to develop or refine your own writing voice as you learn to think clearly and accurately on paper. For writing is, after all, just thoughts in print.
How should I determine placement in Excellence in Literature?
Students who are ready for Excellence in Literature should be reading at high-school level, and have adequate skills in grammar, spelling, and language mechanics. I expect students to grammar- and spell-check all papers before turning them in, as learning to self-edit is part of the writing process (and this is something that is always required in college and in real life). Students should be willing to independently follow the lesson plan; to ask questions anytime they need help; and read evaluations when they are returned. The last three things don't always come naturally, but they can be learned with gentle, patient reminders.
The five levels of Excellence in Literature increase gradually in difficulty. This is measured both by the level of challenge in the reading assignments, and in the length and subject matter of the writing assignments. An eighth-grader may begin with English I or II, but so may a tenth-grader who has little or no previous writing experience. A student who is comfortable with writing, and is ready for a more challenging study, may wish to begin with English III, IV, or IV. Finally, you may choose placement based on literature you want to read or the history you are studying.
What should an Author Profile look like?
One of the key features of Excellence in Literature assignments is that they're not busy-work for the sake of creating extra work. The Author Profile is designed to capture the essential points in an author's life, with an emphasis on those that directly relate to his literary life. The profile shouldn't be more than two pages at most, and can be well done at a much shorter length. Here is a student-written sample:
Author Profile for English 3: Excellence in Literature's American Literature
Name: Washington Irving (pseudonyms include Dietrich Knickerbocker, Jonathan Oldstyle, and Geoffrey Crayon)
Birth Date: April 3, 1783
Death Date: November 28, 1859
Best-Known Works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, The Life of George Washington, Knickerbocker’s History of New York
Brief Biography: Washington Irving used his experiences living in both Europe and America to write humorous and meditative stories popular in both the new and old worlds. Irving’s life and work were influenced by the events of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and he was also profoundly influenced by other writers (both European and American) if his time. His favorite childhood stories involved voyages to far-off lands. The places of Irving’s life show up extensively in his writing. He wrote of England, America, and even lived in Tarrytown, New York, where he set The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
And a question from the archives....
Why "Zeitgeist"?
(2008: The curriculum was originally called Zeitgeist Literature, but many people found it difficult to pronounce, spell, and remember, so it's now Excellence in Literature (with thanks to Andrew Pudewa for help in selecting that). The focus remains the same, though, so I've left this question for you, so that you'll have an even better idea of what the series is about.)
According to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (my favorite), 'zeitgeist' is "The spirit of the age; the trend of thought or feeling in a period, especially as reflected in its literature, art, etc." I've carefully chosen literature, from ancient to modern, that I believe best reflects the spirit of the age in which it was created. The context resources that support each focus text offer additional insight into the art and music of author's world.
Understanding the zeitgeist that shaped the ideas you are reading ensures that you will better understand the text. Ideas that you understand are more easily recalled, and the knowledge you gain through literature can seep into many other areas of study. Zeitgeist is simply part of the context of literature's creation, and because these courses study literature in context, the name, Zeitgeist Literature, seemed appropriate. From a practical perspective, though, Excellence in Literature is easy to remember and requires very little definition, so it's the winning choice.
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