The English Department at Mayfield offers a college preparatory curriculum with the study of literature and the practice of analytical writing at its core. Freshmen and sophomores take courses in genre studies. For juniors and seniors, the curriculum features semester-length “options” courses on different topics in literature. Students can choose to enroll in classes such as The Tragic Vision, Moment of Truth, and Journey Motif in Literature, and honors courses such as Heroes and Ideals and Sweet Dream, Rude Awakening. Each of these classes includes a syllabus of readings from English, American and world literature from different eras that illuminate the theme of each course.
In each academic year, students are expected to write a large number of increasingly complex literary analyses, in addition to personal essays, journals and other compositions. The emphasis on the writing segment of the program is not only on developing students’ technical skills but also on helping students to discover their own perspectives and find their own voices in their writing. Grammar and vocabulary are integrated into each year’s program.
“At Mayfield, the study of English is a dynamic, evolving program in which students are encouraged to engage with both the traditions of great literature and the world of today, to see the intersections between the two, and to express what they see in clear prose, animated dialogue and discussion, and many kinds of creative compositions.”
