Reading and Writing in the Major

The goal of ENGL 204 is to teach students reading and writing skills particular to literary study. In this course: (1) Students will hone and refine their ability to perform close readings of both primary and secondary texts. (2) They will learn to identify formal elements that contribute to a text’s meaning (such as symbolism, meter, etc.). (3) In order to write better literary analyses, they will learn to pose questions about a text that are both worth asking and also answerable. (4) They will learn to formulate a literary argument, to support their position with evidence from their reading of a primary text (and secondary texts, if appropriate) and to revise their work in response to critiques. This course is required for English majors and minors. Prerequisite or co-requisite: ENGL 102, CORE 101, NITZ 180, or CORE 301.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland reserves the right to provide some or all of the course content through alternative methods of course delivery, including remote methods of delivery, and it reserves the right to change the method of delivery at any time before or during the academic term, in the event of a health or safety emergency or similar situation when it determines, in its sole discretion, that such change is necessary and in the best interests of the College and the campus community.