ap english and literature

ap english and literature

The Importance of Studying English Literature

1. The Relevance of AP English and Literature

Essays, culminating research projects, and research logs combine students’ knowledge of word usage, grammar, and clear and well-organized communication. During the time students complete literature analysis essays, they set aside character names and events to discuss the writer of the essay rather than the events of the story. The writer elaborates, charges, explores topics, gathers appropriate quotations and leads, divides sentences into grammatically sound structures using substrates, comments, parallel structure, and other styles which have been taught in class. Recent essays not only require students to analyze both the story and the research questions as well as the choice of the text about the story in general discussions, but they also have to struggle with the temptations of external and penance research decree el sheets that, good, must be ideological?

For many students, the requirement to take English and history each year of high school life can seem like a burden. But what these driven students may not realize is that English literature classes do relate to their educational goals and careers in meaningful ways. For those interested in a career in medicine, writing is an invaluable skill in patient records, while a solid base in literature can help students understand the subtleties needed in diagnosing, treating, and caring for patients. For those interested in a career in business, an understanding of the literature of the industry is fundamental, not to mention the writing and basic composition skills that English courses focus on. And for those interested in a career in law, literature provides pathways to understanding human complexities, social issues, and legal rulings. In addition, the central component of every legal case is writing, based on a foundation of literacy and communication skills learned in an English class.

2. Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Literature Analysis

A friend of mine also described the depth of understanding that we obtain by being aware of today’s societal impact of literature, whether watching movies based on books. For example, the development of a variety of characters in the literary tale battles villains who personify a great evil adds more depth and understanding to the nature of characters than simply reading or watching simulations that embody the characters as nothing but evil. Truly, the real engine that powers the literary tale is not a reviewer who publishes a plot summary as knowledge. The engine is a conversation with yourself. Critical thinking needs the scaffolding of listening to various sources but ends in your subjective, “educated” opinion.

One major benefit of reading classic literature is that it introduces critical thinking skills that are needed to succeed in today’s team-oriented workplace. In their seminal book, Cal Newport identifies a strong correlation between the complex, analytical hierarchy of thinking that defined the life of a scholar at the turn of the 20th century and the characteristics most important in today’s knowledge work: focus, flow, and deep work. The University of Richmond’s annual survey of top executives re-affirms that critical thinking, communications, and problem-solving skills are among the most valuable skills that one can possess. Popova’s Brainpickings describes what it means to really read literature.

3. Enhancing Written and Verbal Communication Skills

By reading and analyzing literature, students can reflect on their thoughts and emotions (a process known as emotional self-awareness). This awareness of one’s emotions helps students identify and communicate their concerns and needs more effectively and establish deeper connections with others. Because of the emphasis on reflective thinking, literature courses in particular boost students’ emotional intelligence. As a highly desirable personal quality, emotional intelligence goes hand in hand with effective performance in the workplace, particularly in a caring clinical environment. People with high emotional intelligence foster higher job satisfaction, improved problem-solving skills, and lower risk of burnout. Therefore, students who develop emotional intelligence are more likely to become successful, higher quality professional employees. No other academic subject enriches the human experience, enjoys a degree of interest of the general population, or exhibits a substantial effect on everyday human concerns as much as literature.

Studying literature requires critical thinking, which enhances one’s problem-solving abilities. It also teaches students how to relate and communicate with others effectively, since literature examines various underlying human motives and social influences. When students develop these skills, they become better at understanding group needs, providing appropriate and efficient leadership, and building aesthetically pleasing and sustainable communities. Furthermore, students who develop the ability to “see more degrees in humans” are more likely to approach and solve complex social problems. Together, all of these qualities enable students to achieve and maintain social, economic, health, educational, and environmental goals.

4. Gaining Cultural and Historical Knowledge through Literary Works

Poetry provides deep insights into the minds of the people who composed them, as well as the cultures in which they were produced. The pain of being a war veteran, the feeling of homesickness while being forced to live in exile, the struggle for freedom and peace, or feelings of love and serenity can be expressed in a highly artistic and powerful way within the framework of a poem. Even though the poet may focus on the feelings within their soul, the poem they compose usually reflects the cultural history of their nation, with its social conditions, dialects, and other markers within the poetry. As it reaches across linguistic borders, which poetry is the medium to transcend, and has a universal nature, as so eloquently and wisely put by the famous Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz, “Poetry is a basic response of the human spirit to the world.” Aside from poetry and poetic language, literary works from different periods provide access to many pivotal issues of human history, shedding light on wars, hunger, poverty, racism, the confrontation between science and religion, etc. By studying literary works, students studying literature in English also foster awareness about the social conditions in the target cultures their society evolved.

Studying literature in English allows students the opportunity to learn about the history of various English-speaking cultures, including Great Britain, the United States, and other countries. Literature is an important part of cultural heritage, which not only provides a deep understanding of human history, but also insights into other human cultures and ways of thinking. Novels, poetry, plays, stories, and essays also carry valuable historical information, and many literary works can be seen as cultural or historical documents, portraying the society and culture of the time they were produced and giving us profound insights into the authors’ nations and history. This is why literary works from different places, periods, and genres are also used as valuable pedagogical devices in the EFL classroom, where they foster cross-cultural and intercultural awareness.

5. Fostering a Lifelong Love for Reading and Learning

The purpose we pursue while discussing English literature, as Mrs. Maria Aparecida Lima summarizes it, is to awaken in the students not just an understanding of the use of language in literary texts, but also pleasure, knowledge, sympathy, astonishment. Although literary reading might have its roots in the pleasure we enjoy when looking at our reflection in a mirror while taking our first steps into the reading world, we are only allowed to bloom into proper reading when given good conditions. Such conditions include the presence of responsible role models that will demonstrate the many benefits that stem from a peaceful and calm conversation with books. For that matter, we study literature to form readers themselves, in order to show them all the playful, challenging, intriguing, and transformative potential that lies in the act of reading.

Studying English literature opens many windows to the human mind, culture, and history. It does so by revealing stories and characters—real or imaginary—that have great significance. Some connect us with great figures who lived in our past; others allow us to explore a variety of cultures, views on the world, and even people’s feelings, interests, ambitions, aspirations, virtues, and tribulations. In his Lectures on Literature, Nobel Prize winner in Literature of 1949, Bertrand Russell, says that the main purpose of studying literature is to illustrate the human being to one another. It is by recognizing ourselves in absurdity that we are going to focus our attention on aspects most relevant to knowledge and interaction.