The St. Margaret's Episcopal School English department seeks to develop in each student the ability to write clear and persuasive prose, the skills required to read and interpret literature, and the power to make full use of his or her written and spoken language. We are consistent in our use of the process approach to writing. We help students put their written work through a thoughtful and often time-consuming process of drafting and revision. Through repeated emphasis on critical thinking and writing, students encounter both themselves and differing voices in small group environments that encourage discussion; they thereby gain a lifelong appreciation for the complexity of the human condition. Through the study of literature, students experience diversity in voice and develop empathy for the alternative narratives of the human experience. In the end, the study of literature invites the ongoing questions: who am I in the world, and what does it mean to be human?

Consequently, the English Department seeks to impart to its students through its K-12 curriculum an enduring understanding of specific knowledge, principles, and habits of mind such as:

• Expand vocabulary and master skills in reading, writing, speaking
• Analyze texts, interpret, and read for subtext, hidden meaning, paradox
• Develop art of communication and personal expression
• Read actively and connect to previous knowledge and experience
• Understand one's own process of learning
• Empathize with the stories of others and alternative narratives of human expression
• Discover and develop insight and personal identity through literature
• Think critically and utilize research as a life-long tool