Subjects › English 12
English 12: close reading, argument, and research, one question at a time
English 12 covers the full senior-year Common Core ELA sequence: close reading of literature, drama, and poetry; a Shakespeare play; foundational American literature from Franklin to the early twentieth century; literary nonfiction and historical and scientific texts; and the foundational U.S. documents. Alongside reading, it builds the writing side: arguments with claims and counterclaims, informative and explanatory writing, narrative technique, research projects, and revision. It also covers grammar, usage, punctuation, vocabulary, figurative language, and the speaking and listening skills used in discussion and debate.
The tutor does not lecture through a text or hand over a finished analysis. It asks what you noticed in a passage, has you locate the evidence for a claim before accepting it, and pushes on word choice, structure, and counterclaims until your reasoning is explicit. When you misread a line of Shakespeare or skip a counterargument, it asks a follow-up pointed at exactly that gap, then later checks whether you can still find that kind of evidence or build that kind of paragraph on a new text.
Who it is for
- Seniors working through required reading like Shakespeare, foundational American literature, or U.S. founding documents
- Students preparing argumentative, informative, or narrative essays for class or college application writing
- Students doing a research project who need help narrowing a question and evaluating sources
- Students who want grammar, usage, and vocabulary reinforced through their actual reading and writing, not isolated drills
- Teachers or parents looking for support between class sessions that matches what grade 12 standards actually ask for
What you will be able to do
- Read a Shakespeare play or a complex American text closely and support interpretations with specific textual evidence
- Trace how two or more themes or central ideas develop and interact across a literary or informational text
- Write an argument that states a precise claim, addresses counterclaims fairly, and organizes evidence coherently
- Analyze foundational U.S. documents such as the Declaration of Independence or Lincoln's Second Inaugural, including their reasoning
- Evaluate a speaker's or author's rhetoric, point of view, and use of evidence, including irony and satire
- Plan and carry out a short research project, integrating sources in different formats and citing them appropriately
A taste of a lesson on Meaning and refinement of key terms in nonfiction
The tutor asks, you answer, and it works from what you actually said. No videos to sit through.
The 43 topics in English 12
Each topic builds on the ones before it. The tutor checks what you already know and starts there.
Close reading and textual evidence
Read a complex text closely and support every interpretation with specific textual evidence. Teach the difference between what a text says explicitly and what can be inferred, and how to notice where a text leaves matters uncertain. Students should be able to cite precise quotations and explain how details connect to the whole text (RL.11-12.1, RI.11-12.1, RST.11-12.1, RH.11-12.1).
Syntax and sentence structure in complex texts
Teach how to parse long, complex sentences in literary and informational texts: identifying main clauses, subordinate clauses, appositives, and parallel structure, and how syntax shapes meaning and emphasis. Students learn to paraphrase complex sentences accurately (L.11-12.3.A reading application, RST.11-12.2 paraphrasing).
Builds on Close reading and textual evidence
Determining word meaning from context
Teach strategies for determining unknown and multiple-meaning words: using the sentence, paragraph, and whole-text context, and word position or function in a sentence. Students then check inferred meanings against context or a dictionary (L.11-12.4, 4.A, 4.D).
Builds on Close reading and textual evidence
Word forms, etymology, and reference tools
Teach patterns of word change that signal different parts of speech or meanings (e.g., conceive, conception, conceivable; prefixes, suffixes, roots). Teach how to use dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses, print and digital, to find pronunciation, precise meaning, part of speech, and etymology (L.11-12.4.B, 4.C).
Builds on Determining word meaning from context
Academic and domain-specific vocabulary
Teach the general academic words (e.g., analyze, argue, concede) and domain-specific words used in literature, history, and science texts, and how to acquire them independently through reading and reference. Students use these words accurately in speaking and writing (L.11-12.6).
Builds on Word forms, etymology, and reference tools
Figurative language and figures of speech
Teach figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, personification, irony, hyperbole, understatement, and paradox; how to interpret them in context and analyze their role in a text. Include how figures of speech contribute to tone and meaning (L.11-12.5.A, RL.11-12.4 figurative meaning, RI.11-12.4 figurative meaning).
Builds on Syntax and sentence structure in complex texts, Determining word meaning from context
Connotation, denotation, and nuance among near-synonyms
Teach the difference between denotation and connotation, and how words with similar denotations differ in nuance, tone, and force. Students analyze how specific word choices affect meaning and tone and how an author refines a key term across a text (L.11-12.5.B, RL.11-12.4 connotation, RI.11-12.4 connotation, RH.11-12.4).
Builds on Academic and domain-specific vocabulary, Figurative language and figures of speech
Standard English grammar and usage
Teach the conventions of standard English grammar and usage: agreement, verb tense and mood, pronoun case and reference, modifiers, parallelism, and sentence completeness. Students apply these conventions when writing and speaking (L.11-12.1).
Builds on Syntax and sentence structure in complex texts
Changing and contested usage
Teach that usage is a matter of convention that changes over time and is sometimes contested (e.g., singular they, split infinitives, hopefully). Students learn to resolve complex or contested usage questions by consulting usage references such as Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage and Garner's Modern American Usage (L.11-12.1.A, L.11-12.1.B).
Builds on Word forms, etymology, and reference tools, Standard English grammar and usage
Punctuation and capitalization
Teach the conventions of standard capitalization and punctuation, including commas with clauses and series, semicolons and colons, dashes, parentheses, quotation marks, and apostrophes. Students apply these conventions accurately in their own writing (L.11-12.2).
Builds on Standard English grammar and usage
Hyphenation and spelling
Teach hyphenation conventions for compound modifiers, prefixes, and compound words, and systematic spelling strategies including common patterns, homophones, and words with silent or doubled letters. Students spell correctly in their writing (L.11-12.2.A, L.11-12.2.B).
Builds on Word forms, etymology, and reference tools, Punctuation and capitalization
Structural choices in literary narrative and drama
Teach how authors develop and relate story and drama elements: setting, order of action, characterization, where a text begins or ends, and comic or tragic resolution. Students analyze how these choices shape overall structure and meaning (RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.5).
Builds on Close reading and textual evidence
Themes and their development in literature
Teach how to determine two or more themes in a literary text, trace how they develop and interact over the course of the text, and provide an objective summary that does not impose opinion (RL.11-12.2).
Builds on Structural choices in literary narrative and drama
Point of view, irony, satire, and understatement
Teach how point of view shapes meaning and how to distinguish what a text directly states from what it really means, using satire, sarcasm, irony, and understatement as cases (RL.11-12.6).
Builds on Figurative language and figures of speech, Structural choices in literary narrative and drama
Shakespeare and dramatic texts
Read a full Shakespeare play closely, analyzing its language, structure, and themes, and compare at least one live or recorded stage or film production with the printed text, evaluating how each version interprets the play (RL.11-12.7, RL.11-12.10 drama).
Builds on Syntax and sentence structure in complex texts, Figurative language and figures of speech, Themes and their development in literature, Point of view, irony, satire, and understatement
Evaluating multiple interpretations of a text
Teach how to analyze and evaluate different interpretations of the same story, drama, or poem, such as film adaptations, recorded readings, or productions, judging how each version reads the source text (RL.11-12.7 beyond Shakespeare, W.11-12.9.A).
Builds on Shakespeare and dramatic texts
Foundational American literature (18th to early 20th century)
Read foundational works of American literature from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, such as Franklin's Autobiography, Hawthorne, Emerson, Douglass, Dickinson, Twain, Chopin, and Fitzgerald. Teach the period context and how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes (RL.11-12.9).
Builds on Themes and their development in literature
Poetry analysis across periods
Analyze poems closely for form, sound, imagery, and speaker, tracing how meaning develops and how themes are treated across poems, including comparisons of two or more poems from the same period (RL.11-12.2, RL.11-12.4, RL.11-12.10 poetry).
Builds on Figurative language and figures of speech, Themes and their development in literature
Independent reading of complex literature
Build the ability to read stories, dramas, and poems of grade 12 text complexity independently and proficiently, using the close-reading skills learned earlier, with scaffolding removed. Students demonstrate this by reading an assigned complex novel or collection on their own and discussing it (RL.11-12.10).
Builds on Shakespeare and dramatic texts, Evaluating multiple interpretations of a text, Foundational American literature (18th to early 20th century), Poetry analysis across periods
Central ideas and development in informational texts
Determine two or more central ideas in an informational or literary nonfiction text and trace how they develop, interact, and build on one another; write an objective summary (RI.11-12.2, RST.11-12.2 summarizing complex information by paraphrase).
Builds on Close reading and textual evidence, Themes and their development in literature
Structure, purpose, and effectiveness of exposition
Analyze and evaluate how an author structures an exposition or argument and whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. Determine point of view or purpose where rhetoric is particularly effective, and analyze how style and content create power or beauty (RI.11-12.5, RI.11-12.6, RST.11-12.5, RST.11-12.6).
Builds on Central ideas and development in informational texts
Meaning and refinement of key terms in nonfiction
Determine figurative, connotative, and technical meanings of words in nonfiction and analyze how an author uses and refines a key term across a text, as in Madison's definition of faction in Federalist No. 10. Includes domain-specific symbols and terms in science and technical texts (RI.11-12.4, RST.11-12.4, RH.11-12.4).
Builds on Academic and domain-specific vocabulary, Figurative language and figures of speech, Connotation, denotation, and nuance among near-synonyms, Central ideas and development in informational texts
Analyzing primary and secondary historical sources
Determine the central ideas of a historical primary or secondary source, summarize it accurately, and analyze in detail how its key sentences and paragraphs contribute to the whole. Evaluate explanations for events, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain (RH.11-12.2, RH.11-12.3, RH.11-12.5).
Builds on Central ideas and development in informational texts, Structure, purpose, and effectiveness of exposition
Comparing authors' views and corroborating sources
Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same event by their claims, reasoning, and evidence; evaluate an author's premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other sources; and note discrepancies among sources (RH.11-12.6, RH.11-12.8, RH.11-12.9).
Builds on Analyzing primary and secondary historical sources
Integrating multiple sources in diverse formats
Integrate and evaluate information from multiple sources in different formats, such as charts, graphs, data tables, images, video, and text, to answer a question or solve a problem (RH.11-12.7, RI.11-12.7, RST.11-12.7, SL.11-12.2).
Builds on Comparing authors' views and corroborating sources
Reading science and technical texts
Follow a complex multistep procedure precisely, analyze results based on the text's explanations, identify the hypothesis, data, and conclusions of a technical text and verify or challenge them, and categorize information into hierarchies. Attend to distinctions and gaps the author makes (RST.11-12.1, RST.11-12.3, RST.11-12.5, RST.11-12.8).
Builds on Structure, purpose, and effectiveness of exposition, Integrating multiple sources in diverse formats
Synthesizing science and technical sources
Synthesize information from texts, experiments, and simulations into a coherent understanding of a process or phenomenon, resolving conflicts between sources, and identify unresolved issues and the author's purpose (RST.11-12.6, RST.11-12.9).
Builds on Reading science and technical texts
Foundational U.S. documents and legal reasoning
Analyze foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance, including the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural, and delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal texts and Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents, including premises, purposes, and arguments (RI.11-12.8, RI.11-12.9).
Builds on Structure, purpose, and effectiveness of exposition, Meaning and refinement of key terms in nonfiction
Independent reading of complex literary nonfiction and history
Read and comprehend literary nonfiction, history, and social studies texts of grade 12 complexity independently and proficiently, applying the reading strategies from earlier topics without scaffolding (RI.11-12.10, RH.11-12.10).
Builds on Comparing authors' views and corroborating sources, Foundational U.S. documents and legal reasoning
Independent reading of science and technical texts
Read and comprehend science and technical texts of grade 12 complexity independently and proficiently, with the reading skills from earlier topics applied without scaffolding (RST.11-12.10).
Builds on Synthesizing science and technical sources
Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence
Write arguments on substantive topics: introduce a precise claim and its significance, distinguish it from opposing claims, develop claims and counterclaims fairly with the strengths and limitations of each, use cohesive devices and formal objective style, and close with a conclusion that follows from the argument (W.11-12.1, 1.A-1.E, WHST.11-12.1, 1.A-1.E).
Builds on Standard English grammar and usage, Integrating multiple sources in diverse formats
Discipline-specific argument writing
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content in history and science, using the discipline's norms, data, and evidence standards, with the same structure of claim, counterclaim, and conclusion (WHST.11-12.1 discipline emphasis, WHST.11-12.1.D).
Builds on Central ideas and development in informational texts, Structure, purpose, and effectiveness of exposition, Reading science and technical texts, Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence
Informative and explanatory writing
Write informative and explanatory texts that examine complex ideas clearly: introduce and organize a topic so each element builds on the last, develop it with significant facts, definitions, and quotations, use precise domain vocabulary and analogy, and close with implications (W.11-12.2, 2.A-2.F).
Builds on Academic and domain-specific vocabulary, Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence
Writing historical and procedural explanations
Write informative texts that narrate historical events, scientific procedures and experiments, or technical processes in a clear, accurate, and organized way with the discipline's conventions (WHST.11-12.2, 2.A-2.F).
Builds on Discipline-specific argument writing, Informative and explanatory writing
Varying syntax for effect in writing
Vary sentence syntax deliberately for rhetorical effect, using references such as Tufte's Artful Sentences as models, and apply these choices in one's own writing (L.11-12.3, L.11-12.3.A production).
Builds on Syntax and sentence structure in complex texts, Standard English grammar and usage
Narrative writing techniques
Write narratives of real or imagined experiences using dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines; orient the reader with point of view and setting; sequence events to build toward a tone and outcome; use vivid sensory detail; and conclude with reflection (W.11-12.3, 3.A-3.E).
Builds on Structural choices in literary narrative and drama, Varying syntax for effect in writing
Research inquiry and synthesis
Conduct short and sustained research projects to answer a question, including a self-generated one; narrow or broaden the inquiry; gather information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources using advanced searches; assess each source's strengths and limitations for task, purpose, and audience; and synthesize sources while integrating and citing information (W.11-12.7, W.11-12.8, WHST.11-12.7, WHST.11-12.8, WHST.11-12.9, W.11-12.9).
Builds on Integrating multiple sources in diverse formats, Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence
Writing process, revision, and digital publishing
Plan, draft, revise, edit, and rewrite writing to address what matters most for purpose and audience; use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update shared writing in response to feedback; and write routinely over short and extended time frames (W.11-12.4, W.11-12.5, W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10, WHST.11-12.4, WHST.11-12.5, WHST.11-12.6, WHST.11-12.10).
Builds on Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence, Informative and explanatory writing, Narrative writing techniques
Writing about literature and applying reading standards
Write analysis of literary and literary nonfiction texts that draws evidence from them, applying grade 11-12 reading standards, including comparing two or more texts from the same period and delineating the reasoning in a seminal U.S. text (W.11-12.9, W.11-12.9.A, W.11-12.9.B).
Builds on Foundational American literature (18th to early 20th century), Foundational U.S. documents and legal reasoning, Independent reading of complex literary nonfiction and history, Writing arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence
Collaborative discussion and preparation
Participate effectively in one-on-one, group, and teacher-led discussions: come prepared with read material and evidence, set roles and goals in group work, pose and respond to probing questions, ensure a hearing for all positions, and synthesize comments on all sides (SL.11-12.1, 1.A-1.D).
Builds on Close reading and textual evidence
Evaluating a speaker's rhetoric and reasoning
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, use of evidence and rhetoric, including stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, emphasis, and tone, as in a speech or debate (SL.11-12.3).
Builds on Figurative language and figures of speech, Collaborative discussion and preparation
Presenting findings and adapting speech
Present information and findings with a clear perspective and line of reasoning, addressing alternative views; make strategic use of digital media in presentations; and adapt speech to context and task, using formal English when appropriate (SL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.5, SL.11-12.6).
Builds on Integrating multiple sources in diverse formats, Evaluating a speaker's rhetoric and reasoning
Argument and debate in discussion
Propel discussions by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning, challenge claims, promote divergent thinking, and determine what research is needed; apply these habits in formal debate.
Builds on Collaborative discussion and preparation, Presenting findings and adapting speech
Practice questions in English 12
A few of the kinds of questions you will work through, with answers.
Choose the correctly punctuated sentence: (A) The committee reviewed three proposals; however only one met the budget. (B) The committee reviewed three proposals; however, only one met the budget.
See the answer
B
A conjunctive adverb like 'however' joining two independent clauses needs a semicolon before it and a comma after it.
In Dickinson's line 'Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me,' what effect does personifying Death as a courteous suitor create?
See the answer
It makes death feel calm and inevitable rather than violent, reframing it as a polite, almost social visit
Personification shifts the poem's tone from fear to quiet acceptance by giving Death manners and intention.
In the Declaration of Independence, what logical role do the 'self-evident truths' play in the overall argument?
See the answer
They serve as the premises from which the colonists' right to break from Britain is deduced
Jefferson builds a deductive case: from the stated truths about rights and government, he reasons to the conclusion that overthrowing an abusive government is justified.
A student claims 'schools should eliminate all homework' and only presents evidence against homework. What is missing according to grade 12 argument standards?
See the answer
A fair treatment of counterclaims and their strengths and limitations
Grade 12 argument writing requires acknowledging opposing claims and addressing their merits, not just supporting evidence for one's own side.
Two historians disagree about the primary cause of an economic depression, one citing financial collapse and the other citing bad monetary policy. What should a reader do before accepting either claim?
See the answer
Check each author's evidence and reasoning against other sources to see which is better corroborated
Comparing viewpoints requires evaluating the evidence and reasoning behind each claim, not just the claims themselves.
In a stage production of Hamlet, the director cuts the gravedigger scene entirely. What is one effect this could have on the play's meaning?
See the answer
It could remove the comic relief and the direct meditation on mortality that the scene provides before the final act
Evaluating a production against the text means noticing what is lost or changed when scenes are cut, including tonal shifts and thematic emphasis.
Questions about this subject
Does this follow a specific textbook or reading list?
It follows the Common Core grade 12 standards rather than one textbook, so it works with whatever Shakespeare play, American literature selections, or nonfiction your class is reading.
Can it help with a specific essay that's due soon?
Yes. You can bring a draft or an assignment prompt and work through claim, structure, or evidence with the tutor, though it will ask you questions rather than write the essay for you.
Does it cover grammar and vocabulary separately from the reading?
Grammar, usage, punctuation, and vocabulary come up as topics on their own and also inside the close reading and writing work, since that's closer to how they're actually used.
Is Shakespeare required, and which play does it use?
The course includes close reading of a full Shakespeare play and comparison with a live or filmed production; it adapts to whichever play you're studying in class.
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