Literature
This is a year-long online course in close reading of great works from around 1800 to the early 20th century — all by women.
The primary activities in this course:
- close reading of the novels on our reading list (see here);
- live, in-depth discussion of those readings;
- writing two substantive essays of literary analysis.
All works are introduced with a historical perspective, including cultural background and literary conventions of the period. The purpose is to enable students, when they read these works, to have precisely the experience designed by the writer. The instructor's aim, in other words, is to enable students to see in their minds and feel in their hearts precisely what the writer intended them to see and feel — having that experience is where understanding literature must begin.
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Writing
 This weekly online class is taught by the author of The Writer's Guide to Grammar. It provides complete training in English grammar, usage, and punctuation — but with a twist: Roy Speed emphasizes the topics that writers actually need to know. He teaches grammar principles not for their own sake, but as requisites for important writing tools — as keys to perceiving both:
- how our language works;
- what makes writing effective.
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 At the heart of effective writing is the ability to develop and sustain a clear train of thought. This acclaimed year-long writing course is designed to help students develop the missing skills — the writing tools and know-how needed to organize and express their ideas. To better understand the essay form, students they not only produce and revise their own essays; they read closely and analyze dozens of essays by really fine writers.
Please note: This course serves as a precursor to our course Essay Writing & Appreciation.
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 The emphasis of this course is writing essays that produce insight: those fleeting, intuitive leaps and connections we all make at some point — magic glimpses of understanding, and even wisdom.
Students in this course are trained, first, to notice and record their own observations and insights; second, to explore them in the form of essays. For inspiration, they not only read and analyze splendid essays by fine writers; they maintain a commonplace book of their own observations.
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Shakespeare Intensives
 These online sessions provide an in-depth study of this play as well as the historical, cultural, and literary background needed to bring the play to life. This course takes students to an advanced level of reading comprehension and analysis. It strengthens the skills needed to tackle sophisticated material across the curriculum and even dissect difficult passages included in standardized tests.
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Hamlet — Eleven online sessions
 For students, Hamlet can seem daunting — it's Shakespeare's longest play, with dark themes, complex ideas, and difficult verse. This course makes the play accessible and, in ten online sessions, reveals the play's deepest secrets. This course in close reading provides an in-depth study of the play some consider Shakespeare's greatest.
Prerequisites: Students should already have some familiarity with Shakespeare. Our own intensive on Romeo & Juliet is ideal preparation for this course.
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Macbeth — Seven online sessions
 It may be his shortest tragedy, but Macbeth is packed with some of Shakespeare's most compelling imagery and finest verse. This series of seven sessions is for students who already have some familiarity with Shakespeare and seek greater depth. The emphasis is on close reading, and students also become familiar with 1) Shakespeare's sources for the play, and 2) the most interesting movie versions.
Prerequisites: Students should already have considerable familiarity with Shakespeare. Our own College-Bound Intensive on Romeo & Juliet is ideal preparation for this course.
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Many biology courses are asynchronous or meet just one hour per week. Our 
In this year-long, honors-level class, each student acquires both a deep understanding of chemistry and an appreciation for its real-world applications. Each week comprises live lecture and live discussion enhanced by graphics and PowerPoint presentations. Students perform labs under the instructor's guidance and are provided with lab materials and worksheets to be completed at home.
Our online science intensives are eight weeks long; each delivers in-depth, focused study of a particular topic in science, and they all include labs. Each is a standalone course that may complement nicely your at-home science curriculum. These courses are appropriate for late middle-school-level and early high-school-level students. In these courses, accordingly, study guides, tests, and note-taking sheets are provided to help students develop the study skills critical to science instruction.
