It is what you read when you don’t have to
that determines what you will be
when you can’t help it.
Oscar Wilde
Excellence in Literature: The Website —
Study Resources for Literature and Writing
Where should you begin? |
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| If you are using the curriculum, start at the Study Guide Links page. | Looking for information about a specific author or text? Start in the search box at top right or bottom of the page. | Want to buy the study guides? Start at Everyday Education. |
This Excellence in Literature home site is home to a large collection of resources for the study of literature and writing. It began with many of the resources referenced in the Excellence in Literature study guides, but has grown far beyond that. We host an ever-growing library of author biographies, poetry, music, and art, as well as articles by professors, scholars, and other experts.
We have been fortunate enough to receive permission to preserve excellent literature and writing resources that would have otherwise disappeared with the author’s retirement or passing, and we continue to seek opportunities to do so.
Study Guides
The Excellence in Literature guides are self-directed, college prep study guides designed to teach classic literature in a way that is both challenging and enjoyable — now in an expanded, updated fourth edition!
Learn more about the curriculum
The Blue Ribbon Award from The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew was the first of many awards Excellence in Literature has received over the past few years.
The Excellence in Literature study guides by Janice Campbell help students study classic literature with the help of context resources such as art, music, poetry, author biographies, critical essays, and more.
Each full-length classic studied in the curriculum is framed by glimpses into the history, art, music, and other works relevant to the author and the text. Students learn to write at an advanced level through carefully-crafted, week-by-week assignments. You can learn a bit more about the philosophy behind the curriculum (and why there are no comprehension questions) at Excellence in Literature or at About Excellence in Literature on this EIL home site. There is also a short video walkthrough of the curriculum on the About page. It’s just a quick iPhone video, but you may find it helpful.
Some of the articles below are at Everyday Education (the bookstore) or the Doing What Matters blog (Janice’s blog), but they are set to open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place here on the EIL home page.
- Free sample lesson and printable booklist (PDF).
- Descriptive overview of study guide contents
- Article: How I Chose Books for Excellence in Literature
- Article: Excellence in Literature Worldview
- Article: How to Use Excellence in Literature (a week-by-week overview)
- Article: Is There a Teacher’s Manual for Excellence in Literature?
- Article: Honors Option for EIL
- Article: Print or eBook for Literature Study?
- Article: Using Excellence in Literature in a co-op
- Excellence in Literature FAQ
- Links to recommended editions of the classics studied
- Cathy Duffy’s review
Resource links stay up to date at the Study Guide Link pages.
Direct links to detailed descriptions
You will find each guide,including The Complete Curriculum — all five years in a big binder, in print and/or ebook format at Everyday Education.
- Introduction to Literature (English 1)
- Literature and Composition (English 2)
- American Literature (English 3)
- British Literature (English 4)
- World Literature (English 5)
- The Complete Curriculum: Literature and Writing for Grades 8-12
- Handbook for Writers
The Everyday Education bookstore site offers the exclusive Print Plus ebook add-on option.
Print Plus eBook learning advantages:
- Printed guide is best for frequently referenced instructional articles and models
- eBook add-on can be one more than one device for use by others in the family
- eBook add-on allows students to click context resources links on most computers, rather than type in URLs (any link updates will be listed on this site in the Curriculum User Content)
- Extra copies of reproducible forms can be easily printed from the add-on
Search tips for resources
Curriculum users: Links from the study guides are organized by study guide level (Introduction to Lit, British Lit, etc.), and regularly updated at this Excellence in Literature home site. You can reach them from the Study Guide Links page.
Specific authors or works: If you are looking for resources about a particular author or literary work, just type a few keywords into the search box, and you should find the resources we host here.
Writing help: If you are looking for help with annotating books, writing techniques, or other how-to information, look under the Writer’s Handbook category, or just use the search box to find what you need.
You may purchase the Excellence in Literature study guides at the author’s company, Everyday Education. We offer the exclusive ebook add-on option.
