The real-world impact of technology, effective communication, and interpersonal skills is evident throughout this course. There is a sustained emphasis on reading comprehension by comparing fiction and nonfiction texts and students will analyze the cultural and social functions and universal themes of fictional texts from different cultures. Students will discover the roles of business and marketing in the free enterprise system and the global economy. Students will use multimodal tools to create presentations both independently and in small groups and will continue to build research skills presenting information gathered from diverse sources, identifying misconceptions and possible bias while citing in MLA or APA style. Students in this course will prepare to take the Writing SOL assessment at the end of the course. Students may also earn an Industry Credential at the conclusion of this course by taking the Workplace Readiness Skills assessment.