English Literature at A level

Why study English Literature? If you enjoy reading and studying a wide range of poetry, prose and drama texts, and you want to develop your analytical skills as well as seeing the texts in the context of the time when they were written, then you will get a lot out of this course.

What will I study? Unit 1- LITB1 Aspects of Narrative 60% of AS, 30% of A level Written exam paper. 2 hours. Open book Four texts for study: two novels (at least one post 1990) and two poetry texts

What will I study? Unit 2 - LITB2 Dramatic Genres 40% of AS, 20% of A level Coursework Two texts within dramatic genre of Tragedy. Two pieces of written coursework each words.

AS level

How will it be different from GCSE?

Difficulty The main difference in difficulty in the step up from GCSE to A-Level is in the level of response expected of you as students. The onus is on you to engage with the texts you will be reading and formulate your own opinions and interpretations. Furthermore, you will be expected to communicate these ideas effectively, not just in essays and exams, but also during verbal discussions, which tend to make up a large part of the teaching structure.

Workload The workload can seem a lot harder for those students who are slower readers. As with all A- Levels, the workload will be higher than at GCSE as you are studying at a more focused level. Each week you may be expected to read a certain number of chapters of novels, or acts of plays; to write a critical response to a set question about your reading - which could be "Discuss the presentation of Iago in Act I of Othello" or "Evaluate how effectively the final verse of this poem portrays the feeling of loss" etc.;

Required Individual Study On top of what your teachers set you, you will also be expected to utilise your free time to further your own studies. This could be by reading secondary material on the society that Oscar Wilde lived in, for example, or more academic texts that discuss and analyse a particular writer's style, such as a book that analyses Larkin's use of simile, metaphor and enjambement in The Whitsun Weddings. You may also wish to read around, either for personal pleasure, expanding your knowledge and, hopefully, vocabulary, or by reading texts relevant to your study - so if you're studying the Regeneration series by Pat Barker you may wish to read other WWII novels.