1. A Level English Literature AQA English Literature A
AO1: Articulate informed, personal, creative and relevant responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent and accurate written expression.
AO2: Analyse the ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with particular focus on the structure of texts as a form of shaping.
AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the context in which literary texts are written and received.
NB. These 3 AOs are to be treated as equal due to their relative weighting across all areas of assessment.
AO4: Explore connections across texts and demonstrate understanding of wider genre, theme and historical features/implications.
AO5: Explore literary texts informed by further debate and different interpretations.
NB. AO4 and 5 have a weighting of 12% across all areas of assessment.
7712B (Entry code for option B Modern Times) QAN Code: 601/5327/1 Awarded on a 6 point scale A* - E

2. Component 1 – Love Through the Ages
Assessed through EXAM (Paper 1)
3 Sections – A, B and C
3 set texts assessed plus unseen poetry
3 hours (1 hour per section)
All AOs assessed – 40% of total A level

3. Component 1 – Love Through the Ages Section A – Shakespeare
Printed extract taken from chosen play and question which invites students to write about the extract, the play as a whole and consider a critical view point.
Eg: ‘Typically texts about husbands and wives present marriage from a male point of view.’
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Othello and Desdemona in this extract and elsewhere in the play.
25 marks available
Closed book exam
Shakespeare chosen set text: Othello

4. Component 1 – Love Through the Ages Section B – Unseen Poetry
Two printed poems from two different time periods, both on the theme of ‘love’.
Need to compare the presentation of love in both poems – the question will offer a comment for you use as a starting point.
Eg: ‘It has been said that Rossetti’s poem is conventional and celebratory, whereas Millay’s poem offers a very different view of love.’
Compare and contrast the presentation of love in the following poems in light of this comment.
25 marks available
No chosen set text. Students to study a variety of poetry linked to the theme of love.

5. Component 1 – Love Through the Ages Section C – Comparing Texts
Comparison of two texts already studied (one prose, one poetry and one pre-1900 and one post-1900).
There is a choice of two questions – students must answer ONE of these by comparing the two chosen texts studied (at least two poems to fulfil requirements of a second ‘text’).
Questions are theme based and not text specific like in Section A.
Eg: Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present ideas about passion. OR
Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present barriers to love.
25 marks available
Open (clean) book exam
Chosen set texts: The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) and AQA Anthology of Poetry: Pre-1900

6. Assessed through EXAM (Paper 2) 3 Sections – A, B and C
Component 2 – Texts in shared contexts (Option 2B: Modern times: Literature from 1945 – present day)
Assessed through EXAM (Paper 2)
3 Sections – A, B and C
3 set texts assessed plus unseen prose
2.5 hours (50 mins per section)
All AOs assessed – 40% of total A level
Key issues and concepts to bear in mind while studying:
Wars and the legacy of wars
Personal and social identity
Changing morality and social structures
Gender, class, race and ethnicity
Political upheaval and change
Resistance and rebellion
Imperialism, post-imperialism and nationalism

7. Component 2 – Texts in shared contexts Section A – Set Text
Exploration of chosen set text in light of view offered within the question.
There is a choice of two questions – students must answer ONE question in relation to the set text.
Eg: ‘Primarily, this play presents a clash between two cultures, not two individuals.’
Examine this view of A Streetcar Named Desire OR
Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between Stella and Stanley is ‘inconceivable’.
25 marks available
Open (clean) book exam
Chosen set texts Drama, Prose and Poetry: A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams), The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood), Feminine Gospels (Carol Ann Duffy)

8. Component 2 – Texts in shared contexts Section B – Contextual Linking
There are two questions in this section - BOTH must be answered.
The first is a response to the unseen prose extract.
Eg: Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that the writer shapes meanings.
25 marks available
The second question requires students to compare two other set texts studied in light of the theme raised within the unseen prose extract and question.
Eg: ‘Modern literature shows isolated characters as being profoundly damaged .’
Compare the significance of isolation in two other texts you have studied . Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing.
Open (clean) book exam
NB. The set text used for section A cannot be used to form part of students’ answers in second B; 3 different texts and 1 unseen extract need to be written about in total.

9. Component 3 – Independent Critical Study: Texts Across Time
Non-exam assessment (coursework)
2,500 word essay
Comparison of (exploration of the connections between) two texts of your choice
NB: At least one must be pre-1900
Texts cannot written by same author
Texts cannot include any of the set texts used in Components 1 and 2
Equal attention must be paid to both texts
Texts should be connected by a shared theme, topic or genre
Must include a bibliography and references
All AOs assessed - 20% of total A level
1 pre-1900 text will be studied as a class: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)