1. A Level English Literature AQA Specification B (7717)
Studying English means studying literature in many forms. This demands great commitment and a variety of skills, not least of which is a genuine desire to read books of all genres and periods, from Chaucer onwards. English Literature includes studying novels, plays, poetry, non-fiction and short stories. You will be able to make some choices about your areas of study, especially in your non-exam assessment, but you should also expect to study texts outside of your current experience. You will learn to use critical concepts and terminology with understanding and discrimination. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own responses to texts, considering other readers’ interpretations, with awareness of the contexts in which texts were written. Recently graduated students who have studied this subject have been successful in gaining places on degree courses such as English, PPE, Journalism and Law at universities such as Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol. To do well at A level you will need to be a self-motivated and independent reader with a love of literature. You will be expected to write weekly essays so good organisational skills are essential as is the ability to write fluent, well-structured arguments. All prospective students are encouraged to attend our Open Evening where members of the English department will be on hand to give you more information and answer any questions about the course.
The three units of the course consist of:
Paper 1 – Literary Genres: Comedy or Tragedy - you study three texts, two of which will be plays including one by Shakespeare.
Assessed through a 2.5 hour written exam.
Paper 2 – Texts and Genres: Crime writing or Political writing – you study three texts, including a contemporary novel and a poetry text.
Assessed through a 3 hour written exam.
Paper 3 – Non-exam assessment: Theory and Independence – you study two texts, including one poetry and one prose, and an anthology of critical work which will inform your reading.
You produce two coursework essays which are assessed by your teacher.
The English Department (Sept 2014)