Literature is the study of plays, poetry and prose. You will have the opportunity to read and research the context of a wide range of texts over the two-year course under the umbrella themes of ‘World War One and its Aftermath’ and ‘Love through the Ages’. Lessons will take the form of seminar-style discussions, student presentations, and close annotation of the reading material. An exciting part of the course, which helps students to develop as independent and creative readers and writers, is the NEA (coursework) element. This gives you the opportunity to write a 2,500-word essay on two texts of your choice in response to a question of your choice.
You should consider studying English Literature at A-level if you have enjoyed English Literature at GCSE and feel passionate about texts and ideas. Independent study is another significant part of the course, so you should be self-disciplined to complete all tasks and meet deadlines. Finally, you must enjoy reading, and the process of critically responding to texts in writing.
English Literature A Level is a way to lose yourself in a novel or a poem and also broaden your reading skills
English Literature at A Level is an excellent subject to be able to study because it inspires critical thinking and the ability to structure an argument
You must love to read. That is the first and most important quality when choosing to study English Literature.
We aim to respond to your question within two working days (term time only).
Please type the 3 characters you see below:
Paper 1: Love Through the Ages (40%)
Time: 3 hours
75 marks
Open book for Section C ONLY
Section A: Shakespeare: Othello
Section B: Unseen Poetry
Section C: Jane Eyre and AQA Poetry Anthology
Paper 2: WW1 and its Aftermath (40%)
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Open book
Section A: Scars Upon My Heart Poetry Anthology
Section B: Unseen Prose
Section C: Regeneration and My Boy Jack
+ NEA @ 2,500 words (20%)
Unit 3
Based on the theme ‘Love through the Ages’ you will study a wide and varied Anthology of texts and extracts. You will be asked to comment on an unseen extract on this theme
Unit 4
You will complete an essay of 3,000 words based on three texts. One of the texts will form your Shakespeare study, the other two will be your choice, but must be comparable to the Shakespeare text. The theme for the three texts is also ‘Love Through the Ages’.