A level English Literature

There are a number of specific subject entry requirements, please visit our website to review the courses and entry requirements or alternatively please contact the Sixth Form for specific details.

*Please choose 3 subject courses from different blocks, you will automatically be added to Maths or English resit classes on enrolment if you do not achieve required 4 in Maths or English Lit/Lang but you must still meet requirements for entry per subject.

AQA A Level 7712
QAN 601/5327/1

What will I study?
During the course, students will study six core texts from across the three genres of prose, poetry and drama. The set texts for the first year include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Shakespeare’s Othello. Students will also study a collection of pre-1900 poetry, based around the theme of love. The exam will ask for comparisons between these texts, and close reading of extracts. The second year of the course will shift the focus to literature written after 1945, and look at the way it deals with themes such as class, race and gender, among many others. The most challenging aspect of the course is the amount of reading and research that needs to be completed outside lessons.
In their coursework unit in the second year, students will produce an extended essay on two texts, at least one of which will be their own choice.
Through theme and context based analysis students will build their skills in literary interpretation and comparative approaches, considering various poetic forms, the rise of the novel, how plays have changed over time, and much more. This will give students an excellent grounding, should they wish to go on to study literature at degree level.

HOW IS THE COURSE ASSESSED?
80% of the assessment comes through end-of-course exams on the set texts. The remaining 20% is achieved through one coursework folder of 2500 words analysing texts comparatively.

What will I need to study this course?
Students need a love of reading and an ability to write clear and controlled English. Students should have achieved at least a grade 5 in both English Literature and English Language GCSE.

Where next?
This course leads naturally on to a degree in any subject involving communication, work in the media, teaching, research, politics and almost any job involving skill in writing or speaking.