ENGLISH LITERATURE A LEVEL

Exam board: Edexcel

Why study this Subject:

English Literature is a rigorous, stimulating and challenging qualification which allows the opportunity to study a wide range of texts. The aims of this course are to encourage you to develop your interest in and enjoyment of literature and literary studies.  This A Level allows you to undertake independent and sustained studies to deepen your appreciation and understanding of literature, including its changing traditions, offering you excellent preparation for study at undergraduate level.

This qualification will enable you to:  Read widely and independently both set texts and others that you have selected for yourself.  Explore and understand a wide range of texts.  Develop and effectively apply your knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation in writing.  Explore the contexts of the texts you are reading and others’ interpretations of them.  Engage critically and creatively with a substantial body of texts and be able to respond to appropriately.  Develop the valuable transferable skills of sustained research and composition

Syllabus:

In Year 12, students study:
A Streetcar Named Desire (play) by Tennessee Williams.

The War of the Worlds (novel) by H.G. Wells.

The Handmaid’s Tale (novel) by Margaret Atwood.

Post-2000 Poetry from Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books and Post-2000 Unseen Poetry.

Victorian Poetry from The New Oxford Book of Victorian Verse.

Chosen coursework texts.

In Year 13, students study:

Chosen coursework texts.

Hamlet (play) by William Shakespeare, supported by Shakespeare: A Critical Anthology – Tragedy.

Remaining Victorian Poetry from The New Oxford Book of Victorian Verse.

Revise for exams.

How will I be Assessed:

3 essay-based exams totalling 5 hours and 45 minutes. 2500-3000-word Coursework (20%).

Future Courses

English Literature/Language degree, journalism, finance, publishing, teaching, law and public relations.