English Literature
Exam Board: AQA Specification B

To study this course you will need to have achieved a grade B or better in both G.C.S.E. English and English Literature.

The course will develop your interest and enjoyment of literature.  You will read a variety of texts written across centuries by both male and female authors and covering a variety of genres.  You will also learn about the influences on writers and how these affect their ideas and styles of writing as well as looking at critical responses to texts.

Why Study English Literature?

English Literature is a very well established and widely respected A Level that will give you an excellent foundation for many university or employment applications. It will develop your critical reading skills and your ability to analyse a text in detail.  It will be useful for anyone interested in a business career, publishing and journalism. 

The English Department is staffed by a team of specialists.  We offer a range of support in addition to lessons; including theatre visits, conferences, trips to Oxford, Dorset and other literary areas, workshops led by writers and examiners and extensive additional materials in the library and via the intranet. This provision contributes to the academic success our students attain.

At AS you will be assessed in 2 units:

Unit 1 - Aspects of Narrative (60% of AS marks)
This will be examined in the Summer Term by an open book examination of two hours length.
We will explore aspects of narrative across two novels Enduring Love by Ian McEwan and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and also in a selection of poems by W H Auden and Keats.

Unit 2 - Dramatic Genres
Coursework (40% of the AS marks)
Candidates will study two plays (one by Shakespeare) with a focus on the tragic genre and produce 2 pieces of coursework. Each coursework piece must be between 1200-1500 words.

At A2:

Unit 3 - Texts and Genres
This will be tested by a closed book examination of two hours length with a focus on ‘Elements of the Gothic’.  Texts studied are Wuthering Heights, Paradise Lost and Dr Faustus.

Unit 4  Further and Independent Reading

Candidates will produce a coursework folder consisting of two pieces. One will be a comparative piece exploring an aspect of two texts (1500-2000 words). The second will be the application of an aspect of pre-released critical anthology to a literary text (1200-1500 words).