ENGLISH LITERATURE
Course Duration
2 Years
Entry Criteria
GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature at Grade 6 or above.
Home » Welcome to our Sixth Form » Curriculum subjects » A Level English Literature
Why study A level English literature?
Studying English Literature allows students to develop their love and enjoyment of prose, poetry, and plays. Students will read a wide variety of literature across the ages, applying a historicist approach to the texts, including Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Duffy, and Williams. The course challenges students to think critically, evaluatively, and analytically, considering how the writers have consciously crafted their work to create meaning and the significance of the social context in which the text was written.
Furthermore, students will be expected to undertake independent research. The variety of assessment styles used, such as passage-based questions, unseen material, single text questions and open and closed book approaches, allow the students to develop their skills, all of which are valuable to this course of study and future employment.
What will I study during the course duration?
Students will study the following texts:
- Othello by William Shakespeare
- A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- The Feminine Gospels by Carol Ann Duffy
- A selection of poetry provided by AQA
Students will also be selecting a text for the coursework element of this course.
Opportunities will be provided to visit a theatre to watch the plays studied or a play written by the playwright.
How will I be assessed?
- Paper 1: Love through the Ages, 3 hour exam
- Paper 2: Texts in Shared Contexts 2 hours 30 minutes
- Non-exam assessment: Comparative critical study of two texts, at least one must have been written pre-1900. Students write an extended essay of 2500 words including a bibliography.
Career opportunities and Future study
The historicist approach to this course means that students will have a rich, challenging, and coherent approach to English Literature that provides an excellent basis for continuing this at university level. The skills developed are transferable across many other subjects to e.g. Law, Sociology, Psychology, Media, Film Studies to name but a few.
Students who continue their studies in English Literature at university are provided with opportunities to go into the following careers: journalism, publishing, editing, author, teaching, broadcasting, and script-writing are just some examples.