A Level English Language & Literature Combined

Assessment

Paper 1: Voices in Speech and Writing  Section A: Voices in 20th and 21st Century texts. This exam is about comparing non-fiction texts you’ve studied in class.  Section B: Drama texts. This is an extract based question, similar to the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ and ‘Macbeth’ questions you’re used to responding to. The non-fiction texts we study in class are set by the exam board, in an anthology called ‘Voices in Speech and Writing’: it includes lots of different texts types, such as interview transcripts, speeches and articles. The drama text we study is ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams. Paper 2: Varieties in Language and Literature  Section A: Unseen Prose and non-fiction texts: In this, you’ll respond to an unseen non-fiction text  Section B: Prose fiction and other genres. In this, you’ll compare two fiction texts that you’ll have studied in class. This is open question without an extract, similar to ‘Inspector Calls’ questions you’re used to answering. The two fiction texts we study are ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald and ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare. Both of these exams are open book, meaning that students are provided with unannotated copy of each of the texts they’ve studied to use throughout the time of their exam. Coursework: Investigating and creating texts.  Students write two pieces of original writing – one fiction and one non-fiction – and one analytical commentary, in which students reflect on what they wrote and why they wrote it.