English Literature
Course summary
WHY STUDY THIS COURSE? Studying English allows you to articulate your thoughts, argue your opinions in an organised and convincing way, critically examine the world around you, be endlessly creative, and explore the deepest recesses of your imagination! COURSE DESCRIPTION The course aims to expose students to a wide range of challenging texts. It is of course important that students read broadsheet newspapers and quality fiction at home as well—reading lists will be supplied. Whole texts studied on the course include; The Great Gatsby, The Handmaid’s Tale, Atonement, Othello, The Feminine Gospels, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Bloody Chamber. You will also analyse a variety of shorter extracts from writers such as Zadie Smith and James Baldwin, and critical pieces by intellectuals such as Germaine Greer and Chinua Achebe and study an anthology of poetry looking at the development of verse throughout history, from the fifteenth century to the modern day. Assessment takes place in class throughout the year and given regular feedback to ensure good progress. The final assessment consists of a mix of coursework (25% of the final mark) and regular examinations in which essays are written in response to texts both studied and unseen.
Entry Requirements
Checked against your grades — every rule traces to the school's published source.
| Requirement | Rule | You |
|---|---|---|
English Literature | Grade 6 in English Literature | — |
English Language | Grade 6 in English Language | — |
As published by the school
Grade 6 in GCSE English Language and Literature
Am I eligible?
Eligibility:Sign in to check eligibilitySign in and add your predicted grades to check this course against them — no verdict is implied without your grades.
Assessment
At A Level, we follow the AQA Literature A specification. This involves an historicist approach to studying Literature – in the first year through a lens of love. The module is called Love through the Ages. The texts from various eras that students have studied up to this point will help as the A level students, through looking at a wide range of unseen poetry, are taken on a journey through the literary canon learning the conventions and motivations of various movements and eras. This focus on unseen poetry (a key part of the exam) is taught alongside a novel (Either The Great Gatsby or Atonement) and Othello. Students are taught the skills to approach texts critically, and through the knowledge of context and genre they have been taught, explore how writers use and subvert these conventions. Students are taught to see English literature as a series of reaction and conversations through history – an ever evolving being. Students are also taught to be confident writers of analytical essays, driven by a developed and personal argument. In the second year, students continue with an approach to Literature based closely on context but zoom more closely into one period – in this case, post-war 20th century writing. Students study A Handmaid’s Tale, A Streetcar Named Desire and the poetry collection and The Feminine Gospels. Through this study, we aim to introduce more advanced critical lenses for students to view their texts through, namely Feminist, Marxist, Post-colonial and Eco-critical. The coursework aspect of the course will use all of the skills the students have developed throughout their English literature career as they get to independently get to choose the text they compare to Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. They also choose the focus of their analysis.
Ready to Apply?
About School
100%
