Embedded Files
English Literature (Subject Information Slides)
English Literature (Subject Information Slides)
H1 & H2 Literature in English FAQs
1. What is the examination like?
H2 Literature consists of two papers, Paper 1: Reading Literature, and Paper 3: Reading Literature featuring the Postcolonial Literature Topic
The duration of each paper is 3 hours, and students are required to write 3 essays for each paper.
H1 Literature consists of 1 paper, Paper 1: Reading Literature. Students are required to write 3 essays for the paper.
Further details on the different sections will be covered in the slideshow.
2. How many texts do we have to study?
H2 Literature students will study 5 texts over the course of two years.
In JC1, students will study Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for Paper 1 and Remembering Babylon by David Malouf and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys for Paper 3.
In JC2, students will study The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley for Paper 1 and An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen for Paper 3.
H1 Literature students will study 2 texts over the course of two years.
In JC1, students will study Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
In JC2 , students will study The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley.
3. Do we get to choose which texts we want to study?
All texts are selected by the school. The texts selected have been carefully considered for their literary quality, age-appropriateness, accessibility of themes and difficulty level.
4. Do we get to annotate our texts?
You are strongly encouraged to annotate the class copy of your text.
However, the exam copy of your text should not contain any annotations; only highlighting and underlining is allowed by SEAB.
Students could either purchase another set of texts, using one set as a class copy and using the other as an exam copy, or consider using an e-copy of text as the class copy, making annotations and taking notes digitally.
5. What's the difference between H1 and H2?
6. Is it rigorous? What are literature lessons like?
All A-Level subjects are rigorous and each has their own unique disciplinarity. There are three areas of skills tested in Literature. They are –
Response: The ability to respond to either an unseen text extract, or a passage from a set text. In doing so, students will demonstrate the ability to analyse both the formal and stylistic features of the extract.
Analysis: The ability to write a critical analysis of the set texts. In doing so, students will demonstrate an ability to make an informed personal and critical response to the text as a whole.
Comparison: The ability to critically compare and evaluate unseen texts and the set texts studied. In doing so, students will demonstrate an ability to identify, compare and critically assess key features of each text.
H1 Literature tests the only first 2 skills, Response and Analysis; H1 students are not tested on Comparison skills.
The literature classroom is a safe space for students to explore challenging and complex ideas. It is also a place where the respect for multiple viewpoints and diverse perspectives is promoted. Literature lessons are spaces that support both individual and collaborative learning. Lessons can be cognitively challenging but there will be differentiated instructional strategies and support provided in order to grow student confidence in literary response.
7. How can I apply what I've learnt to my university course/ career/ life?
Literature enables you to develop a personal voice that reflects critical imagination, originality of thought and nuanced insights. The study of literature teaches you to think deeply and sensitises you to human concerns in the community and respond to them with empathy and care. Literature is a record of shared human experience and students of literature have a strong understanding of the ideas and concepts that endure across literary periods, movements and culture. All of these are valuable skills, knowledge and dispositions that will enable a literature student to stand out and contribute to the world beyond the A-Level classroom.
8. Why should I take literature?
If you want to broaden your perspectives on life through deep discussions with others, desire to develop a love for the English language, and enjoy an intellectual challenge, take Literature!
9. Do I have a lot to catch up on compared to my friends who have taken lit in their secondary years?
O-Level Literature not a pre-requisite for A-Level Literature. Support and guidance is provided with a JC1 bridging programme in which all students will learn how to read and respond to literary texts. Your teachers will demonstrate to you the skills required before providing you the opportunities to apply what you have learnt. At the A-Levels, your learning attitude matters much more than your prior experience.
Page updated
Report abuse