Welcome to the A Level English Literature Page! Click on the buttons below to access materials to support your revision and study.
If you have any questions, please contact: lroutledge@rodingvalley.net OR tdilio@rodingvalley.net
The English A Level Literature Course Overview:
Course Description:
English Literature A’s historicist approach to the study of literature rests upon reading texts within a
shared context. Working from the belief that no text exists in isolation but is the product of the time
in which it was produced, English Literature A encourages students to explore the relationships
that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood.
Studying texts within a shared context enables students to investigate and connect them, drawing
out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives.
English Literature A privileges the process of making autonomous meaning, encouraging students
to debate and challenge the interpretations of other readers as they develop their own informed
personal responses.
Exams
Paper 1: Love through the Ages
Section A - Shakespeare: (Othello)
· One passage-based question with linked essay (25 marks)
Section B - Unseen poetry:
· Compulsory essay question on two unseen poems (25 marks)
Section C - Comparing texts: (compare The Great Gatsby and a bank of poems in AQA Anthology)
· One essay question linking two texts (25 marks)
3-hour exam open book Total 75 marks
Paper 2a: Texts in Shared Context
Section A: Set texts (Regeneration by Pat Barker, Up the Line to Death ed. Brian Gardner, and The Wipers Times by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman)
· One essay question on set text (25 marks)
Section B: Contextual linking
· One compulsory question on an unseen extract (25 marks)
· One essay question linking two texts (25 marks)
2 hours 30 minutes exam open book Total 75 marks
Non-Examined Assessment (NEA)
· Comparative critical study of two texts - at least one of which must have been written pre-1900
· One extended essay (2500 words) and a bibliography assessed (50 marks)
Assessment Objectives:
· AO1 Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression. (28%)
· AO2 Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts. (24%)
· AO3 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. (24%)
· AO4 Explore connections across literary texts. (12%)
· AO5 Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations. (12%)
The English A Level Recommended Reading list:
Othello Annotations:
Romantic Poetry Revision Mind Map:
Iago Character Mind Map: