Award: GCSE
Awarding Body: AQA
Specification Code: 8702
Specification Website: AQA GCSE English Literature
The specification will enable students of all abilities to develop the skills they need to study English Literature in an untiered, closed book context through the use of extract-based questions in the assessment of the 19th-century novel and the Shakespeare plays.
In Year 10 students will begin to study poems from the anthology set by the board. They will also study a nineteenth century novel - currently Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
In Year 11 students continue to study poems from the poetry anthology. They will also study JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls and one Shakespeare text.
Year 10 and 11 Mocks
Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes
64 marks
40% of GCSE
Section A – Shakespeare (“Romeo & Juliet” or “Macbeth”): students will answer one question on the play they have studied. They will be required to write in detail about an extract from the play and then to write about the play as a whole.
Section B The 19th-century novel (“Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”): students will answer one question on the novel they have studied. They will be required to write in detail about an extract from the novel and then to write about the novel as a whole.
One written exam: 2 hours 15 minutes
96 marks
60% of exam
Section A - Modern texts (“An Inspector Calls”): students will answer one essay question from a choice of two.
Section B - Poetry: students will answer one comparative question on one named poem printed on the paper and one other poem from their chosen anthology cluster.
Section C - Unseen poetry: students will answer one question on one unseen poem and one question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem.
Supportive: