English Language
GCSE
Exam board: Edexcel
Director of Learning
Ciara Cardiff
ciara.cardiff@wilmingtonacademy.org.uk
Assessment Overview
Paper 1 - 19th Century Fiction and Creative Writing
Paper 2 - 20th & 21st Non-fiction and Transactional Writing
Grades 9 to 1
Key Information & Topics
We aim to nurture students’ personal development and linguistic competence through writing in a variety of forms for a range of purposes and audiences and to increase their awareness of the writing process itself – from planning to proofreading and correction. A strong emphasis is placed upon linguistic and structural text conventions and upon the accuracy and presentation of written work. We also aim to promote the development of students’ evaluation and analysis skills to encourage critical thinking in order to study literature in-depth and investigate authorial intent. Students are provided with the opportunity to explore different genres of texts from different time periods. Students will develop an understanding of context and be able to discuss the links between their studied texts and the context in which they were written.
Students will explore the following topics:
Analysing and evaluating a 19th century text
Analysing, evaluating and synthesising a 20th and 21st century text
Creative writing
Transactional writing
Approaches to Learning
Reading comprehension and reading critically:
literal and inferential comprehension: understanding a word, phrase or sentence in context; exploring aspects of plot, characterisation, events and settings; distinguishing between what is stated explicitly and what is implied; explaining motivation, sequence of events, and the relationship between actions or events
critical reading: identifying the theme and distinguishing between themes; supporting a point of view by referring to evidence in the text; recognising the possibility of and evaluating different responses to a text; using understanding of writers’ social, historical and cultural contexts to inform evaluation; making an informed personal response that derives from analysis and evaluation of the text
evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, grammatical and structural features: analysing and evaluating how language (including figurative language), structure, form and presentation contribute to quality and impact; using linguistic and literary terminology for such evaluation (such as, but not restricted to, phrase, metaphor, meter, irony and persona, synecdoche, pathetic fallacy)
comparing texts: comparing and contrasting texts studied, referring where relevant to theme, characterisation, context (where known), style and literary quality; comparing two texts critically with respect to the above
Writing:
writing for different audiences and purposes
producing text that shapes audience understanding and response
accurate Standard English: accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar
Career & Further Study Information
Students can continue their study of English in sixth form through the IB: Language and Literature course. English will provide students with the skills to critically read, respond to, and produce texts. Studying English improves open-mindedness, intercultural understanding and communication, all crucial in our modern world. The IB emphasises the importance of critical thinking, reflection, and understanding of culture. English Language and Literature develops these mindsets through close reading of texts, being able to relate a text to its form, genre, audience, and context of production, and reading texts from a variety of sources all around the globe.
Future career paths include:
Journalism, Law, Publishing, Media, Teaching, Advertising, Public Relations
English is a perfect complementary subject for any career path.