Exam board
OCR
How is this subject examined?
- Component 1 – Drama and poetry pre-1900 -Closed text exam , 2 hour and 30 minute examination 40%
- Component 2 – Comparative and contextual study: dystopian literature -Closed text exam, 2 hours and 30 minutes examination 40%
- Component 3 – Literature post-1900
- Non-exam assessment: Close reading, Comparative essay
What is this course about? Why study the course?
At its heart, the study of English Literature is the literary analysis of life and human behaviour. Through close readings of English and American texts ranging from Chaucer in the 14th century, via playwrights of the 19th century, right through to contemporary 21st century novelists and poets, we will develop your ability to explore, discuss and evaluate the ideas and concepts that writers have attempted to communicate, as well as the literary methods through which they have achieved this. Drawing on an informed understanding of writers’ social and historical contexts, we will attempt to answer such challenging questions as: ‘Is war an inevitable facet of society?’, ‘Can poetry instigate political revolution?’ and ‘How far is our perception of the world around us linked to its reality?’
The texts we are currently study are:
- ‘Hamlet’ William Shakespeare
- ‘The Canterbury Tales: The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale’ Geoffrey Chaucer
- ‘A Doll’s House’ Henrik Ibsen
- ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Tennessee Williams
- ‘Purple Hibiscus’ Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
- ‘The World’s Wife’ Carol Ann Duffy
- ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ George Orwell
- ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Margaret Atwood
The aim of the English Literature curriculum is to encourage students to develop their interest in and enjoyment of literature as they:
- Read widely and independently both set texts and others that they have selected for themselves.
- Engage critically and creatively with a substantial body of texts and ways of responding to them.
- Develop and effectively apply their knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation in writing.
- Explore the contexts of the texts they are reading and others’ interpretations.
Where can this course take you?
An A-Level qualification in English Literature demonstrates the ability to communicate important ideas and arguments articulately in writing. As such, it is recognised as a core academic A-Level by Oxbridge and Russell Group universities as essential or useful for law, political and social science and arts degrees. The skills and knowledge developed in English Literature are directly transferable to a variety of career paths including law, journalism, management, advertising and marketing, media and education.
Minimum GCSE grades: 7-9 in English Literature and English Language.
Complementary subjects: Subjects that involve extended writing: History, Psychology and Sociology.
How we elevate beyond the specification
We are ambitious for our students to be intellectually curious and accomplished, such that they hone the skills and knowledge sought by academic and cultural institutions of excellence. Our extra-curricular English programme aims to help students to:
- Demonstrate rigorous yet creative thinking
- Articulate sophisticated, knowledgeable arguments confidently
- Engage actively in current cultural debates and articles by seminal thinkers. What our extended English Literature curriculum includes:
- Seminars on the intersection between literature and philosophy, the influence of world literature and the formation of the canon.
- Workshops and guidance on entry to highly-regarded competitions such as the Trinity College Gould Prize for Essays in English Literature, the Betty Haigh Shakespeare Prize and the English and Media Centre Forward/emagazine Creative Critics Competition.
- Cultural trips to venues such as the Globe Theatre and Roundhouse.
- Admissions test preparation for Oxbridge entry exams.