English Literature

Do you have a love of reading, exploring texts across time and genre? Do you enjoy expressing your opinions and justifying your viewpoint? Do you want to study a subject relevant to your life and experiences?

Entry Requirements

6 in GCSE English Language

6 in GCSE English Literature

Assessment

English Literature A-level is assessed in two written exams – one of 3 hours and one of 2.5 hours. In addition, there is a non-exam assessment of a comparative study on two texts of your choice offering you the freedom to pursue an area of interest.

A qualification in English Literature will help you to develop your career path. Whether you study it as a single subject at degree level or use it to support your pursuit of an arts-based or science-based degree, it signals your ability to analyse, discern, to think logically and your ability to construct a coherent essay.

English Literature will open your mind to new ideas and different perceptions of the world. Our students have entered a variety of professions including teaching, youth work, social work, the emergency services, the police force, journalism, medicine, veterinary science, law, politics and media. 

English Literature A-level encourages independent study of a range of texts within a shared context. Studied together, they create an understanding of English Literature that will deepen your love of the subject.

Offering clear progression from GCSE, the course will allow you to build on the skills and knowledge already gained and prepare you for the next step. 

The variety of assessment styles used, such as passage-based questions, unseen material, single-text questions, multiple-text questions, open and closed-book approaches will allow you to develop a wide range of skills, such as the ability to read critically, analyse, evaluate and undertake independent research which are valuable for both further study and future employment.

English Literature A-level’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 you to explore the relationships that exists between texts and the context within which they are written, received and understood. Studying texts within a shared context enables you to investigate and connect them, drawing out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives.

Both examined elements of the course have methodologies of historicism at the centre. In Love Through the Ages, the theme of love, one of the most central themes in literature, is explored across time. In Texts in Shared Contexts, you will explore texts written within a narrower and clearly defined time period: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day.

Exam Board - AQA