English Literature A-Level
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
Examination: This course is examined in June of both Year 12 and Year 13
Course details
Unit 1: Aspects of dramatic tragedy
Students will study:
- Traditional and modern tragic dramas in their contextual framework as a genre where the flawed tragic hero/heroine is core to their eventual downfall.
- How writers use language to affect meaning with close attention to authorial methods.
Unit 2: Place in literary texts
Students will study:
- One prose text and one poetry selection linked to the cultural genre of place.
- The significance of place, their narrative structures and their socio-cultural views of the world.
- Language as a tool for representation of place.
Unit 3: Elements of crime and mystery
Students will study:
- How crime drives the narrative and the execution and consequences of the crime being central to the way the text is structured.
- How language is used to make social commentaries, particularly the representation of society at particular historical periods.
Unit 4: Literary representations
Students will study:
- Two additional texts; one poetry (selection) and one prose.
- The features of literary- based academic papers.
- Representations of childhood, war, women and men and race, class and culture.
Assessment overview, duration and weighting
Paper 1: Written exam 2 hours (20% IAL qualification - 50 marks)
Paper 2: Written exam 2 hours (20% of IAL qualification - 50 marks)
Paper 3: Written exam 2 hours (30% of IAL qualification - 50 marks)
Paper 4: Non- exam assessment/ Coursework (30% of IAL qualification - 50 marks)
| Exam Papers | % of IAL | Assessment overview |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Aspects of dramatic tragedy (June Year 12) | 20 | Section A: Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy (25 marks). Students answer one extract- based question on text of choice. Section B: Later dramatic tragedies (25 marks). Students answer one open essay question on text of choice. |
| Paper 2: Place in literary texts (June Year 12) | 20 | Section A: Prose (25 marks). Students answer one open essay question on text of choice. Section B: Poetry (25 marks). Students answer one comparative question on a selection of poetry they have studied in class. |
| Paper 3: Elements of crime and mystery (June Year 13) | 30 | Section A: Creating text (50 marks). Students answer two open essay questions on two texts of choice. |
| Paper 4: Literary representations (Year 13) | 30 | Literary representations (50 marks). Non- exam assessment/ Coursework. Students write two essays of 1250- 1500 words, each responding to a different text. |
Wider reading
Foster, T.C. (2014) How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines. Revised Edition. New York: Harper Perennial.
McMahan, E., Day, S.X. and Funk, R. (2013) Literature and the Writing Process. 10th Edition. Boston: Pearson.
Castillo, E. (2022) How to Read Now. London: Atlantic Books.
Would you like to know more?
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