English Language & Literature

This course is a traditional A Level and relies on written rather than practical methods.

Coursework is 20% of the course with exam texts making up the rest (80%)   Coursework is a creative writing folder whereby students chose a theme and write a fiction and non-fiction piece influenced by wider reading they have done that links to their chosen theme.  They also have to complete a critical commentary where they address their own work and evaluate the impact of their wider reading.

The course has two other modules.

Paper 1  Voices. 
In the first year students study an anthology of non fiction texts which they compare with an unseen text.  This is the first part of the Voices Exam. The second part (taught in the A2 year) is a study of an American play All My Sons by Arthur Miller.  Students have to analyse an extract in the exam for Section A and also link the extract to the wider play.  Key historical contexts are also addressed and the students study theories of tragedy for this part of the unit – ranging from Aristotle, to Hegel and Arthur Miller.

Paper 2 Varieties in English Lang / Literature 
Across both years students compare the gothic novel “Dracula” to a selection of poems by Christina Rossetti.  They link the texts through the theme of crossing boundaries which is the over-arching theme for Paper 2.  Again key contexts are addressed such as the changing position of women, fear of invasion and the impact of new technology in Victorian Britain.  Students also consider how both texts tap into societal anxieties at the time both texts were written.  In year 2 students also study non-fiction texts on the theme of crossing boundaries in preparation for Paper 2 Section A.

Students also create a varied portfolio of creative writing during their study of English Language and Literature Combined.