English Literature

Course summary

This qualification is linear, meaning that students will sit all the A-level exams at the end of their A-level course. The A-level consists of three units of study. In the first, Literary Genres, the texts are connected through a mainstream literary genre: either Aspects of Tragedy or Aspects of Comedy. Students study three texts: one Shakespeare play, a second drama text and one further text. In the second unit, Texts and Genres, the texts are grouped together as having elements of more modern genres: either Crime Writing or Political Writing. Students study three texts: one post-2000 prose text, one poetry and one further text. They also respond to an unseen passage in the examination. The third unit, Theory and Independence, requires students to study two further texts: one poetry and one prose text, informed by study of the Critical Anthology.