English Language and Literature

Assessment

The OCR specification is structured appropriately to ease the transition from GCSE to A level, developing skills that will have been established through the study of the separate English Language and English Literature courses. The tutorials are, by the nature of the subject, interactive as well as analytical. Students who study English Language and Literature are expected to draw and reflect on their own life experiences to understand the themes of the texts studied. In addition, tutors will help develop the language skills of the students by analysing the techniques and devices of inspiring novelists and poets as well as spoken and written non-fiction texts. Tutors encourage students to look for thematic links and to explore the social, cultural and historical contexts of the characters and the authors they study. There will be one weekly Timed Assignment as well as two homework assignments per week. Students will be required to read widely to broaden their vocabulary and enhance their writing style. The non-examined component allows students to be creative with original non-fiction writing. The department benefits greatly from the involvement of very experienced tutors and possesses specialist knowledge of a broad range of literary and non-fiction genres and writers. A Level specification H474 Paper 1: Exploring non-fiction written and spoken texts from the OCR (EMC) anthology • One hour • 32 marks (16% of the A-level qualification) • One question: a linguistic analysis comparing one extract from the anthology with an unseen text Paper 2: The language of poetry and plays Two hours • 64 marks (32% of the A-level qualification) • Section A Poetry stylistic analysis: one set poem from the collection studied is compared with one or two others from the same collection • Section B plays, dramatic and stylistic analysis: one question on the studied play responding to a given extract. Paper 3: Reading as a writer, writing as a reader • Two hours • 64 marks (32% of the A-level qualification) • Section A Reading as a writer: one generic question on an aspect of narrative • Section B Writing as a reader: students write a short narrative, drawing on what they have learned about narrative technique in the course of their study for Section A, followed by a short commentary. Component 4 Independent study analysing and producing texts (non-exam assessment) • 40 marks (20% of the qualification) • Task 1 comparative essay (1500-2000 words) on a non-fiction text chosen from the board-prescribed list and another free choice text. • Task 2 students write an original non-fiction text of 1000-1200 words with a 150 introduction to the text