Summary

The course is designed to cover a range of key texts, exploring William Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E. M. Forster, Alice Walker and Carol Ann Duffy, the aim being for you to discover a wide range of diverse writing and to enable you to hone your skills with regards to essay writing and research. You will learn through class discussion, which will involve reading ahead and presenting your ideas. You will need to have a genuine interest in literature.

In this course you will study:

Year 1:

• The unit is focused on ‘Love through the ages’
• You will be studying Othello, The Great Gatsby, pre-1900 poetry and preparing for unseen prose texts in the first year

The exam:

• Paper one is 1 hour 30 minutes long, closed book (Othello and poetry)
• Paper two is 1 hour 30 minutes, open book – The Great Gatsby, A Room with a View (TBC), unseen prose

Year 2:

• Othello
• Pre-1900 poetry
• Paper one – Love through the ages (40%)
• Paper two – Modern times (40%)
• Essay question on two unseen poems

The A-level option is a 2-year course which looks at the same books already mentioned above, but then goes on in the second year to study modern times (post-1945 literature).

Materials:

• Poetry: Feminine Gospels (Duffy)
• Novel: The Color Purple (Walker)
• Play: All My Sons (Miller) (all the above TBC)
• Coursework element (20%): a comparative critical study of two texts, at least one of which must be pre-1900
• Extended essay of 2500 words, plus a bibliography

The exam:

• Paper one – 3 hours, open book
• Paper two – 2 hours, open book

How will I know how I am doing?

Year 1: • Two exams, both 1 hour and 30 minutes Year 2: • Two exams, one 3 hours and one 2 hours • One NEA (coursework), 2500 words plus bibliography

What do I need to join?

To study this course, you will need 5 GCSEs at grade 4–9, including English and Maths.

Work Experience

You will be required to do a minimum of 36 hours of work experience. This is usually completed in a week during your first year in term time, where you will have the opportunity to explore a career field which takes your interest. In the lead-up to this week, you will be asked to create an exciting CV during a group tutorial period. The aim of this activity is to give you an idea of what full-time employment is like and to help you think about which career you would like to follow.

What can I do next?

English literature is a subject which teaches you how to analyse texts; as a result, a number of our students combine this subject with courses such as law, business and economics. Many of our students progress onto university to study either this subject further, or one of the aforementioned subjects. It is a diverse qualification that helps you to achieve an analytical and evaluative mindset, which is essential in job roles such as journalism, publishing, data analysis, research and media.