Course summary
Areas of study throughout the two year linear course offer great diversity for any lover of literature. You will be given the opportunity to study renowned poets such as Keats and Larkin, as well as Shakespearean plays that will be studied alongside other famous dramatists from pre 1800. To broaden your experience of literature, modern texts feature in the course as well and you could find yourself studying Margaret Atwood or Kate Atkinson. You will also analyse a range of extracts with the theme of crime and link this to Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
What are the mandatory modules or units?
(What will I have to study?)
Literary genres: aspects of tragedy: Othello, KEATS, Death of a Salesman
Texts and genres: elements of crime writing: When Will There Be Good News, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Theory and independence: exploration of critical methods and ideas such as; narrative theory; feminist theory; Marxist theory and postcolonial theory to name a few.
NEA (non-examined assessment): this is a study of two texts, one poetry and one prose and these will be informed by study of the Critical anthology. You will write two essays of 1250 – 1500 words. The Poetry NEA will be guided by your teacher but the Prose NEA allows for personal choice and freedom of preference in terms of question and text. This part of the A level makes up for 20% of the overall exam.
How will I be assessed?
The A level qualification is designed to be taken over two years with all assessments taken at the end of the course. The A Level exams expect students to draw together all their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the two years as well as provide the opportunity for extended responses.
You will be examined on your ability to draw together your knowledge on each of the chosen texts and to make comparisons between them. Paper 1 (Tragedy) is a closed book exam and is worth 40% of the overall grade and Paper 2 (Crime) is an open book exam and also worth 40%. The remaining 20% is covered by the NEA.
You will be challenged to evaluate and analyse the characters and language while maintaining a level of debate across the topics.
Who can I contact for more information?
