What is covered by the course?
Component 1 - A contextual study of a genre
Students explore and study two whole texts from one of the genres in the following list:
- American Literature 1880-1940 (‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck)
- The Gothic (‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker, ‘The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories’ by Angela Carter)
- Dystopia (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell)
- Women in Literature (‘Sense and Sensibility’ by Jane Austen, ‘Mrs Dalloway’ byVirginia Woolf)
- The Immigrant Experience (‘The Reluctant Fundamentalists’ by Mohsin Hamid, ‘Call It Sleep’ by Henry Roth)
Component 2 - A Shakespearean response, and a comparison of drama and poetry
Students explore and study one Shakespeare play (‘Coriolanus’, ‘Hamlet’, ‘Measure for Measure’, ‘Richard III’, ‘The Tempest’, ‘Twelfth Night’)
For Component 3 and 4, the coursework aspect of the course, students are required to study three literary texts.
The three texts must include one prose text, one poetry text and one drama text:
- the texts must have been first published or performed in 1900 or later
- one literary text must have been first published or performed after 2000.
Students are required to produce a folder of coursework of around 3000 words with two tasks.
Component 3 - Close reading OR re-creative writing with commentary based on one literary text
Candidates can select to do:
- Either – a close, critical analysis of a section of their chosen text or poem. Candidates are recommended to select a small section of text, three to four pages of prose or drama or up to 45 lines of poetry.
- Or – an item of re-creative writing based on a selected passage of their chosen text or of their chosen poem, with a commentary explaining the links between the candidate’s own writing and the original passage selected.
Component 4 - Comparative Essay of two literary texts
Candidates submit an essay considering two texts, exploring contrasts and comparisons between them, informed by different interpretations and an understanding of contexts.
How is it examined?
Paper 1 - Written Assessment (2 hours and 30 minutes)
- Two Shakespeare essays and a comparative poetry and drama essay
- 40% of the total A-Level
Paper 2 - Written Assessment (2 hours and 30 minutes)
- A contextual extract essay and a comparative contextual essay
- 40% of the total A-Level
Paper 3 - Coursework
- Close reading OR re-creative writing with commentary based on one literary text
o Either – a close, critical analysis of a section of their chosen text or poem (candidates are recommended to select a small section of text, three to four pages of prose or drama or up to 45 lines of poetry)
o Or an item of re-creative writing based on a selected passage of their chosen text or of their chosen poem, with a commentary explaining the links between the candidate’s own writing and the original passage selected
- Comparative Essay of two literary texts (candidates submit an essay considering two texts, exploring contrasts and comparisons between them, informed by different interpretations and an understanding of contexts)
- 20% of the total A-Level