AQA English Language and Literature
A Level Induction Day
Included here:
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Course details
Set text list
Summer preparation tasks for September 2015
This material also appears on the Sixth Form Blog (http://stb6th.edublogs.org)
Miss Oxner (toxner@stbarts.co.uk)
July 2015
Assessment
From September 2015 in all Sixth Form English courses there will only be Non-Examined Assessment
(the new term for coursework) in the second year of the A Level. All other assessment will be done
via exams at the end of the second year of study for the full A Level and/or at the end of Year 12, if
students sit the AS qualification. Whether students sit the AS exams will be decided by teachers, in
consultation with students. The AS exams no longer count toward the ‘full’ A Level.
Course Description
A Level English Language and Literature aims to encourage enjoyment and interest in both language
and literature and to see them as interconnected and mutually supportive disciplines.
This course is well suited to students who enjoyed literary and linguistic analysis at GCSE and wish to
develop this approach. It is excellent preparation for those students wishing to continue their
studies in this subject in Higher Education. English Language and Literature combines very well with
many other subjects in arts, humanities and sciences.
Course Outline
During the A Level course students will study two exam units (each worth 40%) and one NonExamined Assessment, which is worth 20% of the final A Level grade.
Paper 1: Telling Stories (studied in Year 12)
For Section A students will study the AQA Anthology: Paris and answer a question comparing two
studied extracts printed on the paper.
For Section B students will choose one question on a set prose text (The Handmaid’s Tale by
Margaret Atwood), focusing on the use of fantasy elements in an extract printed on the paper and
linked to the wider novel. Clean copies of the text will be provided in the exam.
Section C will focus on a poetry collection by a chosen poet (Carol Ann Duffy) from the AQA Poetic
Voices Anthology. Students will have clean copies of the text.
Paper 2: Exploring Conflict (studied in Year 13)
Section A will involve the study of one prose text, which will be used as a base text to recreate a new
text. Students are also asked to write a critical commentary to accompany this.
For Section B students will study one drama text and focus on the ways that conflict is presented.
Students will be allowed clean texts with them for both parts of this exam.
Non-Exam Assessment: Making Connections (completed in Year 13)
This component will focus on methods of language analysis in literary and non-literary texts.
Students will choose a topic for focus on which to complete a structured investigation of between
2500 and 3000 words.
Teaching Style
Teachers encourage discussions and debate in lessons and these are closely linked to the setting of
regular written tasks both in and out of lesson time. Written assignments enable students to
consolidate their knowledge of language and literature and to explore these independently and
creatively.
To support the study of set texts in lesson time, students will be expected to read around the
subject; it is crucial that students are active, engaged and interested in the subject beyond what is
covered in the classroom.
Extra Educational Opportunities and Expenses
The department aims to arrange enrichment trips when appropriate to support study in this subject.
These are strongly recommended to students following the course. There are also a number of
extra-curricular activities that students of English are encouraged to join, such as Debating and the
Creative Writing Club.
Students are required to purchase the set texts they are studying. While some of the texts may be
available electronically, students will need to be able to access and annotate these in lessons. Each
student will be provided with a copy of the AQA Anthology: Paris and the AQA Poetic Voices
Anthology free of charge.
Communication with Teachers
There are a number of ways you can stay in touch with teachers beyond the classroom.
Email is commonly used and some materials can be found on the English Department blog.
(http://stbartsenglish.edublogs.org)
Individual teachers may prefer to host their own blogs and will make students aware of this.
Homework tasks will be posted on Show My Homework along with other important dates and
messages. (https://stbartholomews.showmyhomework.co.uk/teacher/homeworks/calendar)
Teachers are often available in the Department Office after 1pm during Activity Time.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please email toxner@stbarts.co.uk
Have a lovely summer and see you in September!
Summer preparation tasks are on the back page.
Summer Task
For your first lesson in September, you will need to complete the following tasks:
Task 1: Read the entirety of your first set text: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Task 2: Select an extract from this text that you find particularly interesting in the way that a central
character is presented. Then answer the following questions:
1. Where does your chosen extract come from in relation to the whole novel? How much/ how
little do we know about this character? How might this character fit in the dystopian genre?
2. How is this character presented in the use of particular kinds of language? Discuss the use of
things:
- Adjectives: how many? Where they occur? Any particular patterns you notice?
- Nouns: how many abstract nouns? How many concrete nouns? Any patterns you notice?
- Use of dialogue (if appropriate to extract): who is speaking to whom? What is the purpose
of the dialogue? How does it demonstrate themes such as power, fantasy, etc.?
- Any other relevant linguistic/grammatical features.s
3. Narrative perspective – who is telling the story? How does this impact on our understanding
of the narrative?
Wider Reading
You MUST have read The Handmaid’s Tale before you return in September, but any of these texts
and writers from the set text lists are excellent choices for wider reading.
Telling Stories (Year 12)
Imagined Worlds Prose
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dracula by Bram Stoker
*The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Poetic Voices
John Donne
Robert Browning
*Carol Ann Duffy (selected from Mean Time)
Seamus Heaney (selected from New Selected
Poems 1966-1987)
Exploring Conflict (Year 13)
Writing About Society
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Or the Murder at
Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Kite Runner by Khaled Husseini
Dramatic Encounters:
Othello by William Shakespeare
All My Sons by Arthur Miller
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The Herd by Rory Kinnear