English Literature GCSE

Duration of course: 2 years

Course type: GCSE 

Examination Board: AQA

Overview: 

The course encourages students to develop knowledge and skills in reading, writing and critical thinking. Through literature, students develop culturally and acquire knowledge of the best that has been thought and written. Studying GCSE English Literature should encourage students to read widely for pleasure, and as a preparation for studying literature at A-level.

The course also encourages students to:

• read a wide range of classic literature fluently and with good understanding, and make connections across their reading
• read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas
• develop the habit of reading widely and often
• appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage
• write accurately, effectively, and analytically about their reading, using Standard English
• acquire and use a wide vocabulary, including grammatical terminology, other literary and linguistic terms they need to criticise and analyse what they read

Assessment Method and Component Percentages: 

Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel
How it's assessed:

• written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes
• 64 marks forming 40% of the GCSE

Questions:
Section A Shakespeare: students will answer one question on their play of choice. They will be required to write in detail about an extract from the play and then to write about the play as a whole.

Section B The 19th-century novel: students will answer one question on their novel of choice. They will be required to write in detail about an extract from the novel and then to write about the novel as a whole.

Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry
How it's assessed:

• Modern texts
• Seen and unseen poetry 
• written exam: 2 hour 15 minutes
• 96 marks forming 60% of the GCSE

Questions:

Section A Modern texts: students will answer an essay question from a choice of two on modern prose or drama text.

Section B Poetry: students will answer a comparative question on a named poem printed on the paper and another poem from their anthology cluster.

Section C Unseen poetry: Students will answer a question on an unseen poem and a question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem.

What will I learn? 

Skills: In studying the set texts students should have the opportunity to develop the following skills.

Reading comprehension and reading critically:

• literal and inferential comprehension: understanding a word, phrase or sentence in context; exploring aspects of plot, characterisation, events and settings; distinguishing between what is stated explicitly and what is implied; explaining motivation, sequence of events, and the relationship between actions or events
• critical reading: identifying the theme and distinguishing between themes; supporting a point of view by referring to evidence in the text; recognising the possibility of and evaluating different responses to a text; using understanding of writers’ social, historical and cultural contexts to inform evaluation; making an informed personal response that derives from analysis and evaluation of the text
• evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, grammatical and structural features: analysing and
• evaluating how language, structure, form and presentation contribute to quality and impact; using linguistic and literary terminology for such evaluation
• comparing texts: comparing and contrasting texts studied, referring where relevant to theme, characterisation, context (where known), style and literary quality; comparing two texts critically with respect to the above

Writing:

• producing clear and coherent text: writing effectively about literature for a range of purposes such as: to describe, explain, summarise, argue, analyse and evaluate; discussing and maintaining a point of view; selecting and emphasising key points; using relevant quotation and using detailed textual references
• accurate Standard English: accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar

How will I learn? 

• Role play
• Video and DVD
• Revision Workbooks
• You will learn by reading and analysing a wide variety of extracts. You will watch a range of performances to understand Writers’ craft.    

Departmental Expectations: 

To support a climate of learning where each individual is given the opportunity to excel in their reading and writing.

Career Potential: 

English is a valuable subject for any career potential – Journalism, Law, Teaching, Writing Novels, Publishing.

Future Progression routes possible: 

A Level English Literature