A Level English Literature AQA English Literature A

1. AO1: Articulate informed, personal, creative and relevant responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent and accurate written expression. • AO2: Analyse the ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with particular focus on the structure of texts as a form of shaping. • AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the context in which literary texts are written and received. • NB. These 3 AOs are to be treated as equal due to their relative weighting across all areas of assessment. • AO4: Explore connections across texts and demonstrate understanding of wider genre, theme and historical features/implications. • AO5: Explore literary texts informed by further debate and different interpretations. • NB. AO4 and 5 have a weighting of 12% across all areas of assessment. A Level English LiteratureAQA English Literature A 7712B (Entry code for option B Modern Times)QAN Code: 601/5327/1Awarded on a 6 point scale A* - E

2. Component 1 – Love Through the Ages • Assessed through EXAM (Paper 1) • 3 Sections – A, B and C • 3 set texts assessed plus unseen poetry • 3 hours (1 hour per section) • All AOs assessed – 40% of total A level

3. Component 1 – Love Through the AgesSection A – Shakespeare • Printed extract taken from chosen play and question which invites students to write about the extract, the play as a whole and consider a critical view point. Eg: ‘Typically texts about husbands and wives present marriage from a male point of view.’ In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Othello and Desdemona in this extract and elsewhere in the play. • 25 marks available • Closed book exam Shakespeare chosen set text: Othello

4. Component 1 – Love Through the AgesSection B – Unseen Poetry • Two printed poems from two different time periods, both on the theme of ‘love’. • Need to compare the presentation of love in both poems – the question will offer a comment for you use as a starting point. Eg: ‘It has been said that Rossetti’s poem is conventional and celebratory, whereas Millay’s poem offers a very different view of love.’ Compare and contrast the presentation of love in the following poems in light of this comment. • 25 marks available No chosen set text. Students to study a variety of poetry linked to the theme of love.

5. Component 1 – Love Through the AgesSection C – Comparing Texts • Comparison of two texts already studied (one prose, one poetry and one pre-1900 and one post-1900). • There is a choice of two questions – students must answer ONE of these by comparing the two chosen texts studied (at least two poems to fulfil requirements of a second ‘text’). • Questions are theme based and not text specific like in Section A. Eg: Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present ideas about passion. OR Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present barriers to love. • 25 marks available • Open (clean) book exam Chosen set texts: The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) and AQA Anthology of Poetry: Pre-1900

6. Component 2 – Texts in shared contexts(Option 2B: Modern times: Literature from 1945 – present day) • Assessed through EXAM (Paper 2) • 3 Sections – A, B and C • 3 set texts assessed plus unseen prose • 2.5 hours (50 mins per section) • All AOs assessed – 40% of total A level • Key issues and concepts to bear in mind while studying: • Wars and the legacy of wars • Personal and social identity • Changing morality and social structures • Gender, class, race and ethnicity • Political upheaval and change • Resistance and rebellion • Imperialism, post-imperialism and nationalism

7. Component 2 – Texts in shared contextsSection A – Set Text • Exploration of chosen set text in light of view offered within the question. • There is a choice of two questions – students must answer ONE question in relation to the set text. Eg: ‘Primarily, this play presents a clash between two cultures, not two individuals.’ Examine this view of A Streetcar Named Desire OR Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between Stella and Stanley is ‘inconceivable’. • 25 marks available • Open (clean) book exam Chosen set texts Drama, Prose and Poetry: A Streetcar Named Desire(Tennessee Williams), The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood), Feminine Gospels (Carol Ann Duffy)

8. Component 2 – Texts in shared contextsSection B – Contextual Linking • There are two questions in this section - BOTH must be answered. • The first is a response to the unseen prose extract. Eg: Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that the writer shapes meanings. • 25 marks available • The second question requires students to compare two other set texts studied in light of the theme raised within the unseen prose extract and question. Eg: ‘Modern literature shows isolated characters as being profoundly damaged .’ Compare the significance of isolation in two other texts you have studied . Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing. • 25 marks available • Open (clean) book exam NB. The set text used for section A cannot be used to form part of students’ answers in second B; 3 different texts and 1 unseen extract need to be written about in total.

9. Component 3 – Independent Critical Study: Texts Across Time • Non-exam assessment (coursework) • 2,500 word essay • Comparison of (exploration of the connections between) two texts of your choice NB: At least one must be pre-1900 Texts cannot written by same author Texts cannot include any of the set texts used in Components 1 and 2 Equal attention must be paid to both texts Texts should be connected by a shared theme, topic or genre • Must include a bibliography and references • All AOs assessed - 20% of total A level 1 pre-1900 text will be studied as a class: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)