English Language and Literature A Level

English Language and Literature takes a different approach to language from that taken in both GCSE English Language and English Literature. You will learn new terminology to help you understand how language works. You will apply this new knowledge to the analysis of a wide range of texts, both written and spoken.

We study an anthology of non-fiction texts such as travel writing, autobiography, spoken and online texts. We also apply the new approaches to texts to a range of modern literary texts.

While the course mainly takes a traditional approach of assessment through analytical essays, there is also the opportunity to respond to texts in a more creative way, through rewriting extracts from a different perspective.

Year 1:

• An anthology of non-fiction texts focused on Paris
• The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
• Mean Time – Carol Ann Duffy

Year 2:

• The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
• A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams
• Non-examined assessment: a comparative study of a literary and non-literary text.

Two exams and a non-examined assessment: a comparative study of a literary and non-literary text (worth 20% of the final grade).

Universities and employers value and respect an A Level in English Language and Literature. Former students have gone on to study a wide variety of degree courses in humanities at university and into careers such as in journalism, law, teaching and social work.