English Literature

Entry Requirements: Grade 6 or above in both English Language and English Literature at GCSE | Exam Board: AQA

Why Study English Literature?

The study of Literature is a study into different ways of seeing the world. Literature allows us to engage with various distinctive cultural, historical and personal perspectives. It enables you to move beyond your own point of view and enhance your ability to understand and empathise with people from very different walks of life. Through studying Literature, you will encounter some of the most powerful answers to some of the biggest questions you can ask.

Any text is the product of its time: a study of literature will teach you to read in context and to explore social influences; you will consider the key events and ideologies that have shaped our past society and explore how modern readers might respond to literature in the light of social and cultural change. Not only will you experience your cultural heritage, but you will give new life to ‘classic’ texts through your own interpretations.

What skills will you gain?

Many of the skills developed through studying English Literature are related to independent thinking — the ability to analyse sophisticated ideas and the ways in which they are presented, to synthesise complex texts, and to know how to build a convincing argument are just a few. Developing your own formal written communication style is a key skill for further studies and for future life.

What careers can studying English Literature lead to?

It is widely recognised by universities that the skills developed through the study of English Literature are among the most transferable, with English graduates going on to develop the widest range of careers — among the most popular are publishing, broadcasting, marketing and PR, journalism, law, teaching and politics.

The Course

The course encourages students to read widely, responding both to set texts and to those of their own choosing. Skills of literary analysis will be developed and applied to texts from early periods to those written in recent years by living authors. Students follow the ‘AQA English Literature A’ specification. The specification’s ‘historicist approach’ means that the historical contexts that have nurtured literary creativity are seen as particularly important: ‘working from the belief that no text exists in isolation but is the product of the time in which it was produced, Specification A encourages students to explore the relationships that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood.

Paper 1: Love through the Ages (40%)

Study of three texts: one poetry, one prose, one Shakespeare play. Exam will include two unseen poems.

Paper 2: Texts in Shared Contexts: Literature from 1945-Present Day (40%)

Study of three texts: one prose, one poetry, one drama. Exam will include an unseen extract.

Non-exam assessment: Independent Critical Study: Texts Across Time (20%)

Study of two texts. One extended essay of 2,500 words.

Opportunities

English at JCG is not confined to the classroom. You will be encouraged to visit the theatre and you will also experience lectures or workshops by speakers from leading universities or professional writers. You may decide to enter national literary competitions. Off-island opportunities may include theatre trips and study days.