Welcome to the A2 English Literature course

Edexcel English Literature (post 2008)

Course Outline

Unit 3 – June exam entry (60%) (100 marks)

Unit 4 – June entry coursework (40%) (80 marks)

Unit 3 – 2 hours 45 minutes

Section A – Unseen prose or poetry (40 marks)

Section B – ‘Relationships’ Paired Texts (60 marks)

Unit 3: Section A

Unseen poetry or prose 1 hour 10 minutes approx AO1 = 10 marks AO2=30 marks Builds on the unseen skills from Unit 1 in AS but does not use

the three prompt questions – instead the question simply is: ‘How does the writer use language, form and structure to shape the response of the reader?’

Unit 3 Section B

Paired texts ‘Relationships’ (60%) 1 hour 35 minutes approx Rapture anthology by Carol-Ann Duffy ( includes 19 poems;

you should read the full collection – one copy in the library) Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Example question: ‘Relationships rarely end well.’ To what

extent do you agree with this in light of your reading of Rapture and at least one other text?

AO1= 10 marks AO2=10 marks AO3= 20 marks AO4= 20 marks

A2 uses the same AOs as AS. What does each assess?

AOs – a reminder….

AO1 = line of argument, literary terms, quotes, technical accuracy

AO2 = language, form and structure AO3 = i) making connections ii) other

readers’ interpretations AO4 = i) historical and literary context ii)

different readers over time

Unit 4: Coursework

2500-3000 words (including quotes) 80 marks (40 % of A2) All AOs have equal weighting – each is worth 20

marks. Taught texts ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret

Attwood and ‘Top Girls’ by Caryl Churchill Third text is chosen by you You will choose a question from a list provided or

you can write your own

Third text suggestions:

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge PierceyWife of Bath by Geoffrey Chaucer The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger1984 by George OrwellBrave New World by Aldous Huxley Herland by Charlotte Perkins GilmanAny novel with a heroine/ anti heroine/ strong female protagonist

Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe Colour Purple by Alice WalkerA Doll’s House by Henrik IbsenKing Lear by William ShakespeareMacbeth by William ShakespeareCoriolanus by William ShakespeareStreetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsOrange are not the only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Enrichment week is your reading week

We expect all students to have read their two texts (HMT and TG) by the end of Enrichment week. The earlier you have explored the third text list and decided on the one you want to use, the sooner you can choose your question and start preparing your essay.

In your first lesson back in September, you will submit your essay proposal and independent study completed in the holiday.

In week 6 of this term, you will be given the questions and clear guidance on how to get started and what to do over the holiday.

We hope you relish the challenge of Unit 4 and enjoy this unique opportunity

At the end of Year 13, most students say that their favourite part of the course was Unit 4!

The students who do well in this unit are the ones who are committed from the start of Term 6 of Year 12. The students who really impress and thrive are those who are curious, enjoy the reading, embrace the independent endeavour and have the ability to think for themselves.

There are always a minority who through arrogance, sloth or misadventure choose to approach June-Sept as a ‘settling in period’ thinking they will catch up later on. A warning: this never happens. These students then embark on a painful journey towards the deadline blighted by phone calls to parents, disappointing draft feedback and ultimately achieving a grade which jeopardises their UCAS offers. You have been warned

A2 Calendar

Year 12 Term 6: students study HMT and Top Girls Summer holiday: students make notes on all three unit 4 texts for their chosen

question The Unit 4 deadline is tbc but the final deadline at the very latest will be the end

of January (there will be interim deadlines before this)

Term 2015-6

1 Unit 4 – AO2 and AO4 taught inputUnit 4- supervision meetings

2 Unit 3 – Rapture Unit 4 – supervision meetings

3 Unit 3 – Tess & Gatsby (linked to Rapture)

4 Unit 3 – Tess & Gatsby (linked to Rapture )Mock

5 Unit 3 - revision

The year will…

Be challenging Be fast paced Involve high level literary discussion Offer you freedom and independence to develop

your own ideas and critical voice Require you to have excellent time management Require you to have excellent independent study

skills Be hugely enjoyable - if you enjoy reading – which

surely you all do!

What to do with this PowerPoint and the information on it.

This will be useful for future reference. Mrs Taylor has posted it on the blog

www.dhsbookbabes.wordpress.com If you want to look at past papers for unit 3,

you can see them on the Edexcel website:

http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/english/lit/Pages/default.aspx