1. English Literature AQA Specification B

2. Overview of English Literature AS & A2

3. Aspects of Narrative (LitB1) This is the study of narratology – the techniques that the author uses to tell the story. BEFORE you start the course in September you should have read the following texts: The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) Bloomsbury ISBN 978-0747566533 Enduring Love (Ian McEwan) 978-0099276586 The Great Gatsby ( F Scott Fitzgerald ) 9780141182636 Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks) 978-0099387916 Small Island (Andrea Levy) 978-0755307500

4. Aspects of Narrative This exam is open book – 2hrs long and worth 60% of your AS (30% A2) You will be asked to buy your own books so that you can make annotated notes in them – we will provide clean copies for the exam.

5. Aspects of Narrative (LitB1) As part of the course you will study a selection of prose and poetry texts. Some possible examples of poets you may study include: Robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge W.H. Auden Christina Rossetti

6. Dramatic Genres - Comedy (LitB2) (coursework 40% AS - 20% A2) The coursework portfolio will consist of two essays on an aspect of the dramatic/comic genre from two different plays. One must be a Shakespearean comedy AND the other a contemporary comedy Each piece of work will be marked out of 30 to produce an overall mark out of 60 for the unit and each piece of work must be between 1200-1500 words

7. What’s in A2? Elements of the Gothic (LitB3 – exam) 30% of total A level Written paper. 2 hours. Closed book Minimum three texts for study including at least one text 1300-1800. (LitB4 – coursework) 20% of A level A portfolio of two pieces of written coursework: A comparative study of an aspect of two texts (1500- 2000 words) A Marxist or Feminist analysis of a piece of poetry or prose (1200-1500 words).

8. Elements of the Gothic Candidates will study a minimum of three texts. Possible texts include: Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter The Pardoner’s Tale Geoffrey Chaucer Frankenstein Mary Shelley Dracula Bram Stoker Macbeth William Shakespeare Dr Faustus Christopher Marlowe At least one of the texts must date from 1300-1800.

9. Elements of the Gothic Isolated setting The Supernatural Troubled protagonist The savage/ barbaric side of human nature Breaking of moral & social codes Distinct male & female roles Light & Dark Symbolism The Macabre

10. Further and Independent reading There are a number of aims to this unit: 1. To introduce candidates to the study of a wide range of texts, some of which may be of their own choosing. 2. To introduce candidates to different ways of reading texts for study, including independently. 3. To introduce candidates to some critical ideas, and for these ideas to be applied with discrimination to literary texts.

11. What must I consider before choosing English Literature at High Storrs? Do I love reading? Am I prepared and able to write detailed academic essays. Will I get the grades? (Grade C minimum in DUAL award – higher tier)