1. AQA English Literature B

2. LITB3 Unit 3: Texts and Genres 30% of total A level
Written Paper, 2 hours. Closed book. 80 marks
Min. of 3 texts to study.
Elements of Pastoral.
2 sections in the exam – answer one question for each.
Exam: June 2010

3. LITB4 Unit 4: Further and Independent Reading 20% of total A level
Coursework. 60 marks
Min. of 3 texts to study includes 1 pre-released anthology of critical material.
A portfolio of two pieces of written coursework.
A comparative study of an aspect of two texts. (1500 – 2000 words)
An application of an aspect of pre-released critical anthology to a literary text (1200 – 1500 words)
Deadline: June 2010

4. Weighting of Assessment Objectives for A Level
Unit Weightings (%)
Unit 3
Unit 4
AO1
7.5 5
AO2
AO3
AO4
Overall weightings of units % 30 20

5. A2 performance descriptions for English Literature B
AO1 A/B boundary performance descriptions.
Candidates characteristically:
Communicate extensive knowledge and understanding of literary texts.
Create and sustain well organised and coherent arguments, using appropriate terminology to support informed interpretations.
Structure and organise their writing using an appropriate critical register.
Communicate content and meaning through expressive and accurate writing.

6. A2 performance descriptions for English Literature B
AO2 A/B boundary performance descriptions.
Candidates characteristically:
Identify significant aspects of structure, form and language in literary texts.
Explore, through detailed critical analysis, how writers use these aspects to create meaning.
Consistently make reference to specific texts and sources to support their responses.

7. A2 performance descriptions for English Literature B
AO3 A/B boundary performance descriptions.
Candidates characteristically:
Analyse and evaluate connections or points of comparison between literary texts.
Engage sensitively and with different readings and interpretations demonstrating clear understanding.

8. A2 performance descriptions for English Literature B
AO4 A/B boundary performance descriptions.
Candidates characteristically:
Explore and comment on the significance of the relationships between specific literary texts and their contexts.
Evaluate the influence of culture, text type, literary genre or historical period on the ways in which literary texts were written and were – and are – received.

9. Question stems “Discuss the view…” “Explore the ways in which…”
“Consider the view that…”
“To what extent…”
“How far do you agree that…”

10. Example questions (section A)
Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Childhood has been depicted by some pastoral writers as a lost Golden Age and a time of closeness to nature.
Does Huckleberry Finn show Twain to be one of those writers?

11. Example Questions (section A)
Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
Waugh said that the novel was written ‘in a bleak period’ and was consequently filled ‘with a kind of gluttony… for the splendours of the recent past.’
How does Waugh use the idea of a Golden Age?

12. Example Questions (section B)
Discuss the uses made of urban and rural oppositions in texts you have studied.
To what extent is a pastoral treatment of the past inevitably prettified and nostalgic?
Compare depictions of rural life in at least two texts of your choice.