English Language and Literature

Course summary

Love writing? Like to analyze...well, everything? This course allows you to be creative - not only in the fiction and non-fiction writing you will produce - but in your analytical work by imposing no rules as to how you should approach your analysis of a text. Word class? Sure. Imagery? Of course! Explore both non-literary and non-fiction texts and expect to study prose, drama, and poetry as well as a range of texts such as articles, online copy, and adverts. You will also explore the nature of spoken and multimodal language: how people talk and why they talk in the way they do. You will develop your creative writing in different genres, reflecting on your practice to become a critical reviewer of your own, as well as others’ works. You will also explore how literature represents ‘Society and the Individual’ by studying Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’. This A Level enables you to develop the key critical, creative, and analytical skills required both for progression to higher education and for enhanced employability. The course provides a grounding for either Language or Literature at the degree level and is an excellent subject to complement many courses, such as Psychology, Sociology, any media-related course, Communication, and Education.