A Level English Literature

Course summary

Most people still assume that an A Level in English means a course in Literature. It is the traditional, well-established qualification, highly regarded by all universities and employers. If you are thinking of studying English at university, then this is the qualification that would be expected by all institutions. The English Literature course will cover all three literary forms: prose, poetry and drama. There will be opportunities to study texts within the context of a particular period; to analyse the connections between different writers; and to examine why we respond in certain ways to particular texts. The kinds of assessment are equally varied, involving both open and closed book examinations. There is a coursework module in the second year. The new specifications emphasise the historical/social contexts in which texts were first produced and the differing interpretations that have been formulated in reading the texts, but at the centre of this course remains detailed knowledge of the texts themselves. English Literature is essentially a course in reading; to enjoy it, you must like reading.