GCE English Literature

The GCE, also known as the ‘A level’, is a UKcentric qualification which aims to prepare students for university. As one of their subject options, students can choose to do either English language or English literature. Although both can be opted for, this is not advised due to the vast workload necessitated by each. While students must complete two years of study to be awarded the A level, they can also study the subject in AS Level which can be taken in three instalments at different periods over a given year (AS exams take place in January, May/June, October/November). In a standard two-year A-Level course, the AS Level is the first year of study, contributing to the overall A-Level grade. Essentially, the AS Level is the first half of the A-Level content, and the A2 Level (second year) builds upon it. The combined results from both the AS and A2 levels determine the final A-Level grade.

The A-level English literature requires in-depth analysis of literary texts of different types and from different time periods. Students will study a myriad of texts including, but not limited to, poems and plays by Shakespeare, poems by metaphysical, romantic, and Victorian poets, modern drama pieces by playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and Aphra Behn.

The course emphasizes critical thinking, essay writing, and the ability to evaluate different interpretations of texts based primarily on social and historical context.

During the two years of their English Literature studies, students will learn to analyse literary works in detail by focusing on the author’s language choice and structural preferences and reflecting on the reasons behind their usage and their effects. Aside from close language analysis, students will also be expected to engage with critics’ perspectives on the literary pieces. Students will be expected to learn how to smoothly incorporate these critic quotes into their essays, whilst also evaluating their implications. Students will also develop their essay writing skills, learning how to structure an essay clearly with a concise thesis statement, topic sentences, pieces of evidence, and analysis.

To achieve an A or A* in GCSE A-level English Literature students need to ensure that they conduct close language analysis, picking out words/phrases in the text, then identifying literary techniques within these segments and writing about their effects, what the author might have intended, and how they are a reflection of the social and historical context of the author. Students must also be mindful of the structure of their essays, as regardless of how good their analysis is, without any organisation their ideas will be lost in the muddle. The student should therefore make sure to have a clear introduction where they briefly establish the ideas they will be developing in their body paragraphs, with a clear and concise thesis statement. They also need to write out topic sentences for each of their body paragraphs with precisely chosen keywords that will make their focus clear to the examiners, picking quotes carefully, before analysing each of them in detail. Lastly, students should ensure that they read extensively, not only the books requested by their schools, but also books that interest them, as reading develops comprehension skills, expands one’s vocabulary, and subconsciously teaches students how to write in a charming manner.

Teachers at CANA work students through the in-depth studies, shadowing and deepening their exploration of text types in language and literature to bring about self-discovery of deeper issues.

We put the technical details associated with language into clearly explained material to ensure that your knowledge of the fundamentals is secure, before expanding and improving your appreciation of the more complex ideas in literature.