A Level English Literature (Edexcel)

What is English Literature?

Its aim is to enable students to be enthusiastic and analytical lovers of literature,

who not only achieve highly, but also find enjoyment and enrichment through reading, research, discussions and

critical response.

Why study English Literature?

Besides having the opportunity to read in depth the major literary works in English, students will gain many skills

useful in a wide range of future professions, including the verbal precision necessary to edit and analyse texts

effectively, as well as highly developed powers of argument and persuasion. It is a particularly respected as a

discipline by universities.

What makes a successful English Literature student?

A serious love of classic literature and the best of modern literature, a willingness to read round the subject and the

self-discipline to undertake independent research outside the classroom.

To study this course, what qualifications will I need and in which subjects?

We recommend at least two Bs in English at GCSE (Lit. and Lang.) but will accept those who do not meet these

criteria, providing they show themselves to be independent learners willing to put in the necessary work.

What is the structure of the course?

Following national changes, the course is structured, delivered and best studied as a two year A Level, with all

examinations at the end of Year 13. However, there will be the option of the AS qualification for any student who

does not wish to continue study for the A Level qualification in Year 13. As such the content required for the AS

qualification will be covered during Year 12.

What opportunities are there for me to study beyond the classroom?

A dedicated website exists for this course (www.hellesdon.org), where resources and source materials will be made

available for download. There are also plans for visits and seminars (to be advised later).

What kind of career does this subject/qualification prepare me for?

This course is traditionally valued by institutes of Higher Education, and deemed an appropriate route for many

academic courses. Typically it could lead to careers in Education, Law, the Media, Journalism and Publishing.

A Level English Literature

Component 1: Drama Assessment Component 2: Prose* Assessment

1. Othello by William Shakespeare

2. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde*

A level assessment – Open text examination, 2hr 15 mins Percentage of A Level =30% (60 marks)

1. Hard Times by Charles Dickens*

2. Atonement by Ian McEwan*

A Level Assessment – Open text exam, 1 hr Percentage of A Level =20% (40 marks )

Component 3: Poetry Assessment Coursework Assessment

1. Post 2002 Poetry* 2. Unseen Poetry 3. The Less Deceived by

Philip Larkin

A level assessment – Open text examination, 2hr 15 mins Percentage of A Level =30% (60 marks)

Dystopian Literature 3000 word comparative and analytical essay 1984, Brave New World, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Road, Fahrenheit 451, Riddley Walker (text choice subject to change)

Assessment – Internal (marked by teachers) Percentage of A Level =20% (40 marks in total)

*AS Qualification – Drama and Poetry (40%) and Prose (60%)

A Level English Literature Reading List

Find some books to read and most importantly to enjoy from the long lists below. We don’t expect you to read them all but having a long list allows everybody to find a few books that they really enjoy. Try to make a start on the purchasing and reading of the core texts but reading will be guided through Year 12. Core Reading The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Othello by William Shakespeare The Less Deceived by Philip Larkin Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry Hard Times by Charles Dickens Atonement by Ian McEwan Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Road by Cormac McCarthy Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban General Reading Achebe, Chinua Things Fall Apart Ali, Monica Brick Lane Allende, Isabel Paula Atkinson, Kate One Good Turn Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin Austen, Jane Persuasion Banks, Iain The Steep Approach to Garbadale Barnes, Julian Flaubert’s Parrot Boyd, William Any Human Heart Bradbury, Malcolm The History Man Bronte, Charlotte Villette Burgess, Anthony A Clockwork Orange Byatt, AS Possession Calvino, Italo If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller Camus, Albert The Outsider Capote, Truman Breakfast at Tiffanys Carcaterra, Lorenzo Sleepers Carey, Peter Oscar and Lucinda Carter, Angela The Magic Toyshop Chandler, Raymond The Big Sleep Conrad, Joseph The Secret Agent Collins, Wilkie The Woman in White Defoe, Daniel Moll Flanders De Bernieres Captain Corelli’s Mandolin Dickens, Charles Bleak House Doyle, Roddy Paddy Clarke, Ha,Ha,Ha Faulks, Sebastian Birdsong Eco, Umberto The Name of the Rose Eliot, George Middlemarch Enright, Anne The Gathering Faulks, Sebastian Engleby 2

Fitzgerald, F Scott The Great Gatsby Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary Gibbons, Stella Cold Comfort Farm Haddon, Mark A Spot of Bother Hall, Sarah The Electric Michelangelo Heller, Joseph Catch 22 Hemingway, Ernest For Whom the Bell Tolls Hornby, Nick Fever Pitch, A Long Way Down Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner Huxley, Aldous Brave New World Ishiguru, Kasuo Artist of the Floating World James, Henry Washington Square Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer Heat and Dust Joyce, James Ulysses Kafka, Franz The Trial Kerouac, Jack On the Road Kingsolver, Barbara Poisonwood Bible Kundera, Milan The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kureishi, Hanif Buddha of Suburbia Lampedusa, di Guiseppi - The Leopard Levi, Primo If this is a Man Lodge, David Nice Work McEwan, Ian Saturday Mann, Thomas Death in Venice Marquez, Gabriel Garcia - Love in the Time of Cholera Masters, Alexander Stuart—A Life Backwards Morrall , Clare Astonishing Splashes of Colour Morrison, Toni Beloved Murdoch, Iris The Sea, The Sea Naipaul, VS A House for Mr Biswas Okri, Ben The Famished Road Paton Walsh, Jill A Knowledge of Angels Plath, Sylvia The Bell Jar Proulx, E Annie The Shipping News Rushdie, Salman Midnight’s Children Seth, Vickram A Suitable Boy Shelley, Mary Frankenstein Smith, Ali The Accidental Smith, Zadie On Beauty Sterne, Lawrence The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Syede, Matthew Bounce Thackeray, WM Vanity Fair Updike, John Rabbit Angstrom, Four Novels Walker, Alice The Color Purple Waters, Sarah The Night Watch Wesley, Mary The Camomile Lawn Winterson, Jeanette Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Woolf, Virginia To the Lighthouse