AS at a glance:
You will study two units for AS English language and literature, one of which will be examined in the summer of your lower sixth year and the other of which is assessed via coursework. The examined unit constitutes 60% of the AS marks and the assessed unit 40%.
Unit One: “Exploring Voices In Speech And Writing” (2 hours) This involves the study of written and spoken language and prose. It consists of the close reading of one prose text from a prescribed list and reading from a range of other texts.
Unit Two: “Creating Texts” (internally assessed; 2000 words maximum) This involves thematic study to produce your own writing for different audiences and purposes. You will study one prose fiction text and one text from either poetry or drama as well as reading from a range of other texts. At present our current theme is dystopia.
AS/A2 English Language and Literature
The combined course in Language and Literature that girls are able to follow in the Sixth Form, as either an AS in the Lower Sixth or a full A Level over two years, considerably broadens the range of “texts” studied compared to the Literature only syllabus we used to follow. Drama, poetry and modern and traditional prose are, of course, still studied but so too are a range of non-literary texts with the vital requirement to study spoken English.
Skills obtained from the study of English
The two foremost skills developed through the study of English Language and Literature are those of analysis and composition. You will look at a wide range of texts exploring what the writer is doing, how it is done and why it has been written as it has. You will consider audience, purpose and context, and become expert at explaining precisely what makes a text work. You will then use these skills to create texts of your own and to comment on them showing your conscious control over your own expression. At AS level the focus is on narrative voice, how this is created and exploited.
Where will the study of English Language and Literature lead?
English Language and Literature is acknowledged as an academically respectable and demanding A Level and as such provides entry requirement points for a wide variety of degree courses including, of course, English itself in all the guises in which it is offered at university. The stress that Language and Literature places upon the spoken word makes it an ideal preparation for those with aspirations towards a career such as advocacy or the media. Beyond the academic or vocational, however, knowledge of how language works and an ability to employ it effectively are skills which are empowering; we do not go quite as far as to say that the study of English will enable you to “make friends and influence people” – but it certainly helps.