Exam Board: AQA
Syllabus Code: 8700 – English Language, 8702 – English Literature
What will I be studying?
- English Language
All students practice the important skills of English Language which include opportunities for: directed writing, analysis of writers’ language choices, summary skills, descriptive and discursive writing. AQA’s integrated course allows students to access a wide range of texts studied covering 19th, 20th and 21st century writers. Fiction and non-fiction are probed and students are coached to develop the key skills of analysis; in order that they feel confident exploring language impact. They learn to appreciate how writers employ literary devices to shape meanings and create effects for and upon the reader. Writers are encouraged to practise coherence, clarity and accuracy.
The course culminates in two equally balanced papers, relating reading sources to the topic and theme of writing tasks.
- English Literature
A range of writing is analysed to study how writers communicate their ideas about the world and how readers may respond to them. The syllabus develops a critical understanding of the ways in which literary texts are a reflection of, and an exploration of, the human condition. The way context shapes writing is explored through a wide range of genres and texts from 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st century texts. The course culminates in two external exams.
How will I be assessed?
There are two written exams for each qualification. Additionally, for Language, there is a compulsory NEA Speaking and Listening component which is recorded and sent to AQA. Distinction, Merit and Pass grades are awarded.
English Language
There are two exams of 1 hour 45 minutes each. 50% of the final grade.
Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Writing.
Section A: Reading. One prose extract. 4 questions.
Section B: Writing. Descriptive or narrative task.
80 marks.
Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives.
Section A: Reading. Thematically linked fiction and non-fiction texts. 4 Questions.
Section B: Writing. Discursive writing.
80 marks.
English Literature
Paper 1: 1 hour 45 minutes. 40%.
- Section A: Shakespeare, Macbeth.
- Section B: 19th century novel. 64 marks.
Paper 2: 2 hours 15 minutes. 60%.
- Section A: Modern texts. Set prose or drama texts. An Inspector Calls and others.
- Section B: Poetry AQA Anthology. Poems past and present. Love and relationships. Power and Conflict.
- Section C: Unseen poetry analysis and comparison. 96 marks.
Is there anything else I need to know about these courses?
All students will sit their exams at the end of Upper Fifth; there are no controlled assessments or coursework pressures. We’re enthused by the breadth of texts on the syllabi and confident that freedom from administrative constraints will enrich student creativity and flair. Released teaching time will allow us to practise exam timing, essay techniques and consolidate all core skills. Two separate GCSEs will be awarded at levels 9-1.
All texts in the exam are unseen. Although there is no award for speaking and listening, there is a non-examined assessment in spoken language and oracy is highly valued by us as a means of rehearsing good ideas and planning responses which emulate the successes of the modelled extracts.
Assessment objectives are shared across all parts of the exam and both subjects. Students benefit from the transferrable skills. Students also enjoy the range of texts’ for reading stimulus and engage with creative as well as real and relevant contexts.
We value many author and poet visits, theatre trips, competitions, and visits to enrich all students’ experiences.
Further information
Please contact Kerry Egan
kerry.egan@sidcot.org.uk