[*pitseleh*]

(Original post by Emmalouise1990)
What sort of grades at GCSE do you think you need in English Lit/Lang to take them at A Level? I know that the course only specifies a C at GCSE, but that seems quite low to me. What sort of level (grade wise) would you need to be able to understand and do well at this subject at A Level?

Define "do well". What kind of grade are you looking for?

[ALBERTA]

I love english literature but i have to say...It is a difficult subject because you don't know what the examiner wants....it doesn't help if the examining board is WJEC...they mark at a very high standard.

[billet-doux]

Sorry I forgot to say, my exam board will be AQA.

[adarklingplain]

I absolutely loved English Literature, I wanted to do it at uni, I was always reading etc.

Then I took it for AS and wanted to burn every single book I laid my eyes on. I hated the texts and I hated having to regurgitate essays in order to get by (they say it's completely independent but I've found it far from that.) The jump is huge, I got an A* for GCSE and in my first module (SPIES D I got a low C, one mark above a D.

BUT they're changing the specification for next year and it looks quite good. So who knows!

[bluelou]

(Original post by adarklingplain)

BUT they're changing the specification for next year and it looks quite good. So who knows!

where can i find the new spec? thanksss

[adarklingplain]

(Original post by bluelou)
where can i find the new spec? thanksss

click here

[oatis]

I have just finished my AS in English Literature and I also took an AS in English Language. In my sixth form, English Language has always been the more popular subject, but I prefer English Lit a lot more. Only two people across the year who take English Lit have decided to drop it and they are the only people I know who didn't enjoy it. English Language seems to be a mixed bag. Quite a few people dislike it.

English Lit is definetely the subject for you if you prefer the 'creative flair' side of English. English Language is, in a way, a science because of all the terminology etc.

I find Lit a lot more interesting as I like reading but I wouldn't say Language is boring at all. You conduct your own investigation on whatever you like in Language for A2.

[Emmalouise1990]

(Original post by *pitseleh*)
Define "do well". What kind of grade are you looking for?

I need a minimum of a B at AS (although obviously I'd prefer an A). I am predicted A* for GCSE Literature and Language, whether I get that is another story.lol

[Louisdf]

You have to work so hard to get a good grade in english.Although I got a B for AS and am hoping to get a B overall (because an A is impossible with this terrible teacher who just prints off notes off the internet on "context" and never explains the text atall), lots of people in my year who got AAA/AAB in their other subjects and an A* at GCSE got a D at AS-level.And I hate it how in AQA A, on unit 4 you're not allowed to bring in your text for poetry.There's 2 units at AS where you can take a text in, but at A2 none;what a joke.

[*pitseleh*]

(Original post by Emmalouise1990)
I need a minimum of a B at AS (although obviously I'd prefer an A). I am predicted A* for GCSE Literature and Language, whether I get that is another story.lol

Well, judging by friends' GCSE and A-level results, I believe all of those who had an A at A-level had either an A or an A* at GCSE... make of that what you will.

I think whether you do well or not at A-level is down to whether you have a natural ability in it or not; I would say it's one of the more difficult subjects to "bluff" your way through, because you can't feign essay-writing skills and you can't usually learn model answers for English.

[snorty_swirl]

harder than GCSE but i found it alot more interesting, but could put that down to my teachers... for GCSE it wasnt at all my favourite but now i really enjoy it (even though not top of class or anything) but it really is a personal opinion and depends so much on texts, teachers and class

[UltimateJ]

From what I have heard it sounds pretty good. If you like reading/discussing books then obviously it will be enjoyable, and for me, I kind of wish I was doing it.

As far as difficulty goes I would say it depends on the person. At my college there is only a small class of ten or so people, and in the Jan modules the only person who got an A was someone who reads an insane amount of books and seems to be a natural at the subject. So I do think its a subject where you need a degree of natural ability to do well, where other subjects its just about how much work you put in.

[PindropSilence]

i love english lit.. but of course you have to like reading and analysing novels/plays/poems .. if you like it, you'll do well.. i'd say its worth taking it

[Vexed]

I like reading and analysing novels/plays/poems etc but I'm not very good at doing so. My application has already been received and I've got an interview coming up, however If I'm going to struggle at AS level I don't know if I should take it or not..

[smexiisarah]

(Original post by piece_by_piece)
I have currently chosen to take English Literature in Year 12. I'm interested to find out from those who take it what you think of the subject. Do you find it difficult/easy? Is it enjoyable/boring? Does it follow on from GCSE level/ is it completely different? (Obviously the replies will be subjective, but I want to find out the general opinion)

Thanks in advance.

Well, im in year 12, and chose English Literature and tbh i dont enjoy it! its boring and i find it quite difficult! its alot harder than gcse. but i also think its cuz of my teachers teaching techniques !

[Emmalouise1990]

(Original post by smexiisarah)
Well, im in year 12, and chose English Literature and tbh i dont enjoy it! its boring and i find it quite difficult! its alot harder than gcse. but i also think its cuz of my teachers teaching techniques !

What exam board are you with? and what texts are you studying? Im doing A2 Literature now and for AS I studied Hamlet and King Lear for coursework and the exam texts were Jane Eyre,Wide Sargasso sea and poetry on the theme of "Home".I found it slightly boring at times,but I guess it's the same with every subject, there are bound to be parts of it that are tedious and boring but you have only just started AS so it will probably become more interesting as you go along.What grade did you get at GCSE?

[smexiisarah]

(Original post by Emmalouise1990)
What exam board are you with? and what texts are you studying? Im doing A2 Literature now and for AS I studied Hamlet and King Lear for coursework and the exam texts were Jane Eyre,Wide Sargasso sea and poetry on the theme of "Home".I found it slightly boring at times,but I guess it's the same with every subject, there are bound to be parts of it that are tedious and boring but you have only just started AS so it will probably become more interesting as you go along.What grade did you get at GCSE?

Im with AQA i think ... and im studing Educating Rita and Pygmalion and for the poerty im doing Carol Ann Duffy. yeah it gets so boring sometimes.. i got 1 A, 5 B's and 5 C's .

[ollypocket]

Really fun and enjoyable.

Personally I found it almost no different to GCSE English in terms of difficulty, and not very hard - I didn't revise for my Hardy paper because I felt I knew the texts well enough and never did a practice essay for Victorian Wider Reading, just memorised some quotes as revision. My Jane Eyre coursework was creative writing and that was really really enjoyable. There was also a comparitive essay of A Doll's House by Ibsen and Jane Eyre and that was far more challenging - having re-read my essay I can see it was awful lol, not sure how I did well in it.

But yeah, fun times overall and one you can do without your brain exploding from the difficulty (unlike History or Politics - gah!)

[Emmalouise1990]

(Original post by ollypocket)
Really fun and enjoyable.

Personally I found it almost no different to GCSE English in terms of difficulty, and not very hard - I didn't revise for my Hardy paper because I felt I knew the texts well enough and never did a practice essay for Victorian Wider Reading, just memorised some quotes as revision. My Jane Eyre coursework was creative writing and that was really really enjoyable. There was also a comparitive essay of A Doll's House by Ibsen and Jane Eyre and that was far more challenging - having re-read my essay I can see it was awful lol, not sure how I did well in it.

But yeah, fun times overall and one you can do without your brain exploding from the difficulty (unlike History or Politics - gah!)

I didn't find it different form GCSE either, apart form it being more interesting...at AS I felt like the lessons were more on my "level". I didn't enjoy the GCSE English lessons because they were aimed at a really basic level so that everyone would get a C. I was just looking at your GCSE's...I got 98% in English Literature as well.lol. I love English A2 because it gives me a bit of a break from the more scientific subjects. How are you finding A2?

[ollypocket]

(Original post by Emmalouise1990)
I didn't find it different form GCSE either, apart form it being more interesting...at AS I felt like the lessons were more on my "level". I didn't enjoy the GCSE English lessons because they were aimed at a really basic level so that everyone would get a C. I was just looking at your GCSE's...I got 98% in English Literature as well.lol. I love English A2 because it gives me a bit of a break from the more scientific subjects. How are you finding A2?

Tbh I've been really lazy this year so far cos of teacher changes and work overload but all my stuff has come back A so it doesn't seem to be any difference. I've been reading more literary criticism/theory so I think that's helped me make more complex arguments/analysis...
Yay for 98%! My two friends got 100% but whatever lol.