Shall I take A-level English lit even though I can’t read?

I am taking double BTEC performing arts and need something to alongside at my sixthform. I enjoy both photography and English lit. These were my highes grades (7) and 4s in everything else. I was predicted to fail all my exams so I never thought of sixthform. I really want to take English lit. However I struggle with my attention span. I find it really hard to focus. This interferes with reading. I can often listen to audio books and watch films,plays. This is a technique I used during my GCSES. I knew all my texts inside and out and even annotated the copies. But I never sat down and just read it. We read in class but I never read independently. With alevels I know there is a lot more independence. Over the summer to get a head-start I have ‘read’ the great gatsby. This includes watching both films and have just got up to annotating the fourth chapter based of other annotations online and what I resonate with. However stereotypically your English student is somebody who loves to read for pleasure, sits and reads often. This is not me. Only once or twice I have read short books or listened to audio books. Should I take a-level literature even though I struggle to read? I just want to fit in. I am really excited around the subject. I actually write poetry and loved annotating and reading it. So that is not element I would struggle with. I also love reading plays as a drama student. It makes things easier to me when I know whose saying and doing what. I know immediately your thinking she can’t read no pick photography! But I feel that academic subjects are for everyone and not just readers. I don’t want to miss out just because of what’s wrong with me. But if anybody did have any tips on how to focus, read for pleasure and immerse my self into literature let me know. I broke the barrier in english GCSE of not being able. I do want to be a better student and improve myself . If anybody has any advice on how to read better please let me know. And does anybody have any friends who take lit when they do not read for pleasure? Thanks x

Reply 1

loulai_

Original post by Llloubadl

I take english literature and i dont necessary read all the time and i struggle with reading too (im dyslexic so sometimes i get frustrated with it and give up). What helps is reading ebooks rather than paper books, so i can make the font bigger and change the colour of the page and somehow i actually end up reading more. I'd say i read maybe once or twice a week (books i actually want to read not once assigned by school) and sometimes that can only be a few chapters. Sometimes i'll read more sometimes ill read less, this week and last week i havent read anything. Listening to audiobooks can help too, i like to do something while i listen like do some art or do some chores.

I find knowing what genre you like best can encourage you to read more, like if you like fantasy your gonna be more motivated to read because your gonna wanna read that genre. For any set text of plays your doing it can help to watch rather than read, i've watched death of a salesman more times than ive read it and i find myself quoting along the lines as they say them - you can pick things up (since its a script and you analyse the play script yknow?). I find watching plays can also help me remember plays better because i remember HOW they say them, for example if they say it with an accent or if theyre shouting it, crying etc. if that makes sense?

I do enjoy reading but i have to enjoy what im reading if that makes sense? if i dont like the book after getting so far into it then i wont read it, unless its a text im doing for school. Whenever i read i like to sit upright in my bed i cant read laying down, surrounded by pillows literally just getting as comfy as i can, and sometimes if its loud in my house ill stick on some noisecancelling headphones so its a bit more quite and i can concentrate

If you do decide to take alevel english lit, litcharts is great site to use for notes - they've got quotes, chapter summarys, timelines, themes, character analysis etc. so if you struggle with reading the book and understanding whats going on, you can always have a little look at the site to clear things up

I hope that knowing someone else is in a similar situation to you helps you make a decision about taking it or not! (: