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Advice for AS/A2 English Literature

This coming term I'm set to go to Sixth Form to study AQA Specification A English Literature. Can anyone recommend any revision guides, websites, etc for the course?

I'm not too sure on what literature I'll be studying, but I do know that one of the pieces if Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Wolf.

Reply 1

Dougieowner

York Notes will be a lifesaver for any of the texts you're studying! You can usually get cheap, second-hand copies on Amazon, and they guide you through the texts in a lot of detail, often highlighting key quotations and giving you ideas about the characters that you can then expand on.

Am I right in thinking that you'll be doing the new specification that's just been introduced? If so, there might not be loads of specific resources (though I'm sure some will start appearing online as the year progresses), but often if you search for a text on Google something will come up from a previous year/specification - the analysis and general ideas will be the same, the exam answers just might be a bit different so don't get confused. E.g. If you type in "Mrs Dalloway key quotations" on Google, there are instantly loads of websites that pop up that you could use. Literature's all about searching for information until you find exactly what you're looking for!

More specifically, some websites I'd look out for would be:
www.litcharts.com
www.shmoop.com
www.sparknotes.com
and obviously The Student Room forums.
Don't copy anything directly from there because it could be considered as plagiarism, but I used all of these websites throughout my English Literature A Level and found them very reliable. Sometimes you'll find ideas on them that you haven't previously thought about/discussed in class, and they can give you a whole new perspective on the text you're analysing.

Reply 2

oswalds

I did AQA A, and I've just finished AS with an A. I'd second the York Notes. I've used them for every text so far, and they are really good as they summarise each chapter, talk about key themes and characters, and also context, which is really important. Good reads is useful if you want to find quotes quickly, as you can find them all in one place. Google Books and Google Scholar are great for critical opinions and interpretations, if you just look up the title, and sometimes a specific theme you are looking at. For annotating poetry, try googling other people's analysts of the poems. Don't use these for all of your annotations, but they are good for adding for your notes and considering different interpretations. Also, whenever you are reading I would recommend keeping post it notes and/or a small notebook with you to keep a note of key ideas or quotes that you find useful. A reading log, with quotes and summaries of your wider reading, is very useful when you need to memorise quotes as well. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

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Reply 3

lilafrubexoxo

hi!

I'm doing AS english lit, and I have a question about discussing a way culture is presented in a particular poem.
Is this just a discursive essay??

Thanks,
Lilafrubexoxo

Reply 4

shuutupcharli

I'm doing Mrs Dalloway too, how are you finding it?

Reply 5

The Empire Odyssey

Original post by lilafrubexoxo

hi!

I'm doing AS english lit, and I have a question about discussing a way culture is presented in a particular poem.
Is this just a discursive essay??

Thanks,
Lilafrubexoxo

Depends on the mark scheme and what you are being asked to do.

It sounds like it isn't an argumentative essay which is what discursive practically means.

It's just asking you to discuss the way culture is presented... so how does the poet write about culture - what language choices does he use; what poetic devices does he choose and etc.

Reply 6

The Empire Odyssey

I hated Mrs Dalloway - really not something I would recommend personally. Have to read To The Lighthouse for uni next month which isn't going to be fun either :/.