English Literature or Language?

I just started year 12 and I've had a taste of English Language at AS level and I'm not exactly looking forward to it however it is one of my stronger subjects in comparison to others. I've shown an interest in English Literature though however I am certain that I might struggle with the workload and syllabus.

I am in the midst of deciding whether to change from English Language to Literature or not and I have no idea of what to do. I've gathered from multiple threads here on the Student Room about how English Literature is ranked higher on the big list of A level subjects major universities prefer in comparison to English Language.

Also after skimming through the Edexcel English Literature syllabus for last year, I've noticed that the exams are mainly open-booked, which is a huge difference to GCSE where you had to memorise key quotes. That aside, I know the gap/difference between GCSE and A level is enormous but I still don't know which subject to choose. I am thinking of dropping this subject during my second year to focus on my 2 sciences and mathematics.

P.S: If anyone is asking, I am planning on either going to Australia or the UK for University hopefully to study engineering (Mechanical? Civil?).

Reply 1

TSR Jessica

Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown:

Are you sure you've posted in the right place? :smile:

Here's a link to our subject forum which should help get you more responses if you post there. :redface:

You can also find the Exam Thread list for A-levels here and GCSE here. :dumbells:

Just quoting in Fox Corner so she can move the thread if needed :h:

Spoiler

Reply 2

brxvebird

Original post by schizophony

Hello!!

I've done a full A-Level in English Language and I'm about to start A2 Literature so hopefully I can be of some help!
I'll give you some advice for both, though I do love them equally for doing different reasons so I might be playing devils advocate here.

You've only had a small taste of English Language at A-Level, chances are it isn't representative of what it is like to study the full thing. I hated it at AS from September - January, all we did was coursework and it was horrid! Then we started Linguistic theory and I fell in love. I carried it over at A2, got an A grade and I'm now applying to do Lit and Linguistics at university. :biggrin:

My point is I'm not sure what aspects of Language you like, but maybe ask your lecturer what you should expect from the course to see if you could handle it for the full two years and find parts you enjoy.

Literature, in my honest opinion, is by far the harder of the two and to find someone who has done both and would say otherwise would be very uncommon I imagine. Last year I found AS Literature way harder than A2 Language, seriously! It is difficult. That's why universities respect it though.
But, (and this is a big but), like all facilitating A Levels they are doable as long as you have a good work ethic and truly put the effort in, and it is really fulfilling to know you do well and try hard. I rarely slipped from an A Grade all year.
Also, I do Edexcel Lit and yes the exams are open book, but you need clean copies. If you have any questions about the Edexcel spec at all I'm sure I could take a crack at them. :biggrin:

I suppose in summary, Language is the easier option but make sure you will enjoy the course. Literature in my opinion is the most enjoyable across the whole spec and definitely most rewarding. On top of that it is of course more respected by universities and with a good grade will look amazing on your application.

That being said, you already have three facilitating subjects and if you do decide to drop it next year, it doesn't really make that much difference which one you take. Go for what you enjoy and one that won't be so much of an additional stress alongside your other subjects.

Good luck!

English Literature or Language?

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