Not sure if I should take A level English lit?

Read the set books and see what you think. My school gave a reading list and essays to write on them, I got Richard II, The Great Gatsby and Othello.

Yeah i'm currently reading Frankenstein I think it's the second book we do. We're also doing the importance of being ernest, never let me go and some others I cannot remember. They seem like interesting books but i'm worried about the reading around the books and research we will have to do

I really like Frankenstein. I think reading around a subject is expected at A Level because - at least for me - it is natural when I enjoy something/ Find it interesting enough to do so. Idk i think it’s a good subject in how good it looks to others so if you enjoy it and (hopefully) will do well then go for it

I quite enjoyed english lit at gcse however I wouldn't say I loved it. I really enjoyed the books but not so much the poetry.

I'm expecting to get a 7 or 8 at gcse (not to be big headed just going off of previous mock results)

I have no idea what I want to do at university so i'm trying to keep my options open.

Options I would take with it:

Modern history
Psychology

I also do enjoy reading however I hardly read books now because of the distractions of my phone etc.

Any advice would be appreciated (rep)!

I quite enjoyed english lit at gcse however I wouldn't say I loved it. I really enjoyed the books but not so much the poetry.

I'm expecting to get a 7 or 8 at gcse (not to be big headed just going off of previous mock results)

I have no idea what I want to do at university so i'm trying to keep my options open.

Options I would take with it:

Modern history
Psychology

I also do enjoy reading however I hardly read books now because of the distractions of my phone etc.

Any advice would be appreciated (rep)!

Ask your teachers what your gonna study in september? See if you like the topics. Do you enjoy the subject fully or just choosing it for the sake of filling in the choice? You could start with 4, then drop one in October/November if you don’t like it.

I done a level english (and psychology) and loved it but it really depends on the books that you'll be studying. Do you know your exam board and what you'll be studying??

I finished my English Lit A Level this year If you enjoyed Engish Literature (emphasis on Literature, not Language) then you have a chance of doing well at A Level. But, be aware that Literature is a huge jump from GCSE to A Level. The analysis you have to do must be very detailed but also concise too. Most likely your exam board will be AQA so you should start to read some example essays and also learn the 5 AO's throughly, because your teacher will constantly talk about the AO's. Also, only do the course if you actually enjoy reading, because if you're someone who reads but can easily become bored, you will struggle with the course. Do some holiday homework on different literary methods, there are hundreds you will need to learn and know to acheive above a C or above at least. Also keep in mind that English is such a subject that although there is some sort of mark scheme for examiners to use in the form of the 5 AO's, ultimately your marks rely on the examiners opinion of how well you have met the AO's. If you want to ask any questions, DM me 👍🏻Also, final note, you said that you prefer books over poetry. Honestly, try to enjoy poetry because thats where you can easily gain your marks. The amount of methods and context and analysis you can gain out of poetry is astounding in comparison to a complete book.

Thank you for the detailed reply! The jump is a big part of the worry for me because obviously it will be different to gcse but my teachers have been really vague on how different it will be which is really annoying. I do really enjoy reading, I read for hours when I was younger but I hardly read now due to snapchat and youtube etc. I find poetry quite boring compared to the books but I completely understand your point. Some of the poems at gcse I found really interesting once I understood their meaning such as tissue by imtiaz dharker.

I was in the same position too regarding the worries about the jump. I remember for the first term of Y12, our teachers asked our class every other lesson if we're reading a book and what book it is that we are reading. Slowly that process showed who could actually cope with the course - started in Y12 as a class of 26, finished as a class of 14 due to people finding it too hard to understands books. Try to fit one book in during these holidays, I'm currently reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (check him out, does some good books) just because I enjoy reading and have developed a natural way of analysing the book which was caused by studying Literature for 2 years. When it comes to poetry at A Level, honestly it is a completely different playing field. I did two topics during the 2 years, Love through the ages & WW1 and its aftermath. War poetry is similar to what you see at GCSE and are easier to analyse. But love, I must say, I can never look at love poetry the same way again. Prepare to sit in class talking to your tecaher about sex and how vegetables represent such body parts and the submission and rape of women - and that's all in one poem. It may sound horrible, but weirdly enough, that sort of poetry was the one where you could explore your ideas sooooooooooo much and would never have a wrong answer.

Also, Literature is a great subject to have as it is recognised postively by most, if not, all universities due to it being a facilitating subject and also it will develop your essay skills which is required for univeristy.

Additionally, an A* essay at GCSE will be like a low C at A Level, so be prepared for that shock, I definitely wasn't 😂

Another thing you will have to think about if you do AQA (hope that you do because it is the most organised for this course) is the coursework. You have to pick two books and analyse and compare the heck out of both of them. Preparing way before you actually start will undoubtedly make it more likely that you will get a good result for the coursework.

Sorry for writing too much btw 😂 there is just so much to tell you about the course 😂. To summarise, if you enjoy reading, enjoy analysing books AND poetry, have the ability to write a quality essay (i.e. A*/A grade essay at GCSE - guessing thats a 8/9?) and are able to dedicate time into researching every piece of text that you do with ideas, methods used, context, links to different literature and external opinions and criticisms, then I would say that Literature would be a great choice for you. 👍🏻

English lit is cancer, absolutely useless in my opinion. How is reading poems and trying to "understand" what the writer is really thinking going to help you with anything? (Unless you plan on becoming a poet)
Glad I am not doing it anymore after GCSEs.
For those of you who love English Lit please don't kill me, this is just my opinion.

I do edexcel so it may be different

I'd really take your decision with a grain of salt. There is a HUGE jump and throughout the AS year the highest I was getting was a B (usually got that, or a C) and it is so much more challenging. Despite getting a 9 in gcse lit and a 9 in lang I've really struggled with Lit A-Level. Can't even drop it because I dropped out of Politics early lol
Just be warned that it is a lot of work (in AS year I did 20 poems, a play and two novels with more still to come!) and a big adjustment.

Oh dear that doesn't sound good at all. Do you have any idea why you're struggling? What would you have swapped it with given the chance?
Thank you for the input