This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

A2 English Literature Coursework Ideas???

I’m having trouble finding a good choice of books for my coursework next year. I have a couple of ideas but most are relatively generic. I mean everyone chooses A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner or The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. However I did have 1984 - George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale - Margret Atwood as they are fairly political but seems kind of boring??? Any ideas??? :confused:

Reply 1

Roocky

13

Doesn't really matter if they're books other people are using, as long as your actual writing is origional and eloquent then you're fine.

Reply 2

eken46

We did VS Naipaul's _The Mystic Masseur_, which I enjoyed very much! Are there any particular requirements re: key themes? Nadine Gordimer's _July's People_ is great, as is Vladislavic _The Folly_: but the latter's a pain to get hold of. Are you a teacher choosing for a class or a student who gets to choose? I'm only asking because as students we didn't get a choice...

Reply 3

ByronicHero

20

I did shakepeare in the end and got an A*, took less than 2 hours. Easy stuff.

Reply 4

MJlover

21

MRANovi

I’m having trouble finding a good choice of books for my coursework next year. I have a couple of ideas but most are relatively generic. I mean everyone chooses A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner or The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. However I did have 1984 - George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale - Margret Atwood as they are fairly political but seems kind of boring??? Any ideas??? :confused:

I done 1984 and Brave New World for my coursework- I got a top-tier A grade so if you want any help, I'm here. I'll donate my coursework if you need help starting.

Reply 5

MRANovi

OP

6

1984 and brave new world is a good choice thanks! yeah i would loved to look at an A grade answer, know what im working towards thank you!

Reply 6

MRANovi

OP

6

@eken46 I’m not a teacher btw for AS our teacher picked the books for coursework but this year we get to pick our own which gives more freedom yet more confusion!
Never heard of those books but I will take a look at them thanks for your suggestion.

Reply 7

evantej

19

MRANovi

@eken46 I’m not a teacher btw for AS our teacher picked the books for coursework but this year we get to pick our own which gives more freedom yet more confusion!
Never heard of those books but I will take a look at them thanks for your suggestion.

If you are interested in George Orwell and political writing then (off the top of my head) an interesting idea might be to contrast the ideological underpinnings of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Winter Notes on Summer Impressions (1860), which is a short text about Dostoevsky's travels around Europe, detailing his impressions of the bourgeoisie and the poor in England and France in particular, against Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), which is obviously about the poor in Paris and London. As far as I am aware no one has attempted this sort of thing; the more I think about it the better the idea actually. :p:

With regards to the earlier comment about originality, no piece of A level work is going to be original, I can assure you. OP, you are right to try to avoid doing popular texts.

Reply 8

MRANovi

OP

6

evantej

If you are interested in George Orwell and political writing then (off the top of my head) an interesting idea might be to contrast the ideological underpinnings of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Winter Notes on Summer Impressions (1860), which is a short text about Dostoevsky's travels around Europe, detailing his impressions of the bourgeoisie and the poor in England and France in particular, against Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), which is obviously about the poor in Paris and London. As far as I am aware no one has attempted this sort of thing; the more I think about it the better the idea actually. :p:

With regards to the earlier comment about originality, no piece of A level work is going to be original, I can assure you. OP, you are right to try to avoid doing popular texts.

Yeah I am leaning more towards political writing and wow that’s a good suggestion! An Original choice. Thank you I’m definitely going to look into them!

Reply 9

evantej

19

MRANovi

Yeah I am leaning more towards political writing and wow that’s a good suggestion! An Original choice. Thank you I’m definitely going to look into them!

Of course, its success would depend on your word count. But if you are interested in Fyodor Dostoevsky then feel free to ask any questions; he is my speciality, so to speak. It might be the case that you just look into George Orwell, which might be the sensible option, and another author I am familiar with, so again feel free to ask any questions. In terms of Orwell's canon, I would suggest looking at Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier and avoiding Homage to Catalonia, which is a fairly boring and difficult work to get to grips with if you do not understand its political and historical context.

Reply 10

Aliyah.11

I'm having trouble finding a book to compare with And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hossieni. Does anyone have any ideas?

Reply 11

The Empire Odyssey

21

Original post by Aliyah.11

I'm having trouble finding a book to compare with And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hossieni. Does anyone have any ideas?

I've never read it but I've read the synopsis. I'd recommend you comparing it with family epic novels/personal discovery and/or sacrifice

Women in Love, DH Lawrence
Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot
The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
Go Tell it on the Mountain and Another Country, James Baldwin
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

Reply 12

username1913755

1

Original post by MJlover

I done 1984 and Brave New World for my coursework- I got a top-tier A grade so if you want any help, I'm here. I'll donate my coursework if you need help starting.

oh my gosh! i was thinking doing those two books as well! Did you find basing it around politics to be difficult? I'm struggling on making a decision and i have choose my monday! Any advice? x

Reply 13

MJlover

21

Original post by annazhlln

oh my gosh! i was thinking doing those two books as well! Did you find basing it around politics to be difficult? I'm struggling on making a decision and i have choose my monday! Any advice? x

No because I was interested in politics around A levels so I could speak more fluently about it.
Also don't base your essay around politics too much, remember imagery and literary devices as well. Try to bring political analysis points through your understanding of imagery and metaphors and words used.

Reply 14

cw-jfantham

2

Original post by MJlover

I done 1984 and Brave New World for my coursework- I got a top-tier A grade so if you want any help, I'm here. I'll donate my coursework if you need help starting.

Hiii I know this is from Time ago, but can I see your coursework please

Reply 15

MJlover

21

Original post by cw-jfantham

Hiii I know this is from Time ago, but can I see your coursework please

OK I will message it to you :smile:

Reply 16

cw-jfantham

2

Original post by MJlover

OK I will message it to you :smile:

Thank youu :') I'm quite new to this, can you tell me where you would've sent it so i can access it?

Reply 17

MJlover

21

Original post by cw-jfantham

Thank youu :' :wink:

I'm quite new to this, can you tell me where you would've sent it so i can access it?

Hi, I can't send it through messages so I guess your email address? Unless you don't want to give it out :smile:

Reply 18

iammoakhtar

Original post by MJlover

I done 1984 and Brave New World for my coursework- I got a top-tier A grade so if you want any help, I'm here. I'll donate my coursework if you need help starting.

hey, would it be okay if you could send your coursework to me please?

Reply 19

nickzolo

Anybody have any ideas for the Great Gatsby?

A2 English Literature Coursework Ideas???

Related discussions

Articles for you