CCEA English Literature A-Level

Hey :-) just wondering if anybody else studies this and what texts they study/how they're finding the course?

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Reply 1

unclekevo

I do!

Studying The Burial at Thebes/King Lear with The Rape Of The Lock for Module 3 and Jane Eyre/Wide Sergasso Sea with The Illusionist for Module 4. It's okay but I'm repeating AS alongside the A2 course in order to maximize my chance of an A

Reply 2

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by unclekevo

I do!

Studying The Burial at Thebes/King Lear with The Rape Of The Lock for Module 3 and Jane Eyre/Wide Sergasso Sea with The Illusionist for Module 4. It's okay but I'm repeating AS alongside the A2 course in order to maximize my chance of an A

In the same boat then, repeating my AS to get an A :smile:

your texts seem a lot more interesting than my own :frown:

I'm stuck with A Doll's House/Look Back in Anger alongside Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale" for module 3 and The Butcher Boy, The Outsider and The Catcher in the Rye for Module 4. I don't know about your themes, but they seem to be reusing and rephrasing the same themes :frown:

I WANT A CHALLENGE!! Haha

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Reply 3

unclekevo

Original post by alreidx

In the same boat then, repeating my AS to get an A :smile:

your texts seem a lot more interesting than my own :frown:

I'm stuck with A Doll's House/Look Back in Anger alongside Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale" for module 3 and The Butcher Boy, The Outsider and The Catcher in the Rye for Module 4. I don't know about your themes, but they seem to be reusing and rephrasing the same themes :frown:

I WANT A CHALLENGE!! Haha

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Hmm, I wouldn't say they're more interesting, The Burial at Thebes and King Lear are both pretty boring but quite easy to understand whereas The Rape Of The Lock is just confusing. I enjoy Jane Eyre and The Illusionist is nice in that you don't need to learn any quotes as it's purely analysis of methods but Wide Sergasso Sea is a bit more difficult.

What is your AS content if you don't mind me asking? I'm studying The Great Gatsby alongside the poems of Patrick Kavanagh and W.B. Yeats! Fun.

Reply 4

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by unclekevo

Hmm, I wouldn't say they're more interesting, The Burial at Thebes and King Lear are both pretty boring but quite easy to understand whereas The Rape Of The Lock is just confusing. I enjoy Jane Eyre and The Illusionist is nice in that you don't need to learn any quotes as it's purely analysis of methods but Wide Sergasso Sea is a bit more difficult.

What is your AS content if you don't mind me asking? I'm studying The Great Gatsby alongside the poems of Patrick Kavanagh and W.B. Yeats! Fun.

I'll take your word for it then! :-) at AS I did Gatsby too, have to say its by far my favourite text in the course and for poetry I did Heaney and Montague... Some interesting poems worth a read if I do say so myself, the rest are pretty bland.

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Reply 5

lillollystar

6

At AS I studied Gatsby also, done As You Like It and the poetry was Robert Frost and Edward Thomas. This year I'm studying The Illusionist, Jane Eyre, The Color Purple, Volpone, The School for Scandal and John Donne. Finding the course really difficult as neither of my teachers can teach! Got sent into the exam last year not knowing we had to write about connections about the poets or critical views on Gatsby. Just scraping a C :frown:

Reply 6

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by lillollystar

At AS I studied Gatsby also, done As You Like It and the poetry was Robert Frost and Edward Thomas. This year I'm studying The Illusionist, Jane Eyre, The Color Purple, Volpone, The School for Scandal and John Donne. Finding the course really difficult as neither of my teachers can teach! Got sent into the exam last year not knowing we had to write about connections about the poets or critical views on Gatsby. Just scraping a C :frown:

Aw! Hard luck!! My two teachers were off last year, scraped a D :frown:

resat there in January... Got a U :frown:

hahaha! Did you resit in January?

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Reply 7

lillollystar

6

Original post by alreidx

Aw! Hard luck!! My two teachers were off last year, scraped a D :frown:

resat there in January... Got a U :frown:

hahaha! Did you resit in January?

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I did! Got a D in the exam :s-smilie:

but my whole class done awful! 2C's 3D's an E and 3U's!

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Reply 8

unclekevo

I got a U in my January Exam of AS but the teachers were furious as others in the class got 100% and they ordered back the U papers and the full marks papers and said the marking was really inconsistent.

Repeated in June and got a B but I really want an A in English so I'm resitting in June

Reply 9

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by lillollystar

I did! Got a D in the exam :s-smilie:

but my whole class done awful! 2C's 3D's an E and 3U's!

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

I don't know about you, but the same theme for poetry came up that was on last June... So I hadn't touched that theme since the previous June!! Annoyed wouldn't be the word :frown:

our class got 1 A and the rest all C's and U's!!! Mental like

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Reply 10

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by unclekevo

I got a U in my January Exam of AS but the teachers were furious as others in the class got 100% and they ordered back the U papers and the full marks papers and said the marking was really inconsistent.

Repeated in June and got a B but I really want an A in English so I'm resitting in June

I'm not surprised the marking was inconsistent!! My teacher was a CCEA examiner for English at A-Level, she said they would get half a schools set, then another half... And also doesn't help whenever half the examiners mark harshly and the others mark lightly!! Well good luck! The June marking is a lot easier as many candidates sit the AS for the first time haha!

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Reply 11

cmurphy521

Hey , have you guys got any predictions for the exam on Friday?

Reply 12

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by cmurphy521

Hey , have you guys got any predictions for the exam on Friday?

Only if your theme is the outsider? Haha.. For the butcher boy I think it will be a passage from the middle of the novel, asking about Francis as an outsider or his relationship with another character i.e. mrs nugent

For section b, it will more than likely be in relation to a 21st reader as all the past paper questions have asked that in some shape or form, however I have essay plans for about 10 other possible questions, I'll mail you them if you want?

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Reply 13

aoife123

I'm doing the exam on Friday too, studying The Butcher Boy and doing the outsider theme. I have no idea whatsoever about the Butcher Boy question but I was thinking that context on the 21st century reader would surely be pretty much the only thing they wouldn't ask because they've done it twice in the last two years?

Reply 14

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by aoife123

I'm doing the exam on Friday too, studying The Butcher Boy and doing the outsider theme. I have no idea whatsoever about the Butcher Boy question but I was thinking that context on the 21st century reader would surely be pretty much the only thing they wouldn't ask because they've done it twice in the last two years?

Their quite unpredictable.. But I'm definitely planning for a 21st century reader question just in case... I've also made essay plans on:

- the outsiders perspective being too extreme
- social protest
- the outsiders being ostracised
- the outsiders being hostile to difference
- how mass culture endangers originality, creativity and authenticity; and
- existentialist heroes

(These are basically questions my teacher came up with using the agenda for study... I think their worth having a look at)

As for the butcher boy, I've just done the past paper questions alongside questions my teacher has made up using varying passages. But, I've learned all the different language, imagery, toned, situations and narrative povs so it's easy to link into any question that will come up... However, it will be some question that is loosely based in Francis as the outsider e.g his relationship with other characters or how he is portrayed as one in a certain extract etc etc...

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Reply 15

aoife123

Original post by alreidx

Their quite unpredictable.. But I'm definitely planning for a 21st century reader question just in case... I've also made essay plans on:

- the outsiders perspective being too extreme
- social protest
- the outsiders being ostracised
- the outsiders being hostile to difference
- how mass culture endangers originality, creativity and authenticity; and
- existentialist heroes

(These are basically questions my teacher came up with using the agenda for study... I think their worth having a look at)

As for the butcher boy, I've just done the past paper questions alongside questions my teacher has made up using varying passages. But, I've learned all the different language, imagery, toned, situations and narrative povs so it's easy to link into any question that will come up... However, it will be some question that is loosely based in Francis as the outsider e.g his relationship with other characters or how he is portrayed as one in a certain extract etc etc...

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Those are all good points, I'm the same with the butcher boy I think, that question is impossible to predict! How have you structured an essay on existentialist heroes? I found that really difficult.

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Reply 16

alreidx

OP

3

Original post by aoife123

Those are all good points, I'm the same with the butcher boy I think, that question is impossible to predict! How have you structured an essay on existentialist heroes? I found that really difficult.

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Basically I started off with a quote from John Donne - "no man is an island", meaning that human beings are fundamentally gregarious. Then I give my own definition of one which is:

An existential hero is someone who creates his own identity rather than presuming that he was born with one.

Then AO2 on narrative, form and structure... (Compare and contrast)

Existentialism in catcher -

- Sees everyone and society as fake or phony(he uses this word excessively)
- He is smart, well-read, and handsome, but he is viewed as a failure and loner
- He often feels like he does not fit in, he gets depressed, he smokes, wants to drink, and uses profanity frequently

Then existentialism in the stranger -
- Meursault's inability to care
- His apathy
- his execution (its not tragic; he dies satisfied with his warped perception about morality and law - backs up his inability to care)

- I hope this helps - this is actually of the top of mind! Haha

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