The Student Room Group

Should I do English Lit as an A Level?

So in Year 10, in my first English lit mock exam (An Inspector Calls and Poetry)I got a 4, leaving me feeling really stupid.
But now in Year 11 in Paper 1 (Great Expectations and Macbeth) I’ve done a complete 360 as in our recent mock I achieved a 9 (first nine out of all my subjects, I usually hover around 7/6).

Should I consider doing English literature? If so, can anyone who had done it tell me a bit about the course and how it compares to GCSE level
Original post by tansrr
So in Year 10, in my first English lit mock exam (An Inspector Calls and Poetry)I got a 4, leaving me feeling really stupid.
But now in Year 11 in Paper 1 (Great Expectations and Macbeth) I’ve done a complete 360 as in our recent mock I achieved a 9 (first nine out of all my subjects, I usually hover around 7/6).

Should I consider doing English literature? If so, can anyone who had done it tell me a bit about the course and how it compares to GCSE level

I'm sitting AQA English Literature, it's probably my favourite A-Level,
I had a somewhat similar experience with my A-Levels, despite being a consistent 7/8 student at GCSE's I walked out of my first assessment with a low band answer, but from the looks of it, you have good teachers who are capable of bringing your grade up ! and that you seem to have a talent for it.
based on personal opinion I cannot recommend it enough, however, if you don't enjoy English and reading it isn't for you! at A-Level everything is far heavier in workload despite being majority open book aha!
depending on your exam board you'll study around 5 books and a poetry anthology and then a separate two books for your NEA (20% of marks from coursework) and that's excluding the extra reading you need to make your answers well written and informed.
The style of writing itself is a little similar to the new GCSE, only you need to bring in typicality, debate and context without losing your general focus on the question.

at the end of the day, you're more likely to do well when you like what you study, but if you like English, it's a brilliant A-Level to do
Reply 2
You're not even half way through year 10 yet, I wouldn't worry about this too much. I'd just focus on the path ahead.

At A Level, the standard of writing is much higher compared to GCSE. However, the courses aren't always too dissimilar.
Reply 3
Original post by witchesdontburn
I'm sitting AQA English Literature, it's probably my favourite A-Level,
I had a somewhat similar experience with my A-Levels, despite being a consistent 7/8 student at GCSE's I walked out of my first assessment with a low band answer, but from the looks of it, you have good teachers who are capable of bringing your grade up ! and that you seem to have a talent for it.
based on personal opinion I cannot recommend it enough, however, if you don't enjoy English and reading it isn't for you! at A-Level everything is far heavier in workload despite being majority open book aha!
depending on your exam board you'll study around 5 books and a poetry anthology and then a separate two books for your NEA (20% of marks from coursework) and that's excluding the extra reading you need to make your answers well written and informed.
The style of writing itself is a little similar to the new GCSE, only you need to bring in typicality, debate and context without losing your general focus on the question.

at the end of the day, you're more likely to do well when you like what you study, but if you like English, it's a brilliant A-Level to do

A Level English lit. isn't always open book. It depends on the course. OCR"s exams are all closed book.
Reply 4
Original post by Tolgarda
You're not even half way through year 10 yet, I wouldn't worry about this too much. I'd just focus on the path ahead.

At A Level, the standard of writing is much higher compared to GCSE. However, the courses aren't always too dissimilar.



Im in Year 11 not 10
if you enjoy it, go for it but it's a lot of work- don't underestimate the amount of effort you need to put in!!
should be making notes for the texts as you go along, you don't want to it pile up at the last minute- providing you're well organised, revise the texts regularly and do exam practice, you'll be fine.

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