workload of english lit a level

for context: my skl does AQA; i am planning to take english as a fourth a level; i enjoy reading and writing.

for anyone who took english lit a level, how was the workload? comparisons between ur other subjects (pls name) and english in regards to workload would be helpful.

how many books outside of the set texts did u read? how frequently did u have to write essays and how long did each rougly take?

Reply 1

mickey25

Original post by ismaelishere

for context: my skl does AQA; i am planning to take english as a fourth a level; i enjoy reading and writing.
for anyone who took english lit a level, how was the workload? comparisons between ur other subjects (pls name) and english in regards to workload would be helpful.
how many books outside of the set texts did u read? how frequently did u have to write essays and how long did each rougly take?

I did Edexcel so it is a bit different but I hope this helps!
I do English, History, Mandarin and Product Desing - odd combo I know

I have personally loved English so much honestly I think it has been the most enjoyable subjects out of my A Levels in terms of content and even when doing essay plans, there is an element of engagement as you begin to further deepens your understanding of the texts.
For the record my exam board has a Prose, Poetry, Drama and Coursework component

Prose texts: Comparison between The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Little Stranger
Poetry: 2 separate essays 1) Poems of the Decade Anthology (20th century poetry) 2) Christna Rossetti Anthology
Drama: Modern - A Streetcar Named Desire. Shakespeare- Tweflth Night

To be fair I think the texts really do matter when considering the A Level to make sure that they will engage you and you will actually be keen in learning about them. English is a slow burn and honestly I feel I have only properly gotten the hang of it in the past few weeks. It was kinda difficult at the beginning but once you are able to make evaluative responses it actually becomes quite fun!

I think the department also matters a lot because my English department was amazing at providing different readings, resourced and communication with feedback.
Depends what novels you study but I think in terms of extra reading it's not too overwhelming- these texts support your argument, you are not going to know them in as depth as your set texts.

Tbf out of all my A Leveks mandarin take sthe most time but yeah I would say that English is no.2. I am really so glad I did English because I have learnt so much with even just being able to think more critically - it is really rewarding when you read outside of school and are able to potentially unpick the novel.

Again I don't know how AQA differs but I hope this helps! :smile: