Looking for advice on English lit alevel (ocr)

Hi j4lia. Firstly, congratulations on your 8! That's a fantastic achievement on your part. It's also good to know that you like to read. I agree, a lot of A Level Lit students take the subject, and are not readers. (I'm not sure why they do it, because it's not an easy option, IMO.) There is a jump from GCSE to A Level; of course, there is. You'd expect there to be. The main element of that is that more is expected of you in terms of what you think, and that's a really good thing. I've had some excellent discussions with my students because of that. After all, if you see something in what you're reading, and can support it with textual references, then who am I to tell you you're wrong? (I especially remember some quite passionate discussions about Tess in 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy).) If you're a reader, then I'm guessing you'll enjoy talking about what you've read, what you've inferred from it, and so on. If that sparks an interest, then A Lit is for you. If you're keen on the independence of study and response which is integral to the course, then it's for you. You'll produce essays, of course, in response to titles negotiated with your teacher(s), but you'll also produce an NEA. The texts behind that coursework will be your choice, as will the related area you choose to focus on for its writing. My opinion of the course is therefore pretty clear! I think it's great, and - apart from anything else - it's a well-respected course, one of the 'Facilitating Subjects' rated highly by the universities. The skills you'll develop are valued in so many contexts. Let me know what you think.