Is A Level English Lang and Lit Much Harder Than GCSE Lit and Lang?

Hey everyone!
So, I was just looking for some advice as I have picked A Level English Language and Literature and had my first lesson (Telling Stories), where we wrote and drew our initial ideas of Paris, furthered by watching the Eurostar Stories are Waiting in Paris advert! I am feeling confident in the course, as I got 8's in both English GCSE's! YAYY!
Has anyone finished the A Level Course and can offer advice about how to cope with the different work from GCSE to A Level? I am so scared bc we are studying The Lovely Bones next week and it's such a sad book!

I’m currently studying A Level English Literature, year 13, and would say that generally it is more demanding in terms of the level of knowledge one should have about the book. Yes, you get the book in the exam, but ensure that you make notes as you read the chapters, particularly theme based and note down important page numbers and the quotes. You shouldn’t worry though because I did Frankenstein for Year 12 and Never Let Me Go, which are both excellent books that I enjoyed reading beyond the curriculum, and found the AS exam great. So overall, my advice is make sure you immerse yourself in the book well, know it in and out and enjoy it.

Thank you! I think I will enjoy it but the book is rlly sad! I also heard that in one of the exams you aren't allowed to annotate!

Yes that’s right you aren’t allowed annotations but to be honest, as you read just make a timeline too so you know all the important stuff that happens in each chapter. Plus, annotations actually don’t help because the question will require you to interpret quotes differently so they are basically a waste of time anyways besides for revision. For example, in gcse your analysis may have been “this metaphor suggests the …” but in novels like Frankenstein the best analysis usually used analysis techniques such as tone, and e.g “language of passion and desire/ despair”. If you do Remains of the Day, trust me that is sad too haha.

Ohh tysmm for the info! We are doing the paris anthology, the lovely bones and the great gatsby! I enjoyed learning about stories are waiting in paris bc we learnt new words like the spatial deixis of 'here' and there'! In our first lesson we learnt the constraints and affordance of the text, and it was fun learning about the stereotypes limiting it, like paris as the 'city of love' and i learnt that up and down are prepositions. Do you know if there is a CGP book for english lang and lit, or do you reccommend the textbook ur using for it?

Ohh tysmm for the info! We are doing the paris anthology, the lovely bones and the great gatsby! I enjoyed learning about stories are waiting in paris bc we learnt new words like the spatial deixis of 'here' and there'! In our first lesson we learnt the constraints and affordance of the text, and it was fun learning about the stereotypes limiting it, like paris as the 'city of love' and i learnt that up and down are prepositions. Do you know if there is a CGP book for english lang and lit, or do you reccommend the textbook ur using for it?

Hi, sorry for the late reply. I actually never used a textbook for English Literature, I go off entirely my classroom discussions. Remember textbooks are limited in the interpretation of quotes because they can only say so much about each one. In class, when you are discussing the book, make sure you note down impressive quotes, interpretations and symbols mentioned, because those are the ones you need in the exam. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend textbooks, I think they might constrain your thinking of the novel to a strict definition or viewpoint that the textbook encourages, which isn’t good for evaluative essay questions of course.