English Literature

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pixiequeen
Posts: 378
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:06 am

English Literature

Post by pixiequeen »

I have read a couple of comments on this forum recently about what a big time investment Eng. Lit. A level is.

DD is in year 2 of A level and doesn't really seem to be spending much time on her English. Unfortunately her teacher is often ill and I am worried that he is not setting enough work. She is going to start practising timed exam questions over Christmas but my question is whether anyone knows if she should be reading books other than the set texts, or if there is anything else she should be doing? The first draft of her coursework essay has been handed in and we are waiting for its return.

Any advice much appreciated.

Pixie
solimum
Posts: 1420
Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 3:09 pm
Location: Solihull, West Midlands

Re: English Literature

Post by solimum »

Get your daughter to look up the exam board's own specification online and look for things like the mark scheme, examiners comments etc. That should indicate what they are looking for, whether that's wider reading by the same author, or by contemporaries, or a really detailed knowledge of (and quotes from) the set texts.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: English Literature

Post by Daogroupie »

Which board is she doing? Dd1 did OCR. Yes, she should certainly be reading around her set texts and going to see them if possible.

Will she be relying on a good grade to meet a uni offer? DG
avidskier
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:28 pm

Re: English Literature

Post by avidskier »

My DD is also in Second year od ALevel Eng Lit. She gets one essay every 2 weeks but due to increase.. she is rereading her texts again and revising in classes. She has been told that she needs to make sure she reads around the texts so that you can refer to them in essays.
She hasn’t focused on English much as she finds it much easier than her other subjects (History and GovPol) so I am sure more could be done!
pixiequeen
Posts: 378
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:06 am

Re: English Literature

Post by pixiequeen »

Thank you for your comments. Exam board is WJEC. I will have a look at the examiners reports to see if they are any help. I think DD has written no more than 8 essays since the beginning of the course and that includes the ones written as a mock last June. A minimum grade B, preferably A is needed.

Should the 'reading around' be other books by the same authors?

Thank you all for your help, I am getting quite worried about this!
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: English Literature

Post by Guest55 »

If there have been issues with teaching then the school should be communicating with universities so they can take this into account.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: English Literature

Post by Daogroupie »

8 essays in 3.5 terms does not really seem enough.

What set texts is she studying?

Books along the same themes will probably be more important than books by the same author. DG
pixiequeen
Posts: 378
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:06 am

Re: English Literature

Post by pixiequeen »

Thank you Guest 55, I didn't know that. The College have promised work will be set and supply teachers provided but I will get DD to mention this to her tutor before her reference for UCAS is written.

DG, she is doing Streetcar and the Duchess of Malfi, Meantime and Whitsun Weddings, Hamlet, and a book of Rossetti poems, plus Atonement and the Great Gatsby for her extended essay.
piggys
Posts: 1636
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: English Literature

Post by piggys »

For the Webster, she needs to be reading up about the revenge genre and Elizabethan / Jacobean drama in general. The links between Hamlet and Malfi are very clear and she needs to see them as part of a continuum of a specific genre.

One of the requirements for A level - all specs, all boards - is a thorough understanding and knowledge of context and critical theory surrounding the texts she's studying - so as an example, an understanding of post-modernism and the unreliable narrator as far as Atonement is concerned. She will also need to ensure she has a very secure grip on writer's methods and writer's craft.

I sounds like she is doing the American Lit component from what you have posted (Streetcar and Gatsby). This means she needs to read around the genre and in particular have an understanding of key events which influence and shape American writing.

HTH
pixiequeen
Posts: 378
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:06 am

Re: English Literature

Post by pixiequeen »

Thank you very much Piggys, that is very helpful.

Pixie
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