AQA-2740-W-SP-14

GCE English Literature A for exams from June 2014 onwards (version 1.4)3A2IntroductionAt AS, candidates have been introduced to bothclose and wide reading across genres and genderwithin a defined contextual framework.The A2 course builds on this foundation and bothwidens and deepens students’ literary studies by:• moving from a defined area of study to the wholeof English Literature from Chaucer to the presentday• developing the informed autonomous reader byproviding maximum opportunities for choice andthe development of students’ own interests.Constructing the A2 CourseThe requirements for all A2 specifications in Literatureare that candidates will study six texts covering allthree genres.At A2, as at AS, teachers have the freedom to makeappropriate choices of texts for both units at A2in order to construct a coherent course of study.Teachers have the option of linking Units 3 and 4thematically.Unit 3 has the theme Love through the Ages asits focus. In order to prepare candidates for theexamination, teachers need to construct a courseof reading and study which spans the centuries andexplores the theme as it is expressed through allgenres and by both genders. The examination paperwill consist of unprepared texts, thematically grouped.Skills of close reading and analysis, interpretation,comparison and the ability to evaluate the influence ofvarious contextual factors will be assessed.For Unit 4 (coursework) teachers will help candidatesto select three texts with a shared theme. One textwill be a Shakespeare play; the other two texts will bewider reading texts of any genre. Candidates will writean extended comparative essay on the three texts.3.3 Unit 3 LITA3 – Reading for MeaningIntroductionThis final A2 examination synthesises the skills andlearning of the whole course. In the examination,candidates will study closely unprepared texts fromall genres, chosen across time and linked by theme.They will compare the extracts in terms of subjectmatter and style, reaching out to their wider readingto inform their judgements about:• the ways different writers at different timesapproach the chosen theme• the ways different readers interpret texts.ContentCandidates should read at least three texts in orderto prepare for a paper which will contain unpreparedpassages for close study, comparison and criticalcommentary.The topic for this unit is Love Through the Ages.‘Love’ will include romantic love but will not berestricted to that single definition. The topic will notchange for at least five years and two years’ noticewill be given to centres of any change.Candidates’ reading in the literature of love shouldinclude:• the three genres of prose, poetry and drama• literature written by both men and women• literature through time (from Chaucer to thepresent day)• some non-fiction texts.The examinationThe examination will take the form of a 2½ hourwritten examination. The paper will contain fourunseen items. There will be two compulsoryquestions to answer. Each question will be markedout of 40.Question 1 will require candidates to compare twoitems of the same genre. The genre may changewith each examination series. This question willrequire the close reading of the texts as well asreference to wider reading on the theme of love withinthe same genre as the items.Question 2 will invite candidates to compare twoitems (of the remaining two genres). Candidates willuse their wider reading on the theme of love throughliterature to inform their interpretations.NotesChaucer will not be set as an item in the examination.In total, across both questions, candidates will haveto write about a minimum of one wider reading textfrom each of the three genres of poetry, prose anddrama.12