A level English Literature

A Level English Literature by distance learning: the course

The course is split into two major components – AS level and A2 level. The AS level is a qualification in its own right and may be studied for on a one-year distance learning course.

Each lesson begins with a set of clearly stated objectives and an explanation of its place in the overall programme of study.

Effective learning is encouraged through frequent activities and self-assessment questions.

The course includes sixteen tutor-marked assignments (known as TMAs), nine in the AS course and seven in the A2, plus coursework requirements.

Key Topics

The course structure reflects the new 4-module A-level structure of the AQA 2740A specification. The key topics and texts are shown below:

AS level

• Introduction to Victorian Literature
• Thomas Hardy: Selected Poems
• Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre
• Tom Stoppard: Arcadia

A2 level

• Love through the Ages
• Literary Connections
  • Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D’Urbervilles
  • John Fowles: The French Lieutenant’s Woman
• Shakespeare: Othello

The Syllabus

This course prepares candidates for the AQA English Literature AS level syllabus 1740, for examination in 2012 and later years. Most candidates will then study the A2 syllabus 2740. The full Advanced level qualification comprises AS and A2.

Assessment is by one written 2 hour examination paper and one piece of extended coursework at AS level. The same applies at A2 level. Oxford Open Learning has chosen this syllabus as it is the most suitable for study by distance learning.

Coursework

At AS level, students write a response to the set prose text  (Jane Eyre) and a response to the drama text (Arcadia). Full details are provided within the course.

At A2 level, students have the opportunity to write a sustained comparative essay on three texts of their own choice (including one Shakespeare play)  linked by a specific theme, in this case desire.

Within this qualification there are the following courses

• A level Accounting course
• A level Business Studies course
• A level Economics course
• A level English course
• A level English Literature course
• A level French course
• A level History course
• A level Law course
• A level Maths and Mechanics course
• A level Maths and Statistics course
• A level Psychology course
• A level Pure Mathematics course
• A level Sociology course
• A level Spanish course