Introduction and Aims

Year 13 students will study A2 Level Edexcel Language and Literature in English, Unit 3: Varieties in Language and Literature (2 hours 45 minutes exam) and Unit 4: Presenting the World (coursework).

For the examination paper, students will be required to answer on two unseen texts from any non-fiction genre of written or spoken language and one exam style comparison question on, ´The Glass Menagerie´ and ´Betrayal´. Clean copies of texts will be allowed in the examination room. Dictionaries may not be used. The questions require candidates to demonstrate a response showing understanding of the crafting of speech; elements of theatrical conventions; an informed independent opinion, and to communicate these clearly and appropriately.   .

Term 1

Students will study the following texts:

• ´The Glass Menagerie´ Tennesse Williams
• ´Betrayal´ Harold Pinter

They will also learn how to analyse the way spoken and written language works from a range of written and spoken non-fiction genres including:

Speeches, Political tracts, Diaries, Biographies and Autobiographies, Investigative Newspaper Reports, Travel writing

Students will complete a variety of tasks including: group and class discussions, class reading, mind-maps, essay questions and reviewing their peers' written work.

Term 2

Students will study various texts from the topic ´Conflict and the Effect on the Self´ including:

´The Kite Runner´, ´On the Road to Kandahar´, ´The Pillowman´, poetry of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, ´Hamlet´, ´Blind Flight´, ´Empire of the Sun´

Students will consider themes and characters that conflict and contrast, and study the forms and structures of the different genres in both fiction and non-fiction. This will then lead to them constructing their own texts and commentaries.

Term 3

Continued revision.

By the end of this course students will be able to comment on each of the following areas of a text (giving their own informed opinion): creation of voice characters (opinions, attitudes and views), events, structure, narrative (number of voices), author’s influence, tone, atmosphere, themes, symbols and motifs, language, literary devices and their effects, the use of embedded quotation and background information and history.

As well as this students will be able to craft and comment on their own texts.

Assessment Information

Ability to analyse voices, attitudes, ideas and values in speech and writing from a wide variety of forms.  Understanding of the ways in which writers’ choices of form, structure and language shape meanings.  Ability to produce informed independent opinions and judgments.

Other Information

It will be beneficial to students to read about the author's background and the literary context of the texts.  Students will be expected to read for pleasure, including novels other than those listed.  The library is equipped with a variety of contemporary fiction.