Independent Study Tasks - 11/06/12

1. Create your own blogs as a way of tracking your research and wider reading. 

2. Email your blog address to me. 

3. Research the concepts of courtly love and chivalry in the medieval era. This may include definitions, examples of 'rules'/'codes' governing behaviour, examples of texts that feature these ideas and, finally, how these ideas link into the wider context of medieval society. 

> Research due 18/06/12; it may be posted on your blog or handed in/presented as usual.

A2 Exam Unit Overview

3.3 Unit 3 LITA3 – Reading for Meaning

Introduction

This final A2 examination synthesises the skills and learning of the whole course. In the examination, candidates will study closely unprepared texts from all genres, chosen across time and linked by theme.

They will compare the extracts in terms of subject matter and style, reaching out to their wider reading to inform their judgements about:

• the ways different writers at different times approach the chosen theme

• the ways different readers interpret texts.

Content

Candidates should read at least three texts in order to prepare for a paper which will contain unprepared passages for close study, comparison and critical commentary.

The topic for this unit is Love Through the Ages.

‘Love’ will include romantic love but will not be restricted to that single definition. Candidates’ reading in the literature of love should include:

• the three genres of prose, poetry and drama

• literature written by both men and women

• literature through time (from Chaucer to the present day)

• some non-fiction texts.

The examination

The examination will take the form of a 2½ hour written examination. The paper will contain four unseen items. There will be two compulsory questions to answer. Each question will be marked out of 40. 

Question 1 will require candidates to compare two items of the same genre. The genre may change with each examination series. This question will require the close reading of the texts as well as reference to wider reading on the theme of love within the same genre as the items.

Question 2 will invite candidates to compare two items (of the remaining two genres). Candidates will use their wider reading on the theme of love through literature to inform their interpretations.

Notes

Chaucer will not be set as an item in the examination. In total, across both questions, candidates will have to write about a minimum of one wider reading text from each of the three genres of poetry, prose and drama.

(Information taken from AQA English Literature A Specification at http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-2740-W-SP.PDF )

A2 Coursework Guidance

3.4 Unit4 – LITA4 Extended Essay and Shakespeare Study

Introduction

For this unit teachers have the freedom to create a course of study which will be assessed by coursework. The unit will encourage reflection on ways of reading and writing about texts (including  creative or original interpretations). In their coursework candidates will have the opportunity to write a sustained comparative essay on three texts of their own choice linked by either the theme of ‘Love Through the Ages’ or by a theme of their own choice. This represents increased demand, development and progress from the AS coursework. Candidates will build upon their prior knowledge of Shakespeare from GCSE as well as on their explorations of the dramatic genre in their AS coursework.

Content

This unit is assessed by means of a coursework portfolio. Candidates should select three texts. One text will be any Shakespeare play. The other two texts, for comparison, will be of any genre. None of the texts should have been studied at AS. The coursework folder will consist of one extended comparative essay as follows.

The extended essay      (70 marks)

The extended essay will provide opportunities for candidates to write at length (about 3000 words) and to develop their research skills, drafting and redrafting their work as appropriate.

The texts will be chosen by the teacher and candidate to reflect a shared theme. Choices of texts and tasks will be made by the teacher and candidate, subject to the approval of the consortium adviser.

The tasks must reflect the relevant Assessment Objectives and will focus on:

• comparison

• appreciation of writers’ choices of form, structure and language

• exploration of their own and other readers’ interpretations

• some understanding of the significance of context.

Candidates need to remember that they are writing a literary essay, and will show through the comparative task that they:

• understand the content of all three texts

• analyse the different ways the writers present their subject matter and ideas

• hold informed independent views about the texts, and can consider and use other readers’ views to develop their own

• are aware of the usefulness of relevant contextual information to their interpretations.

Choosing appropriate texts is therefore very important

– texts which not only enable the candidate to discuss plot, characters and themes, but also provide opportunities to explore and comment on:

• the writers’ styles and techniques

• choices of genre

• different narrative techniques

• individual choices of language and their effects

• the different ways writers structure ideas and develop similar themes.

(Information taken from AQA English Literature A Specification at http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-2740-W-SP.PDF )