English Literature
The A-Level course in English Literature at Harris Academy Sixth Form will explore how writers create meaning and impact through the use of literary, poetic and dramatic devices.
Students will study plays, poems and prose from a range of different time periods to consider the significance and influence of contextual factors. The course will teach students to engage with and evaluate different critical interpretations of chosen texts. Students will learn how to construct a critical argument in their writing, a skill that will prepare them exceptionally well for undergraduate study.
The course will build upon reading at Key Stage 4, increasing in challenge and density. Using literature as both a reflection of the self and an insight into the lives of others, students will become widely read and confident enough to articulate their personal responses to whole texts with a deeply analytical approach. Students will engage regularly with literary criticism of the texts they read, making judgements on reader response and exploring authorial intent.
Through a deliberate and thoughtful approach of Prep, Learn and Practice, sixth form students will become passionate scholars of English Literature. Students will complete pre reading of the texts and other scholarly material meticulously and regularly before lessons and will come equipped with knowledge to debate the philosophical and social concerns of the text and to form robust arguments about what they read.
In Year 12, students will then learn the content of Poems of the Decade anthology, developing comparison skills to compare these to unseen poetry, they will study the modern drama ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ and learn how to compare the two Prose texts ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ before constructing a coursework essay comparing two texts based on enquiry into an area of personal interest.
In Year 13, students will then study poetry of the Victorian era and Shakespeare’s Othello. Throughout the course, whilst grappling with this content, students will regularly practice essay writing skills and forming arguments through the detailed construction of thesis statements using a judicious range of textual references to support arguments.
The success of our students will be measured throughout the course both formatively against end points in lessons and summatively, in half termly and Federation assessments that measure progress from baseline data.
Pertinently, students’ books and written work should reflect the ambition, breadth and knowledge embedded within the curriculum, and illustrate clear preparation of students to become successful university candidates of the future.