GCSE English Literature

Exam details:
You complete two qualifications in English – a GCSE in English Language, and a GCSE in English Literature. Each qualification consists of two papers, which are not tiered, meaning that everyone sits the same papers. The exam board is AQA. Find out more here.

English Literature Paper 1:
* Shakespeare (Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet, depending what you have studied) 
* 19th Century novel (A Christmas Carol or The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, depending what you have studied). 

Extracts are provided from both texts, but you must write about the extract AND the rest of the text. This exam is 1 hour 45 minutes. You should spend about 50 minutes on each 30-mark essay, and leave some time to check over each answer.

English Literature Paper 2:
* Modern Text (An Inspector Calls, Animal Farm or Blood Brothers, depending on what you have studied)
* Power and Conflict Poetry, and Unseen Poetry. 

The modern text section will have two questions and no extract – you should choose and answer ONE question with a 30-mark essay. For Power and Conflict poetry, you will be given one question and one poem – you must choose another poem you have studied to compare to the poem given in the exam in a 30-mark comparative essay. You will be provided with the list of poems you have studied. For Unseen Poetry, you will be given two poems you have not studied. 

For the first question, you will have to write a 24-mark essay on the first poem, and for the second question you will have to compare the methods writers use in the two unseen poems in an 8-mark answer. The paper is 2 hours 15 minutes, and you should spend 45 minutes on each section.