Guide to A Level English Literature
How to prepare for A Level English Literature? Find out more about revision techniques and topics to study for the exam and the essay.
For students with a passion for literature and a keen analytical mind, A Level English Literature offers an exciting and intellectually rewarding challenge. Building on the foundations of GCSE, this course demands a more sophisticated approach to reading, writing, and critical thinking. The step up is significant—expect to engage with complex texts, explore the historical and cultural forces that shaped them, and develop a more refined and persuasive writing style. Comparative essays also play a greater role at A Level. These essays will require you to intertwine analysis from two texts in order to form convincing arguments. As a result, the examinations are intentionally challenging, but with the right guidance and structured support, success is well within reach. So if you wish to study in a focused and discussion-driven environment alongside peers who are equally passionate about the subject as yourself, then English Literature A level is well worth considering.
How to revise
Be prepared: If you find that visual aids (posters, mind maps or flashcards) are helpful to you, then ensure that you steadily produce revision notes and personalised study guides as you work your way through the syllabus in class. This will free up time during exam season for you to look over these notes and actively run through flashcards as well as dedicate attention to exam practice and past papers.
Past papers and exam reports: This is the most effective way to ensure that you perform well in exams – knowing exactly what the examiner is looking for, having been informed by past years exam reports and mark schemes, will act as a superpower in the exam. By carrying out lots of practice essays under exam conditions, you will also have a good awareness of what you can realistically get onto the page within the time.
Engage with the content! Finally, if you want to do well in English Literature, you have to convey your passion for the content. This makes for essays that are interesting to read and demonstrate thorough understanding. Unlike in GCSE, wider reading is paramount for A-level success. Participating in class discussion is also a good way to sculpt your own thoughts on the texts and will hopefully develop your analytical skills which will enhance your written work.
Reading list for English literature
The reading list for English Literature will vary depending on which texts are included in the syllabus for your exam board as well as which texts your teachers have chosen. However, popular texts include the following:
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- 1984 by George Orwell
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
- Macbeth by Shakespeare
- Othello by Shakespeare
- The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare
- Measure for Measure by Shakespeare
- A Winter’s Tale by Shakespeare
Another big part of English literature A-level is theory and criticism. To get you started, some essential scholars and their most relevant works are listed below:
- Terry Eagleton – Literary Theory: An Introduction (Marxist)
- Roland Barthes – Mythologies and The Death of the Author (Structuralist and Post-structuralist)
- Sigmund Freud – The Interpretation of Dreams (Chapters 4 and 5 for psychoanalytic theory)
- Judith Butler – Gender Trouble (Feminist)
- Jack Halberstam – Female Masculinity (Queer theory)
- Edward Said – Orientalism (Postcolonial criticism)
- Homi K. Bhabha – The Location of Culture (Postcolonial criticism)
- Chinua Achebe – An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Critique of Eurocentrism)
How hard is A level English literature?
English Literature is a challenging subject which requires you to think critically and dive into deep analysis. Students who excel in this subject must have the ability to put forward a strong point and argue concisely as well as be open minded and consider the interpretations of others. English is time consuming and demands a lot from those who chose to study it, but if you enjoyed this subject at GCSE level then, with the right preparation, taking English Literature is a very good choice.
How to get the best grade in A level English literature
Students who achieve the highest grades know the prose and poetry they study inside out, back to front. This is really the only way you can ensure the top grade. However, that’s not all, although it is essential that you have good knowledge of the texts but without appropriate revision of the exam format, you may come unstuck in the exam hall. Many students do not achieve the grades that they perhaps deserve owing to the simple fact that they run out of time and aren’t able to convey a polished coherent argument within their essays. To avoid this, make sure that you do as much work under timed conditions as you can so you are aware of your limits – the key is not to include everything that applies to the question, but to cherry pick the best examples.
Grade boundaries for A level English literature
Grade boundaries differ each year depending on the exam board and the difficulty of the paper. However, please see below for links to the grade boundaries from 2024 to get some idea of what is required for the top grades.
Different exam boards
Exam boards that offer English Literature include AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, and CIE. These all have subtle differences. For example, AQA is more thematic (such as the Love Through the Ages set of texts) and comparative whereas OCR offers more flexibility with a greater attention on historical context. Furthermore, the exam format is slightly different for each exam board: AQA and OCR have two exams whereas Edexcel and Eduqas have three exams. However, most of the exam boards include a coursework component, with Cambridge International Education (CIE) being the exception. CIE consists of two papers weighed at 50% each.
See below for links to the specification of each exam board:
Essay Structure
You won’t have long in the exam, so it is important to have a good understanding of how to structure an essay. Here is a step by step guide:
- Plan: This is the most important part, specific timings depend on which exam board you take but you should spend around 15-20 minutes getting to grips with the question and planning how best to tackle it. You will need to decide on three separate points (these could be based on themes, characters or techniques used by the authors in question), specific quotations from the texts that support each point and any relevant context and critical interpretations that you can recall from your revision.
- Introduction: When writing an essay, it is imperative that you get your point in early and build on it gradually. State what you’re going to talk about and emphasise your main argument. Introductions should be brief and to the point, not exceeding 200 words.
- PEEL, or PEEAL: Point, Evidence, Explain, Analyse, Link. You may recognise this from your GCSE studies and though it may seem simplistic, it helps to keep your paragraph structure concise. Ground your essay by beginning with the name of the author and how they present the idea/theme that you’re going to speak about e.g. ‘In the 1985 dystopian classic, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Margaret Atwood presents religion as an oppressive force.’ Then immediately follow this up with an example from the text. Try not to retell the plot, the examiner will have read the book so you do not need to rewrite it. Briefly place the quotation into context then move on with your analysis. Examiners will be looking for explicit analysis – stating exactly what the words in the quotation mean and what they are referring to, as well as implicit analysis for which you will relate the quote to wider themes and even draw in context and criticism. This should lead you to a clean link back to the question as you end the paragraph. For comparative essays, ensure you include comparison all the way through, not just in the conclusion using phrases such as ‘unlike in…’, ‘similarly…’, and ‘on the other hand…’ as well as comparative adverbs ‘more’ and ‘less’.
- Refresh your introduction, touching on specifics from each of the main points you’ve spoken about in the essay, directly linking back to the question without introducing any new ideas. You may draw the work into a wider context and consider whether or not it is relevant today or suggest areas for further study but ensure you do this after you have linked your ideas back to the question.
See here for an example of an exemplar essay for you to look at, see how the student has structured their response to give a clear argument.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is English Literature a hard A level?
English Literature A level is deliberately challenging and you should expect for it to occupy a significant portion of your revision time. However, if you carry out the right preparation and involve yourself in class discussions then you should find it to be enjoyable and rewarding. Furthermore, you’ll learn skills that will serve you well in whatever it is you decide to do in the future so it’s well worth the dedication.
What is in English Literature A level?
This depends on which exam board you take and which texts from the syllabus your teachers decide to teach. However, through your studies of prose, poetry anthologies and unseen poetry, you can expect to closely analyse texts and use your critical thinking skills to assess how authors delineate meaning. In addition, you will look into historical context and critical interpretations to enhance your writing and develop persuasive arguments.
How do you get an A* in A level English Literature?
You have to know the texts inside-out, back-to-front. This can be achieved through consistent and effective revision. Simply Learning Tuition can provide students with support in this from our experienced team of tutors.
What careers can you do with English Literature at A level?
English Literature is a wonderfully versatile subject that can be applied to a number of careers. You could go into journalism, publishing, or content writing, where storytelling and critical thinking are key. If you enjoy helping others, English Literature can also lead to careers in teaching or academia. Alternatively, many who study English go into law or politics, as it develops skills in debate. Creative industries like marketing, PR, theatre, and film also benefit from strong writing abilities that are developed through this subject. Even in business roles like HR or copywriting, the ability to communicate ideas effectively is highly valued.
How SLT can help
Simply Learning Tuition provides exceptional private tuition across a wide range of subjects. If you require expert support for English Literature A level, our experienced team of Consultants will carefully match you with a tutor who is perfectly suited to your learning style and academic goals. Contact us today to discover how bespoke tuition can help you achieve success.