Aqa 7711 7712 SP 2015

Get help and support AS AND
Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at aqa.org.uk/7712
You can talk directly to the English Literature subject team A-LEVEL
E: [email protected]
T: 0161 953 7504
ENGLISH
LITERATURE A
AS (7711)
A-level (7712)
Specifications
For teaching from September 2015 onwards
For AS exams in May/June 2016 onwards
For A-level exams in May/June 2017 onwards
Version 1.6 14 October 2021
aqa.org.uk
Copyright © 2014 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
AQA retains the copyright on all its publications, including these specifications. However, schools and colleges registered with AQA are permitted to copy
material from these specifications for their own internal use.
G00398
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number
3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
AQA AS and A-level English Literature A . AS and A-level exams June 2016 onwards. Version 1.6 14 October 2021
Contents
1 Introduction 5
1.1 Why choose AQA for AS and A-level English
Literature A 5
1.2 Support and resources to help you teach 6
2 Specification at a glance 8
2.1 AS 8
2.2 A-level 9
3 Subject content – AS 11
3.1 Love through the ages 12
4 Subject content – A-level 15

4.1 Love through the ages 16
4.2 Texts in shared contexts 18
4.3 Independent critical study: texts across time 21
5 Scheme of assessment 29
5.1 Aims 29
5.2 Assessment objectives 29
5.3 Assessment weightings 31
5.4 Non-exam assessment marking criteria 33
6 Non-exam assessment administration

(A-level only) 39
6.1 Supervising and authenticating 39
6.2 Avoiding malpractice 40
6.3 Teacher standardisation 40
6.4 Internal standardisation 40
6.5 Annotation 41
6.6 Submitting marks 41
6.7 Factors affecting individual students 41
6.8 Keeping students' work 42
6.9 Moderation 42
6.10 After moderation 42
7 General administration 43
7.1 Entries and codes 43
7.2 Overlaps with other qualifications 43
7.3 Awarding grades and reporting results 44
Visit for the most up-to-date specification, resources, support and administration 3
7.4 Re-sits and shelf life 44
7.5 Previous learning and prerequisites 44
7.6 Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion 44
7.7 Safeguarding 45
7.8 Working with AQA for the first time 45
7.9 Private candidates 45
Are you using the latest version of this specification?

• You will always find the most up-to-date version of this specification on our website at
• We will write to you if there are significant changes to the specification.
4 Visit for the most up-to-date specification, resources, support and administration
1 Introduction
1.1 Why choose AQA for AS and A-level English Literature
A
Specifications designed for you and your students
We have worked closely with teachers and universities to develop relevant, engaging and up-to-
date specifications that approach the study of literature through the lens of historicism,
encouraging the independent study of a range of texts within a shared context, giving logic and
meaning to the way that texts are grouped for study.
This unifying approach facilitates the inclusion of a range of wider reading, thus extending
students’ experience and appreciation of literature.
Offering clear progression from GCSE, these courses allow students to build on the skills and
knowledge already gained and prepare for their next steps.
The variety of assessment styles used, such as passage-based questions, unseen material, single-
text questions, multiple-text questions, open- and closed-book approaches allows students to
develop a wide range of skills, such as the ability to read critically, analyse, evaluate and undertake
independent research which are valuable for both further study and future employment.
Choice and flexibility

With a variety of genres and authors, you can choose the texts that will be most appealing and of
most interest to your students.
Teach AS and A-level together

Both AS and A-level courses provide strong stand-alone qualifications that are fully co-teachable
so that you can choose the approach that best suits your, and your students’, needs.
Independent learning
The A-level non-exam assessment component provides opportunities for students to pursue their
own areas of interest and develop personal and independent learning skills.
We support you every step of the way

Our free poetry anthologies, also available digitally, will provide you with easy access to a range of
poetry texts and a valuable interactive resource to support teaching.
To further support teaching and learning, we provide a comprehensive range of resources including
a resource bank and access to the largest network of English teachers facilitated through our
national subject advocate network.
Learn more about our English qualifications at aqa.org.uk/english
1.2 Support and resources to help you teach
We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to
find or develop good quality materials. So we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you
with a range of resources that will help you confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.
Teaching resources
We have a comprehensive range of English Literature A resources. Visit aqa.org.uk/7712 to see
them all. They include:
• a digital resource bank which will include a wide range of free, interactive resources to
support the teaching of English language, English literature and English language and
literature
• poetry anthologies to give you free and easy access to a range of poetry so that you don’t
need to source all the poems set for study
• marked and annotated student responses to the questions on our specimen papers, with
senior examiner commentaries
• subject advocates who will support you in the transition to the new specification and facilitate
local and regional network and update meetings
• student textbooks and digital resources that have been checked and endorsed by AQA
• training courses to help you deliver AQA qualifications
• subject expertise courses for all teachers, from newly qualified teachers who are just getting
started to experienced teachers looking for fresh inspiration.
Preparing for exams

Visit aqa.org.uk/7712 for everything you need to prepare for our exams, including:
• past papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports
• sample papers and mark schemes for new courses
• example student answers with examiner commentaries.
Analyse your students' results with Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA)

Find out which questions were the most challenging, how the results compare to previous years
and where your students need to improve. ERA, our free online results analysis tool, will help you
see where to focus your teaching. Register at aqa.org.uk/era
For information about results, including maintaining standards over time, grade boundaries and our
post-results services, visit aqa.org.uk/results
Keep your skills up to date with professional development

Wherever you are in your career, there’s always something new to learn. As well as subject-
specific training, we offer a range of courses to help boost your skills.
• Improve your teaching skills in areas including differentiation, teaching literacy and meeting
Ofsted requirements.
• Prepare for a new role with our leadership and management courses.
You can attend a course at venues around the country, in your school or online – whatever suits
your needs and availability. Find out more at coursesandevents.aqa.org.uk
Get help and support

Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at aqa.org.uk/7712
You can talk directly to the English Literature A subject team:
T: 0161 9537504
2 Specification at a glance
These qualifications are linear. Linear means that students will sit all the AS exams at the end of
their AS course and all the A-level exams at the end of their A-level course.
2.1 AS
Subject content
Core content:
3.1 Love through the ages (page 12)
Assessments
Paper 1: Love through the ages: Shakespeare and poetry
Study of two texts: one Shakespeare play and one AQA anthology of love poetry through the
ages (pre-1900 or post-1900)
Assessed
• written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
• closed book
• 50 marks
• 50% of AS level
Questions
Section A: Shakespeare. One passage-based question with linked essay (25 marks)
Section B: Poetry. One question on printed poem (25 marks)
Paper 2: Love through the ages: prose
Study of two prose texts. Examination will include an unseen prose extract
Assessed
• written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
• open book
• 50 marks
• 50% of AS level
Questions
Section A: Unseen prose. One compulsory question on unseen prose extract (25 marks)
Section B: Comparing prose texts. One comparative question on two prose texts (25 marks)
2.2 A-level
Subject content
Core content:
4.1 Love through the ages (page 16)
4.2 Texts in shared contexts (page 18)
4.3 Independent critical study: Texts across time (page 21)
Options:
• Option A: WW1 and its aftermath (page 18)
• Option B: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day (page 20)
Assessments
Paper 1: Love through the ages
Study of three texts: one poetry and one prose text, of which one must be written pre-1900, and
one Shakespeare play. Examination will include two unseen poems
Assessed
• written exam: 3 hours
• open book in Section C only
• 75 marks
• 40% of A-level
Questions
Section A: Shakespeare: one passage-based question with linked essay (25 marks)
Section B: Unseen poetry: compulsory essay question on two unseen poems (25 marks)
Section C: Comparing texts: one essay question linking two texts (25 marks)
Paper 2: Texts in shared contexts
Choice of two options:

Option 2A: WW1 and its aftermath
Option 2B: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day
Study of three texts: one prose, one poetry, and one drama, of which one must be written
post-2000
Examination will include an unseen prose extract
Assessed
• written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
• open book
• 75 marks
• 40% of A-level
Questions
Section A: Set texts. One essay question on set text (25 marks)
Section B: Contextual linking
• one compulsory question on an unseen extract (25 marks)
• one essay question linking two texts (25 marks)
Non-exam assessment: Independent critical study: texts across time
Comparative critical study of two texts, at least one of which must have been written pre-1900
One extended essay (2500 words) and a bibliography
Assessed
• 50 marks
• 20% of A-level
• assessed by teachers
• moderated by AQA
3 Subject content – AS
English Literature A’s historicist approach to the study of literature rests upon reading texts within a
shared context. Working from the belief that no text exists in isolation but is the product of the time
in which it was produced, English Literature A encourages students to explore the relationships
that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood.
Studying texts within a shared context enables students to investigate and connect them, drawing
out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives.
English Literature A privileges the process of making autonomous meaning, encouraging students
to debate and challenge the interpretations of other readers as they develop their own informed
personal responses.
The historicist method of studying texts diachronically (across a very broad time period) is at the
centre of the specification. In Love through the ages, the theme of love, one of the most central
themes in literature, is explored across time. Given the spirit of the specification, rather than
imposing a uniform list of prescribed set texts, various options are offered in terms of both time
period and genre.
Working within historicist principles means students are required to read widely across a range of
texts. Working with texts over time involves looking at ways in which authors shape meanings
within their texts. It also involves thinking about a wide range of relevant contexts, some of them to
do with the production of the text at the time of its writing, some (where possible) to do with how
the text has been received over time, and most of all in this specification contexts to do with how
the text can be interpreted by readers now. And finally, because texts and their meanings are not
fixed, interpretation is not fixed, and multiple interpretations are possible.
The specification reflects the belief that the assessment objectives (AOs) work best together,
producing a rounded and holistic view of English literature. Thus all five AOs are addressed in
each question. See Assessment objectives (page 29)
When used in AS and A-level English Literature questions, the term ‘significance’ has a very
specific use and gives access to AOs 2, 3, 4 and 5. Its use here derives from semiotics and
involves understanding the idea of 'signification'. In the way literary study is configured in this
specification, significance involves weighing up all the potential contributions to how a text can be
analysed: through the way the text is constructed and written; through text specific contexts that
can be relevantly applied; through connecting the text(s) to other texts; and then finding potential
meanings and interpretations.
Whilst the course invites a variety of written response types, these will all encourage critical
debate. In each task, students will be required to argue and to show personal responses and
critical preferences, supported by the terminology relevant to the topics and contexts with which
they are engaging. In doing so, they will be able to show 'creativity'. English Literature A not only
equips students with the knowledge and skills needed for exams, but also opens up a rich,
challenging and coherent approach to English literature that provides an excellent basis for further
study in the subject.
This specification promotes as wide a choice of texts for you and your students as possible within a
clear and helpful framework. The requirement in the subject criteria for students to study a
minimum of four texts from particular genres and periods has been organised as follows:
Love through the ages

One drama text A Shakespeare play from set list (pre-1900)
Love through the ages
One poetry text From set list
Two prose texts From set list
This specification has been designed to be co-teachable with the AQA English Literature A A-level
specification.
3.1 Love through the ages

The aim of this topic area is to encourage students to explore aspects of a central literary theme as
seen over time, using unseen material and set texts. Students should be prepared for Love through
the ages by reading widely in the topic area, reading texts from a range of authors and times.
• The four Shakespeare plays on offer allow students to study Shakespeare's representations
of love in a range of different dramatic genres: tragedy, comedy, problem play or late play.
• The AQA anthologies of love poetry through the ages allow students to encounter a range of
different types of poem as they study representations of love over time.
• The range of comparative prose texts on offer allows students to study representations of
love by a variety of authors across time.
• Students will study four texts: one Shakespeare play, one poetry anthology and two prose
texts. They will also respond to an unseen prose extract in the exam.
Although not an exhaustive list of aspects of Love through the ages, areas that can usefully be
explored include: romantic love of many kinds; love and sex; love and loss; social conventions and
taboos; love through the ages according to history and time; love through the ages according to
individual lives (young love, maturing love); jealousy and guilt; truth and deception; proximity and
distance; marriage; approval and disapproval.
3.1.1 Set texts

Shakespeare and poetry
Students study one of the following Shakespeare plays:
• Othello
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Measure for Measure
• The Winter's Tale
Students study one of the following anthologies:
• AQA anthology of love poetry through the ages pre-1900
• AQA anthology of love poetry through the ages post-1900
The paper for this component is closed book. Students are not permitted to take a copy of their set
text(s) into the exam.
Prose
Students study two texts from the following list:
Author Text
Jane Austen Persuasion
Author Text
Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Kate Chopin The Awakening
Jonathan Coe The Rotters' Club
George Eliot The Mill on the Floss
Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
E.M. Forster A Room with a View
L.P. Hartley The Go-Between
Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca
Ian McEwan Atonement
The paper for this component is open book. Students may take a copy of their set texts into the
exam. These texts must not be annotated and must not contain any additional notes or materials.
We do not expect to change texts within the first five years of the specification. However, texts will
be reviewed each year starting in September 2017 and we will give at least nine months’ notice of
any changes prior to first teaching of a two year course. The criteria for changing texts will be
where a text becomes unavailable or where we can no longer use it in a question paper. Notice of
any change will be communicated via our exam bulletins and aqa.org.uk/english
4 Subject content – A-level

English Literature A’s historicist approach to the study of literature rests upon reading texts within a
shared context. Working from the belief that no text exists in isolation but is the product of the time
in which it was produced, English Literature A encourages students to explore the relationships
that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood.
Studying texts within a shared context enables students to investigate and connect them, drawing
out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives.
English Literature A privileges the process of making autonomous meaning, encouraging students
to debate and challenge the interpretations of other readers as they develop their own informed
personal responses.
Given the spirit of the specification, rather than imposing a uniform list of prescribed set texts,
various options are offered in terms of both time period and genre. Across the course, students will
study texts both diachronically (produced across a very broad time period) and synchronically
(produced within a clearly defined time period).
The specification encourages the exploration of texts in a number of different ways:
• the study of a literary theme over time
• the study of literature through engaging with two of the main historicist perspectives, the
diachronic (reading texts written across widely different time periods that explore the same
theme) and synchronic (reading texts written within a narrower and clearly defined time
period)
• the study of various texts, both singly and comparatively, chosen from a list of core set texts
and a list of chosen comparative set texts
• writing about texts in a number of different ways.
Working within historicist principles means students are required to read widely across a range of
texts and connect them across time and topic. Working with texts over time involves looking at
ways in which authors shape meanings within their texts. It also involves thinking about a wide
range of relevant contexts, some of them to do with the production of the text at the time of its
writing, some (where possible) to do with how the text has been received over time and, most of all
in this specification, contexts to do with how the text can be interpreted by readers now. And finally,
because texts and their meanings are not fixed, interpretation is not fixed, and multiple
interpretations are possible.
This specification reflects the belief that the assessment objectives (AOs) work best together,
producing a rounded and holistic view of English literature. Thus all five AOs are assessed in each
question. See Assessment objectives (page 29) section.
When used in AS and A-level English Literature questions, the term ‘significance’ has a very
specific use and gives access to AOs 2, 3, 4 and 5. Its use here derives from semiotics and
involves understanding the idea of 'signification'. In the way literary study is configured in this
specification, significance involves weighing up all the potential contributions to how a text can be
analysed: through the way the text is constructed and written; through text specific contexts that
can be relevantly applied; through connecting the text(s) to other texts; and then finding potential
meanings and interpretations.
Whilst the course invites a variety of written response types, these will all encourage critical
debate. In each task, students will be required to argue and to show personal responses and
critical preferences, supported by the terminology relevant to the topics and contexts with which
they are engaging. In doing so, they will be able to show 'creativity'. Taken as a whole, therefore,
English Literature A not only equips students with the knowledge and skills needed for both exams
and non-exam assessment, but also opens up a rich, challenging and coherent approach to
English literature that provides an excellent basis for studying the subject at university.
Both examined elements of the course have the methodologies of historicism at their centre. In
Love through the ages, the theme of love, one of the most central themes in literature, is explored
across time. In Texts in shared contexts, students explore texts written within a narrower and
clearly defined time period: either WW1 and its aftermath, or Modern times: literature from 1945 to
the present day. The non-exam assessment element offers students the freedom to compare texts
either diachronically or synchronically.
Connecting and exploring texts: principles and rationale
This specification promotes as wide a choice of texts for you and your students as possible within a
clear and helpful framework. The requirement in the subject criteria for students to study a
minimum of eight texts from particular genres and periods has been organised as follows:
Component Section Text type Genre Text requirement

requirement
Love through the A One core set text One drama text Shakespeare
ages
B Two comparative One poetry and One must be
set texts one prose text written pre-1900
Texts in shared A One core set text One drama, one One must be
contexts poetry and one written post-2000
B Two comparative
prose text
set texts
Texts across time Two Choice of genre One must be
independently written pre-1900
chosen texts
Within and across each examined element of the course, a shared context links the texts studied
and thereby opens up fruitful areas of comparative study. The shared context gives the students’
reading a clear focus and encourages them to develop close and comparative reading skills. With
the ability to select texts from the lists relevant to each component, you have not only the high
degree of autonomous text choice but also the knowledge that students will be well prepared for
the specific demands of each exam. This flexibility is enhanced by the non-exam assessment,
which offers as free a choice of independently selected texts as possible for both you and your
students, ensuring that you have the freedom to create a coherent course of study for your
students.
4.1 Love through the ages

The aim of this topic area is to encourage students to explore aspects of a central literary theme as
seen over time, using unseen material and set texts. Students should be prepared for Love through
the ages by reading widely in the topic area, reading texts from a range of authors and times.
• The four Shakespeare plays on offer allow students to study Shakespeare's representations
of love in a range of different dramatic genres: tragedy, comedy, problem play or late play.
• The AQA anthologies of love poetry through the ages allow students to encounter a range of
different types of poem as they study representations of love over time.
• The range of comparative prose texts on offer allows students to study representations of
love by a variety of authors across time.
• Students study three texts: one poetry and one prose text, of which one must be written
pre-1900, and one Shakespeare play. They will also respond to two unseen poems in the
exam.
Although not an exhaustive list of aspects of Love through the ages, areas that can usefully be
explored include: romantic love of many kinds; love and sex; love and loss; social conventions and
taboos; love through the ages according to history and time; love through the ages according to
individual lives (young love, maturing love); jealousy and guilt; truth and deception; proximity and
distance; marriage; approval and disapproval.
4.1.1 Set texts

Core set texts: Shakespeare
Students study one of the following Shakespeare plays:
• Othello
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Measure for Measure
• The Winter's Tale
Chosen comparative set texts: poetry and prose

Students study two texts from the following list: one poetry and one prose text, one of which must
be written pre-1900.
Author Text Time period

AQA ed. Anthology of Love Poetry Pre-1900
through the Ages: Pre-1900
AQA ed. Anthology of Love Poetry
through the Ages: Post-1900
Jane Austen Persuasion Pre-1900
Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre Pre-1900
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights Pre-1900
Kate Chopin The Awakening Pre-1900
Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles Pre-1900
E.M. Forster A Room with a View
L.P. Hartley The Go-Between
As with all the requirements around genre/dates in this specification, a text can fulfil more than one
category. So, for example, Persuasion covers the requirement for a prose text and a text written
pre-1900.
Section C of the paper for this component is open book. Students may take a copy of their prose
and poetry texts into the exam. These texts must not be annotated and must not contain any
additional notes or materials.
any change will be communicated via our exam bulletins and aqa.org.uk/english
4.2 Texts in shared contexts

The aim of this topic area is to encourage students to explore aspects of literature connected
through a period of time.
Students will choose one of the following options:
• Option 2A: WW1 and its aftermath
• Option 2B: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day
Option A explores literature arising out of WW1, but extends this period to allow reflection on the
full impact of the war that reverberates up to the present day. It considers the impact on
combatants, non-combatants and subsequent generations as well as its social, political, personal
and literary legacies.
Option B takes the end of WW2 as its historical starting point and explores both modern and
contemporary literature’s engagement with some of the social, political, personal and literary
issues which have helped to shape the latter half of the 20th century and the early decades of the
21st century.
Students should prepare for Texts in shared contexts by reading widely within their chosen option.
Studying representations of the key themes identified below will allow them to encounter a range of
ideas and opinions relevant to the shared context.
4.2.1 Set texts

Students will study three texts: one prose, one poetry and one drama text, at least one of which
must be written post-2000. They will also respond to an unseen prose extract in the exam.
The paper for this component is open book. Students may take a copy of their set texts into the
exam. These texts must not be annotated and must not contain any additional notes or materials.
Option A: WW1 and its aftermath

Although not an exhaustive list of aspects of WW1 and its aftermath, areas that can usefully be
explored include: imperialism and nationalism; recruitment and propaganda; life on the front line;
responses on the home front; pacifism; generals and soldiers; slaughter; heroism; peace and
memorials; writers in action and writers looking back; the political and social aftermath; different
and changing attitudes to the conflict; impact on combatants, non-combatants and subsequent
generations as well as its social, political, personal and literary legacies.
Section A: Core set texts

Students study at least one of the six core set texts listed below:
Prose
Author Text
Pat Barker Regeneration
Sebastian Faulks Birdsong
Drama
Author Text
Joan Littlewood Oh! What a Lovely War
R.C. Sherriff Journey’s End
Poetry
Author Text
ed. Brian Gardner Up the Line to Death
ed. Catherine Reilly Scars Upon My Heart
Section B: Chosen comparative set texts

Students study two texts. These texts can be taken from the following list or from the core set text
list. Any text from the core set text list used in the Section A response, however, cannot be used in
Section B.
Prose
Author Text
Rebecca West The Return of the Soldier
Erich Maria Remarque (translated by Brian All Quiet on the Western Front (Vintage paper
Murdoch) back edition)*
Susan Hill Strange Meeting
Ernest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms
Robert Graves Goodbye to All That
Sebastian Barry A Long, Long Way (post-2000)
Ben Elton The First Casualty (post-2000)
Pat Barker Life Class (post-2000)
*The edition of All Quiet on the Western Front which must be used is the Vintage paperback
edition, translated by Brian Murdoch. We will treat the translated text as Remarque's own words for
assessment purposes.
Drama
Author Text
Peter Whelan The Accrington Pals
Richard Curtis and Ben Elton Blackadder Goes Forth
Author Text
David Haig My Boy Jack
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman The Wipers Times (post-2000)
Poetry
Author Text
ed. George Walter The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
ed. Jon Stallworthy The Oxford Book of War Poetry
ed. Jon Stallworthy The War Poems of Wilfred Owen
Option B: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day

Although not an exhaustive list of aspects of Modern times, areas that can usefully be explored
include: wars and the legacy of wars; personal and social identity; changing morality and social
structures; gender, class, race and ethnicity; political upheaval and change; resistance and
rebellion; imperialism, post-imperialism and nationalism; engagement with the social, political,
personal and literary issues which have helped to shape the latter half of the 20th century and the
early decades of the 21st century.
Section A: Core set texts

Students study at least one of the six core set texts listed below:
Prose
Author Text
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale
Graham Swift Waterland
Drama
Author Text
Caryl Churchill Top Girls
Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire
Poetry
Author Text
Carol Ann Duffy Feminine Gospels (post-2000)
Owen Sheers Skirrid Hill (post-2000)
Section B: Chosen comparative set texts

Students study two texts.These texts can be taken from the following list or from the core set text
list. Any text from the core set text list used in the Section A response, however, cannot be used in
Section B.
Prose
Author Text
Michael Frayn Spies (post-2000)
Ken Kesey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things
Kathryn Stockett The Help (post-2000)
Alice Walker The Color Purple
Jeanette Winterson Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Richard Yates Revolutionary Road
Drama
Author Text
Brian Friel Translations
Arthur Miller All My Sons
Timberlake Wertenbaker Our Country’s Good
Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poetry
Author Text
Tony Harrison Selected Poems 2013 Edition
Seamus Heaney New Selected Poems 1966–1987
Ted Hughes Birthday Letters
Sylvia Plath Ariel
As with all the requirements around genre/dates in this specification, a text can fulfil more than one
category. So, for example, The Help covers the requirement for a prose text and a text written
post-2000.
any change will be communicated via our examination bulletins and aqa.org.uk/english
4.3 Independent critical study: texts across time

In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts.
This specification is committed to the notion of autonomous personal reading and Texts across
time provides a challenging and wide-ranging opportunity for independent study. Possible themes
for the comparison are indicated below, but this is not a set list and students are free to develop
their own interests from their own wider and independent reading.
Texts chosen for study must maximise opportunities for writing about comparative similarity and
difference and must allow access to a range of critical views and interpretations, including over
time. Students should take an autonomous approach to the application and evaluation of a range
of critical views.
The title 'Independent critical study' highlights the important idea that, within a literature course,
students should have the opportunity to work independently. Although one common text could, if
required, be taught to a whole cohort, at least one text should be studied independently by each
student. Texts should always be chosen with your guidance and support. Students should also
individually negotiate their own task.
In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts on a theme of their
choice. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:
• the struggle for identity
• crime and punishment
• minds under stress
• nostalgia and the past
• the Gothic
• satire and dystopia
• war and conflict
• representations of race and ethnicity
• representations of sexuality
• representations of women
• representations of men
• representations of social class and culture.
The spirit of this component is for independent study, with schools and colleges submitting work on
a range of texts and tasks. Schools and colleges are encouraged to check the appropriateness of
texts and tasks with their non-exam assessment adviser, especially where there may be some
uncertainty on the approach being taken, either by the school or college as a whole or by individual
students.
4.3.1 Tasks
• The word count is 2,500 words.
• Tasks should be designed to ensure that students address all assessment objectives in their
essay response.
• An appropriate academic bibliography (not included within the 2,500 word count) must be
included.
• An appropriately academic form of referencing must be used.
4.3.2 Texts
The following conditions apply to the texts chosen:
• one text must have been written pre-1900
• two different authors must be studied
• set texts listed for the A-level exam components cannot be used for non-exam assessment,
even if they will not be used in the exam
• the essay is comparative and connective so equal attention must be paid to both texts
• a poetry text could be either one longer narrative poem or a single authored collection of
shorter poems. If using a collection of poetry, students must have studied the whole text and
select at least two poems to write about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• single authored collections of short stories are permissible. If using a collection of short
stories, students must have studied the whole text and select at least two stories to write
about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that have been influential and
significant in the development of literature in English. The translated text should be treated as
the original writer's own words for assessment purposes. Therefore, schools and colleges
should ensure that they use a version recognised by academia as being a high quality
translation which supports the original author's writing appropriately.
Recommended texts
Texts listed in the A-level core set text and comparative set text lists in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 cannot
be studied for non-exam assessment. Texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that
have been influential and significant in the development of literature in English.
Possible pre-1900 texts include, but are not limited to:
Prose
Author Text
Jane Austen Northanger Abbey
Mansfield Park
Anne Brontë The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Wilkie Collins The Moonstone
The Woman in White
Charles Dickens Hard Times
George Eliot Middlemarch
The Mill on the Floss
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
William Makepeace Thackeray Vanity Fair
Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
Drama
Author Text
William Congreve The Way of the World
Henrik Ibsen A Doll's House
Hedda Gabler
Oliver Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer
George Bernard Shaw any pre-1900 play by this writer
Richard Brinsley Sheridan The School for Scandal
Oscar Wilde any pre-1900 play by this writer
William Wycherley The Country Wife
Poetry
Author Text
Geoffrey Chaucer 'The Wife of Bath’s Tale'
'The Miller’s Tale'
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'
John Keats 'Lamia'

'Isabella or The Pot of Basil'
'The Eve of St Agnes'
4.3.3 NEA prohibited texts

Students cannot use the following texts for non-exam assessment as they appear on the exam set
text lists.
A
Author Text
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale
Jane Austen Persuasion
B
Author Text
Pat Barker Regeneration
Pat Barker Life Class
Barry Sebastian A Long, Long Way
William Blake The Garden of Love
Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Robert Burns Song (Ae fond kiss)
Lord Byron She Walks in Beauty
C
Author Text
Kate Chopin The Awakening
Caryl Churchill Top Girls
Wendy Cope After the Lunch
Richard Curtis and Ben Elton Blackadder Goes Forth
D
Author Text
John Donne The Flea
Keith Douglas Vergissmeinnicht
Ernest Dowson Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae sub Regno
Cynarae
Carol Ann Duffy The Love Poem
Carol Ann Duffy Feminine Gospels
E
Author Text
Ben Elton The First Casualty
F
Author Text
Sebastian Faulks Birdsong
E. M. Forster A Room with a View
Michael Frayn Spies
Brian Friel Translations
Robert Frost Love and a Question
G
Author Text
Brian Gardner, ed. Up the Line to Death
Robert Graves Goodbye to All That
H
Author Text
David Haig My Boy Jack
Thomas Hardy The Ruined Maid
Thomas Hardy At an Inn
Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Tony Harrison Timer
Tony Harrison Selected Poems (2013 edition)
Author Text
L. P. Hartley The Go-Between
Seamus Heaney Punishment
Seamus Heaney New Selected Poems (1966–1987)
Ernest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms
Susan Hill Strange Meeting
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman The Wipers Times
Ted Hughes Birthday Letters
J
Author Text
Elizabeth Jennings One Flesh
K
Author Text
John Keats La Belle Dame sans Merci
Ken Kesey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Author Text
Philip Larkin Wild Oats
Philip Larkin Talking in Bed
Joan Littlewood Oh! What a Lovely War
Richard Lovelace The Scrutiny
M
Author Text
Louis MacNeice Meeting Point
Andrew Marvell To His Coy Mistress
Charlotte Mew A quoi bon dire
Edna St. Vincent Millay I, being born a woman and distressed
Arthur Miller All My Sons
Paul Muldoon Long Finish
N
Author Text
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman The Wipers Times
P
Author Text
Sylvia Plath Ariel
R
Author Text
Catherine Reilly, ed. Scars Upon My Heart
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Michael Symmons Roberts To John Donne
Christina Rossetti Remember
Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things
S
Author Text
Anne Sexton For My Lover, Returning to His Wife
William Shakespeare Othello
William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare Measure for Measure
William Shakespeare The Winter’s Tale
William Shakespeare Sonnet 116
Owen Sheers Skirrid Hill
R. C. Sherriff Journey’s End
Jon Stallworthy, ed. The Oxford Book of War Poetry
Jon Stallworthy, ed. The War Poems of Wilfred Owen
Kathryn Stockett The Help
Graham Swift Waterland
W
Author Text
Alice Walker The Color Purple
George Walter, ed. The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
Timberlake Wertenbaker Our Country’s Good
Author Text
Rebecca West The Return of the Soldier
Peter Whelan The Accrington Pals
Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire
Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester A Song (Absent from thee)
Jeanette Winterson Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Sir Thomas Wyatt Whoso list to hunt I knowe where is an hynde
Y
Author Text
Richard Yates Revolutionary Road
4.3.4 Examples of choices of non-exam assessment texts and possible

connections
1. John R. Reed (1973) has suggested that the ‘unacknowledged crime’ of Wilkie Collins’ The
Moonstone is the colonial guilt of the British Empire for its annexation of the entire Indian sub-
continent rather than the theft of a single exquisite diamond.
Compare and contrast the presentation of British attitudes to race and ethnicity in The
Moonstone and in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth in the light of this view.
2. Compare and contrast the presentation of women in Keats’ narrative poems 'Lamia', 'Isabella'
and 'The Eve of St Agnes' with that of Anne Brontë's in her novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
In what ways do you think the Gothic settings of these texts help the writers to shape their
presentation of heroines in peril?
3. Sarah Waters has argued that the Victorian ‘sensation novel’ genre ‘was at its best when
tugging at the seams of certainties and easy solutions’.
Compare and contrast the presentation of Sue Trinder in Fingersmith with Marian Halcombe in
The Woman in White in the light of this view.
5 Scheme of assessment
Find past papers and mark schemes, and specimen papers for new courses, on our website at
aqa.org.uk/pastpapers
The AS specification is designed to be taken over one or two years with all assessments taken at
the end of the course. The A-level specification is designed to be taken over two years with all
assessments taken at the end of the course.
Assessments and certification for the AS specification are available for the first time in May/June
2016 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
Assessments and certification for the A-level specification are available for the first time in May/
June 2017 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
These are linear qualifications. In order to achieve the award, students must complete all exams in
May/June in a single year. All assessments must be taken in the same series.
Our AS and A-level exams in English include questions that allow students to demonstrate their
ability to:
• draw together their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full course of study
• provide extended responses.
All AS and A-level components offer only extended response questions.
All materials are available in English only.
5.1 Aims
Courses based on these specifications must encourage students to develop their interest in and
enjoyment of literature and literary studies as they:
• read widely and independently both set texts and others that they have selected for
themselves
• engage critically and creatively with a substantial body of texts and ways of responding to
them
• develop and effectively apply their knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation
• explore the contexts of the texts they are reading and others’ interpretations of them.
In addition, A-level specifications must encourage students to develop their interest in and
enjoyment of literature and literary studies as they undertake independent and sustained studies to
deepen their appreciation and understanding of English literature, including its changing traditions.
5.2 Assessment objectives

Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all AS and A-level
English Literature specifications and all exam boards.
The exams and non-exam assessment will measure to what extent students have achieved the
following AOs:
• AO1: Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated
concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2: Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts.
• AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which
literary texts are written and received.
• AO4: Explore connections across literary texts.
• AO5: Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations.
Weighting of assessment objectives for AS English Literature A

Assessment objectives (AOs) Component weightings Overall weighting
(approx %) (approx %)
Paper 1 Paper 2
AO1 14 14 28
AO2 12 12 24
AO3 12 12 24
AO4 6 6 12
AO5 6 6 12
Overall weighting of components 50 50 100
The specification reflects the belief that the assessment objectives (AOs) work best together,
producing a rounded and holistic view of English literature. Students will need to show coverage of
all AOs in all tasks. To be specific:
AO1 essentially requires informed and relevant responses which are accurately written and use
appropriate concepts and terminology.
AO2 requires students to analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with
particular focus on the structures of texts as a form of shaping.
AO3 relates to the many possible contexts which arise out of the text, the specific task and the
period being studied.
This specification treats AOs 1, 2 and 3 as broadly equal, given their relative weightings: AO1 has
a weighting of 28% whilst AOs 2 and 3 both have a weighting of 24%.
AO4 involves connections across texts and sees possible meanings and interpretations arising not
only out of the contexts of the text itself (AO3 above) but also out of the wider and broader contexts
which comes from the study of period. Thus even when an individual text is being investigated it
should still be seen as being framed by a wider network of texts and contexts to which it connects.
AO5 completes the picture by acknowledging that if work in AOs 2, 3 and 4 had been included in
the response to the question then debate and interpretations will arise out of this work showing that
the interpretation of texts is not a fixed process but a dynamic one.
AOs 4 and 5 each have a weighting of 12% in all questions.
Weighting of assessment objectives for A-level English Literature A

Assessment objectives (AOs) Component weightings (approx %) Overall
weighting
Paper 1 Paper 2 Non-exam
(approx %)
assessment
AO1 11.2 11.2 5.6 28
AO2 9.6 9.6 4.8 24
AO3 9.6 9.6 4.8 24
AO4 4.8 4.8 2.4 12
AO5 4.8 4.8 2.4 12
Overall weighting of 40 40 20 100
components
This specification reflects the belief that the assessment objectives (AOs) work best together,
producing a rounded and holistic view of English literature. Students will need to show coverage of
all AOs in all tasks. To be specific:
AO1 essentially requires informed and relevant responses which are accurately written and use
appropriate concepts and terminology.
AO2 requires students to analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with
particular focus on the structures of texts as a form of shaping.
AO3 relates to the many possible contexts which arise out of the text, the specific task and the
period being studied.
This specification treats AOs 1, 2 and 3 as broadly equal, given their relative weightings: AO1 has
a weighting of 28% whilst AOs 2 and 3 both have a weighting of 24%.
AO4 involves connections across texts and sees possible meanings and interpretations arising not
only out of the contexts of the text itself (AO3 above) but also out of the wider and broader contexts
which comes from the study of period. Thus even when an individual text is being investigated it
should still be seen as being framed by a wider network of texts and contexts to which it connects.
AO5 completes the picture by acknowledging that if work in AOs 2, 3 and 4 had been included in
the response to the question then debate and interpretations will arise out of this work showing that
the interpretation of texts is not a fixed process but a dynamic one. In non-exam assessment only,
discussion of different interpretations must include, on at least one text, consideration of different
interpretations of the text(s) over time.
AOs 4 and 5 each have a weighting of 12% in all questions.
5.3 Assessment weightings

The marks awarded on the papers will be scaled to meet the weighting of the components.
Students' final marks will be calculated by adding together the scaled marks for each component.
Grade boundaries will be set using this total scaled mark. The scaling and total scaled marks are
shown in the table below.
AS
Component Maximum Scaling Maximum
raw mark factor scaled
mark
Paper 1: Love through the ages: Shakespeare and Poetry 50 x1 50
Paper 2: Love through the ages: Prose 50 x1 50
Total 100
scaled
mark:
A-level
Component Maximum Scaling Maximum
raw mark factor scaled
mark
Paper 1: Love through the ages 75 x2 150
Paper 2: Texts in shared contexts 75 x2 150
Non exam-assessment: Texts across time 50 x1.5 75
Total 375
scaled
mark:
5.4 Non-exam assessment marking criteria
Weightings for each question are as follows:
AO1: 7 marks; AO2: 6 marks; AO3: 6 marks; AO4: 3 marks; AO5: 3 marks
Band/Mark AO Typical features How to arrive at mark
Band 5 AO1 • perceptive, assured and sophisticated This band is characterised by

argument in relation to the task perceptive and assured work which
Perceptive/Assured
• assured use of literary critical concepts shows confidence, sharpness of mind
21-25 marks and terminology; mature and impressive and sophistication in relation to the
expression task.
‘Perception’ is demonstrated when
students are showing the depth of their At the top of the band students are
understanding and responding AO2 • perceptive understanding of authorial consistently assured and will
sensitively to the texts and task. methods in relation to the task demonstrate sensitivity and
perception across all five assessment
'Assuredness' is shown when students • assured engagement with how meanings objectives in the course of their
write with confidence and conviction. are shaped by the methods used response.
AO3 • perceptive understanding of the At the bottom of the band there will
significance of relevant contexts in relation be coherence and accuracy with
to the task some perception but with less
• assuredness in the connection between consistency and evenness.
those contexts and the comparative texts
studied
AO4 • perceptive exploration of connections

across literary texts arising out of
comparative study
AO5 • perceptive and confident engagement with

interpretations, including over time
Band 4 AO1 • logical, thorough and coherent argument This band is characterised by
in relation to the task where ideas are coherent and thorough work where
Coherent/ Thorough
debated in depth ideas are linked together in a focused
16-20 marks and purposeful way in relation to the
• appropriate use of literary critical concepts
task.
‘Coherence’ is shown when students are and terminology; precise and accurate
logical and consistent in their arguments expression At the top of the band students will
in relation to the task.They hold their demonstrate a fully coherent and
ideas together in an intelligible way. AO2 • thorough understanding of authorial thorough argument across all five
methods in relation to the task assessment objectives in the course
'Thoroughness’ is shown when students
write carefully, precisely and accurately. • thorough engagement with how meanings of their response.
are shaped by the methods used At the bottom of the band ideas will
be discussed in a shaped, relevant
AO3 • thorough understanding of the significance and purposeful way with a clear
of relevant contexts in relation to the task sense of direction, with one or two
• coherence in the connection between lapses in coherence and accuracy.
those contexts and the comparative texts
studied
AO4 • logical and consistent exploration of
connections across literary texts arising
out of comparative study
AO5 • thorough engagement with interpretations,

including over time
Band 3 AO1 • sensibly ordered ideas in a relevant This band is characterised by

argument in relation to the task straightforward and relevant work
Straightforward/Relevant
where the student’s response to the
• some use of literary critical concepts and
11-15 marks task is clear and intelligible.
terminology which are mainly appropriate;
‘Straightforward’ work is shown when straightforward and clear expression At the top of the band students will
students make their ideas in relation to demonstrate consistent
the task clearly known. AO2 • straightforward understanding of authorial straightforward understanding in the
methods in relation to the task course of their argument. Ideas will
'Relevant’ work is shown when students
be developed relevantly.
are focused on the task and use detail in • relevant engagement with how meanings
an appropriate and supportive way. are shaped by the methods used At the bottom of the band there will
be flashes of relevant understanding
AO3 • straightforward understanding of the with evidence of straightforward
significance of relevant contexts in relation thinking.
to the task
• relevant connections between those
contexts and the comparative texts
studied
AO4 • explores connections across literary texts

arising out of comparative study in a
straightforward way
AO5 • straightforward engagement with

Band 2 AO1 • a simple structure to the argument which This band is characterised by simple
may not be consistent but which does and generalised work which is mainly
Simple/Generalised
relate to the task linked to the task.
6-10 marks
• generalised use of literary critical concepts At the top of the band students will
‘Simple’ work is shown when students and terminology; simple expression demonstrate a basic generalised
write in an unelaborated and basic way in understanding in the course of their
relation to the task. AO2 • simple understanding of authorial methods answer. Ideas will be developed in a
in relation to the task simple way.
'Generalised’ work is shown when
students write without regard to particular • generalised engagement with how At the bottom of the band there will
details. meanings are shaped by the methods be inconsistency, but the beginnings
used of a simple and generalised
understanding.
AO3 • simple understanding of the significance
of relevant contexts in relation to the task
• generalised connections between those
contexts and the comparative texts
studied
AO4 • simple exploration of connections across
literary texts arising out of comparative
study
AO5 • simple and generalised response to

Band 1 • some vague points in relation to the task This band is characterised by work
and some ideas about task and text(s) which is largely irrelevant and largely
Largely irrelevant/largely misunderstood/
misunderstood and largely
largely inaccurate • the writing is likely to be unclear and
inaccurate, and so unlikely to be
incorrect; if it is accurate the content will
1-5 marks addressing many of the AOs.
be irrelevant
‘Largely irrelevant’ work is shown when At the top of the band students will
• little sense of the AOs in relation to the
students write in an unclear way with mention some unconnected points in
task; little sense of how meanings are
only occasional reference to what is relation to the task during the course
shaped; little sense of any relevant
required by the question. 'Largely of their writing. The writing is likely to
contexts; little sense of any connection
misunderstood’ and ‘largely inaccurate’ lack clarity.
arising out of comparative study; little
work is shown when knowledge of the
sense of an argument in relation to the At the bottom of the band there will
text is insecure, hazy and often wrong.
task be no connection with the task; the
writing will be hard to follow and
irrelevant.
0 marks No marks for response when nothing is written

or where response has no connection to the
text(s) or task.
6 Non-exam assessment
administration (A-level only)
The non-exam assessment (NEA) for the A-level specification only is 'Independent critical study:
texts across time', and consists of one extended essay and a bibliography.
Visit aqa.org.uk/7712 for detailed information about all aspects of NEA administration.
The head of the school or college is responsible for making sure that NEA is conducted in line with
our instructions and Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) instructions.
6.1 Supervising and authenticating

To meet Ofqual's qualification and subject criteria:
• students must sign the Candidate record form to confirm that the work submitted is their own
• all teachers who have marked a student’s work must sign the declaration of authentication
on the Candidate record form. This is to confirm that the work is solely that of the student
concerned and was conducted under the conditions laid down by this specification
• teachers must ensure that a Candidate record form is attached to each student’s work.
Students must have sufficient direct supervision to ensure that the work submitted can be
confidently authenticated as their own. This means that you must review the progress of the work
during research, planning and throughout its production to see how it evolves.
You may provide guidance and support to students so that they are clear about the requirements of
the task they need to undertake and the marking criteria on which the work will be judged. You may
also provide guidance to students on the suitability of their proposed task, particularly if it means
they will not meet the requirements of the marking criteria.
When checking drafts of a student’s work, you must not comment or provide suggestions on how
they could improve it. However, you can ask questions about the way they are approaching their
work and you can highlight the requirements of the marking criteria.
If a student receives any additional assistance which is acceptable within the further guidance that
is provided for this specification, you should award a mark that represents the student’s unaided
achievement. Please make a note of the support the student received on the Candidate record
form. This will allow the moderator to see whether the student has been awarded an appropriate
mark. Please note that you should sign the authentication statement on the Candidate record form.
If the statement is not signed, we cannot accept the student’s work for assessment.
Once a student submits work for marking and it has been marked, you cannot return it to the
student for improvement, even if they have not received any feedback or are unaware of the marks
awarded.
Further guidance on setting, supervising, authenticating and marking work is available on the
subject pages of our website and through teacher standardisation.
6.2 Avoiding malpractice
Please inform your students of the AQA regulations concerning malpractice. They must not:
• submit work that is not their own
• lend work to other students
• allow other students access to, or use of, their own independently-sourced source material
• include work copied directly from books, the Internet or other sources without
acknowledgement
• submit work that is word-processed by a third person without acknowledgement
• include inappropriate, offensive or obscene material.
These actions constitute malpractice and a penalty will be given (for example, disqualification).
If you identify malpractice before the student signs the declaration of authentication, you don’t
need to report it to us. Please deal with it in accordance with your school or college’s internal
procedures. We expect schools and colleges to treat such cases very seriously.
If you identify malpractice after the student has signed the declaration of authentication, the head
of your school or college must submit full details of the case to us at the earliest opportunity.
Please complete the form JCQ/M1, available from the JCQ website at jcq.org.uk
You must record details of any work which is not the student’s own on the Candidate record form or
other appropriate place.
You should consult your exams officer about these procedures.
6.3 Teacher standardisation

We will provide support for using the marking criteria and developing appropriate tasks through
teacher standardisation.
For further information about teacher standardisation visit our website at aqa.org.uk/7712
In the following situations teacher standardisation is essential. We will send you an invitation to
complete teacher standardisation if:
• moderation from the previous year indicates a serious misinterpretation of the requirements
• a significant adjustment was made to the marks in the previous year
• your school or college is new to this specification.
For further support and advice please speak to your adviser. Email your subject team at english-
[email protected] for details of your adviser.
6.4 Internal standardisation

You must ensure that you have consistent marking standards for all students. One person must
manage this process and they must sign the Centre declaration sheet to confirm that internal
standardisation has taken place.
Internal standardisation may involve:

• all teachers marking some sample pieces of work to identify differences in marking standards
• discussing any differences in marking at a training meeting for all teachers involved
• referring to reference and archive material, such as previous work or examples from our
teacher standardisation.
6.5 Annotation
To meet Ofqual’s qualification and subject criteria, you must show clearly how marks have been
awarded against the marking criteria in this specification.
Your annotation will help the moderator see, as precisely as possible, where you think the students
have met the marking criteria.
Work can be annotated using either or both of the following methods:
• flagging evidence in the margins or in the text
• summative comments, referencing precise sections in the work.
6.6 Submitting marks

You should check that the correct marks for each of the marking criteria are written on the
Candidate record form and that the total mark is correct.
The deadline for submitting the total mark for each student is given at aqa.org.uk/keydates
6.7 Factors affecting individual students

For advice and guidance about arrangements for any of your students, please email us as early as
possible at [email protected]
Occasional absence: you should be able to accept the occasional absence of students by making
sure they have the chance to make up what they have missed. You may organise an alternative
supervised session for students who were absent at the time you originally arranged.
Lost work: if work is lost you must tell us how and when it was lost and who was responsible,
using our special consideration online service at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
Special help: where students need special help which goes beyond normal learning support,
please use the Candidate record form to tell us so that this help can be taken into account during
moderation.
Students who move schools: students who move from one school or college to another during
the course sometimes need additional help to meet the requirements. How you deal with this
depends on when the move takes place. If it happens early in the course, the new school or
college should be responsible for the work. If it happens late in the course, it may be possible to
arrange for the moderator to assess the work as a student who was ‘Educated Elsewhere’.
6.8 Keeping students' work
Students’ work must be kept under secure conditions from the time that it is marked, with
Candidate record forms attached. After the moderation period and the deadline for Enquiries about
Results (or once any enquiry is resolved) you may return the work to students.
6.9 Moderation
You must send all your students' marks to us by the date given at aqa.org.uk/deadlines. You will be
asked to send a sample of your students' NEA evidence to your moderator.
You must show clearly how marks have been awarded against the assessment criteria in this
specification. Your comments must help the moderator see, as precisely as possible, where you
think the students have met the assessment criteria. You must:
• record your comments on the Candidate Record Form (CRF)
• check that the correct marks are written on the CRF and that the total is correct.
The moderator re-marks a sample of the evidence and compares this with the marks you have
provided to check whether any changes are needed to bring the marking in line with our agreed
standards. Any changes to marks will normally keep your rank order but, where major
inconsistencies are found, we reserve the right to change the rank order.
School and college consortia

If you are in a consortium of schools or colleges with joint teaching arrangements (where students
from different schools and colleges have been taught together but entered through the school or
college at which they are on roll), you must let us know by:
• filling in the Application for Centre Consortium Arrangements for centre-assessed work,
which is available from the JCQ website jcq.org.uk
• appointing a consortium co-ordinator who can speak to us on behalf of all schools and
colleges in the consortium. If there are different co-ordinators for different specifications, a
copy of the form must be sent in for each specification.
We will allocate the same moderator to all schools and colleges in the consortium and treat the
students as a single group for moderation.
6.10 After moderation

We will return your students’ work to you after the exams. You will also receive a report when the
results are issued, which will give feedback on the appropriateness of the tasks set, interpretation
of the marking criteria and how students performed in general.
We will give you the final marks when the results are issued.
To meet Ofqual requirements, as well as for awarding, archiving or standardisation purposes, we
may need to keep some of your students’ work. We will let you know if we need to do this.
7 General administration
You can find information about all aspects of administration, as well as all the forms you need, at
aqa.org.uk/examsadmin
7.1 Entries and codes

You only need to make one entry for each qualification – this will cover all the question papers,
non-exam assessment and certification.
Every specification is given a national discount (classification) code by the Department for
Education (DfE), which indicates its subject area.
If a student takes two specifications with the same discount code, Further and Higher Education
providers are likely to take the view that they have only achieved one of the two qualifications.
Please check this before your students start their course.
Qualification title Option AQA DfE

entry discoun
code t code
AQA Advanced Subsidiary GCE in English Literature A 7711 5110
(post-16
), FC4
(KS4)
AQA Advanced Level GCE in English Literature A Option 7712A 5110
A WW1
Option 7712B 5110
B
Modern
times
These specifications comply with Ofqual’s:

• General conditions of recognition that apply to all regulated qualifications
• GCE qualification level conditions that apply to all GCEs
• GCE subject level conditions that apply to all GCEs in this subject
• all relevant regulatory documents.
Ofqual has accredited these specifications. The qualification accreditation number (QAN) for the
AS is 601/5259/X. The QAN for the A-level is 601/5327/1.
7.2 Overlaps with other qualifications

There is overlapping content in the AS and A-level English Literature A specifications. This helps
you teach the AS and A-level together.
7.3 Awarding grades and reporting results
The AS qualification will be graded on a five-point scale: A, B, C, D and E.
The A-level qualification will be graded on a six-point scale: A*, A, B, C, D and E.
Students who fail to reach the minimum standard for grade E will be recorded as U (unclassified)
and will not receive a qualification certificate.
7.4 Re-sits and shelf life

Students can re-sit the qualifications as many times as they wish, within the shelf life of the
qualifications.
7.5 Previous learning and prerequisites

There are no previous learning requirements. Any requirements for entry to a course based on
these specifications are at the discretion of schools and colleges.
However, we recommend that students should have the skills and knowledge associated with a
GCSE English Literature course or equivalent.
7.6 Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion

General qualifications are designed to prepare students for a wide range of occupations and
further study. Therefore our qualifications must assess a wide range of competences.
The subject criteria have been assessed to see if any of the skills or knowledge required present
any possible difficulty to any students, whatever their ethnic background, religion, sex, age,
disability or sexuality. If any difficulties were encountered, the criteria were reviewed again to make
sure that tests of specific competences were only included if they were important to the subject.
As members of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) we participate in the production of the
JCQ document Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments: General and Vocational
qualifications. We follow these guidelines when assessing the needs of individual students who
may require an access arrangement or reasonable adjustment. This document is published on the
JCQ website at jcq.org.uk
Students with disabilities and special needs

We can make arrangements for disabled students and students with special needs to help them
access the assessments, as long as the competences being tested are not changed. Access
arrangements must be agreed before the assessment. For example, a Braille paper would be a
reasonable adjustment for a Braille reader but not for a student who does not read Braille.
We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to remove or lessen
any disadvantage that affects a disabled student.
If you have students who need access arrangements or reasonable adjustments, you can apply
using the Access arrangements online service at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
Special consideration
We can give special consideration to students who have been disadvantaged at the time of the
assessment through no fault of their own – for example a temporary illness, injury or serious
problem such as the death of a relative. We can only do this after the assessment.
Your exams officer should apply online for special consideration at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
For more information and advice about access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special
consideration please see aqa.org.uk/access or email [email protected]
7.7 Safeguarding
Some of the content within this curriculum may generate discussions or disclosures from students
which raise safeguarding concerns. If this happens, please follow your centre’s safeguarding policy
to arrange support.
7.8 Working with AQA for the first time

If your school or college has not previously offered any AQA specification, you need to register as
an AQA centre to offer our specifications to your students. Find out how at aqa.org.uk/
becomeacentre
If your school or college is new to these specifications, please let us know by completing an
Intention to enter form. The easiest way to do this is via e-AQA at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
7.9 Private candidates

A private candidate is someone who enters for exams through an AQA-approved school or college
but is not enrolled as a student there.
If you are a private candidate you may be self-taught, home-schooled or have private tuition, either
with a tutor or through a distance learning organisation. You must be based in the UK.
If you have any queries as a private candidate, you can:
• speak to the exams officer at the school or college where you intend to take your exams
• visit our website at aqa.org.uk/examsadmin
• email: [email protected]
Get help and support
Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at
You can talk directly to the English Literature A subject team:
T: 0161 9537504
aqa.org.uk
Copyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
AQA retains the copyright on all its publications, including the specifications. However, schools and colleges registered with AQA are
permitted to copy material from this specification for their own internal use.
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales
(company number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.

Aqa 7711 7712 SP 2015

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aqa 7711 7712 SP 2015

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aqa 7711 7712 SP 2015

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Get help and support AS AND

Version 1.6 14 October 2021

4 Subject content – A-level 15

6 Non-exam assessment administration

Are you using the latest version of this specification?

Choice and flexibility

Teach AS and A-level together

We support you every step of the way

Preparing for exams

Analyse your students' results with Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA)

Keep your skills up to date with professional development

Get help and support

Paper 2: Love through the ages: prose

Choice of two options:

Non-exam assessment: Independent critical study: texts across time

Love through the ages

3.1 Love through the ages

3.1.1 Set texts

4 Subject content – A-level

Component Section Text type Genre Text requirement

4.1 Love through the ages

4.1.1 Set texts

Chosen comparative set texts: poetry and prose

Author Text Time period

4.2 Texts in shared contexts

4.2.1 Set texts

Option A: WW1 and its aftermath

Section A: Core set texts

Section B: Chosen comparative set texts

Option B: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day

Section A: Core set texts

Section B: Chosen comparative set texts

4.3 Independent critical study: texts across time

Geoffrey Chaucer 'The Wife of Bath’s Tale'

'The Miller’s Tale'

Samuel Taylor Coleridge 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'

John Keats 'Lamia'

4.3.3 NEA prohibited texts

4.3.4 Examples of choices of non-exam assessment texts and possible

5.2 Assessment objectives

Weighting of assessment objectives for AS English Literature A

Weighting of assessment objectives for A-level English Literature A

5.3 Assessment weightings

Band/Mark AO Typical features How to arrive at mark

Band 5 AO1 • perceptive, assured and sophisticated This band is characterised by

AO4 • perceptive exploration of connections

AO5 • perceptive and confident engagement with

AO5 • thorough engagement with interpretations,

Band 3 AO1 • sensibly ordered ideas in a relevant This band is characterised by

AO4 • explores connections across literary texts

AO5 • straightforward engagement with

AO5 • simple and generalised response to

0 marks No marks for response when nothing is written

6.1 Supervising and authenticating

6.3 Teacher standardisation

6.4 Internal standardisation

Internal standardisation may involve:

6.6 Submitting marks

6.7 Factors affecting individual students