KS4 COURSE OVERVIEW

Both GCSE English and GCSE English Literature are offered

GCSE English Course Overview

Exams:

Paper 1 – Reading non-literary texts

Writing to persuade / argue / advise 15%

Paper 2 – Reading Poems from other Cultures

Writing to inform / explain / describe 15%

GCSE Coursework

Five pieces altogether – approximately 500 words each:

Shakespeare
Prose Study
Media
Original Writing
Post 1914 Drama

Plus three assessed speaking and listening assessments.

This represents 40% of English Language grade

and 30% of English Literature grade

GCSE English Literature Course Overview

Exam:

One question on post 1914 prose

One question on pre and post 1914 poetry 70%

30% of the final grade is assessed through coursework

Last year’s GCSE results:

English = 83% achieved A* - C

English Literature = 83% achieved A* - C

Further Details of both courses

GCSE English

Examination Board: AQA

Specification: A

Aims

The GCSE English course is focused on the development of pupils in three areas:

Speaking and Listening

This includes their ability to clearly express themselves, to adapt speech for different audiences and purposes, to listen closely to others, to respond to what they hear and to speak in role.

Reading

This includes their ability to read a wide range of texts from different times and cultures, to understand and enjoy them, to be able to analyse their intended effect on readers and to evaluate their effectiveness.

Writing

This includes their ability to spell, punctuate, paragraph and present work appropriately and to use language to appeal to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes.

Coursework: 40% of GCSE Mark

Speaking and Listening

Pupils are given opportunities to work in pairs, groups and as individuals. One piece of spoken work allows pupils to work in role. Pupils must demonstrate their ability to speak and listed for a range of purposes including discussing, arguing and persuading.

Reading

Task One: Pre 1914 Drama*

Pupils study a Shakespeare play.

Task Two: Pre 1914 Prose*

Pupils may study a novel or several short stories

Authors chosen include Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy.

* = This coursework can also be used for GCSE English

Writing

Task One: Media

Pupils must demonstrate their ability to analyse, review and comment on a media text. Some of the texts they may be asked to study are film trailers, advertisements, news programmes, newspapers or film openings.

Task Two: Original Writing

Pupils must demonstrate their ability to explore, imagine and entertain. Possible responses include travel writing, autobiography or story openings for specific genres such as science fiction or fantasy.

Examination: 60% of GCSE Marks

Paper One: One Hour 45 Minutes

Section A

Pupils respond to non-fiction and media texts not seen prior to the examination.

Section B

Pupils choose to produce writing to argue, persuade or instruct.

Paper Two: One Hour 30 Minutes

Section A

Pupils respond to Poems from Different Cultures studied prior to the examination.

Section B

Pupils choose to produce writing to inform, explain or describe.

GCSE English Literature

Examination Board: AQA

Specification: A

Aims

The GCSE English Literature course gives pupils the opportunity to discover where their literary interests lie and to explore these interests. Pupils will:

develop as readers, gaining understanding of a variety of literary texts

appreciate the ways that writers manipulate language, structure and form

gain the skills necessary to respond to literary texts

become aware of the social, cultural and historical influences upon the production and reception of texts

respond to the techniques used by writers in an appropriate form.

Coursework: 30% of GCSE Mark

Task One: Pre 1914 Drama*

Pupils study a Shakespeare play responding to it both as a drama and a published text.

Task Two: Pre 1914 Prose*

Pupils may study a novel or several short stories

Authors chosen include Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy.

Task Three: Post-1914 Drama

Pupils study a play published after 1914, responding to it both as a drama and a published text.

Authors chosen include Arthur Miller, Alan Bennett and Willy Russell.

* = This coursework can also be used for GCSE English

Examination: 70% of GCSE Mark

One Paper: One Hour 45 Minutes

Section A

One question based on post-1914 prose texts studied prior to examination. Texts may be short stories featured in an Anthology provided by the examination board (including Superman by Sylvia Plath and The End of Something by Ernest Hemingway) or novels from a prescribed list (including Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck).

Section B

One question based on pre and post-1914 poetry studied prior to the examination. Pupils study two contemporary poets (Gillian Clarke and Seamus Heaney or Simon Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy) and a variety of pre-1914 writers (including Robert Browning, William Blake, Shakespeare and William Wordsworth).