English Language and English Literature
What do I need to know and be able to do before taking this course? The new skills that you will learn and those that you will re-visit are skills for life: the ability to communicate effectively on paper, electronically and through speech, and to read and interpret a wide range of written material, both fiction and non-fiction, in order to develop your own thoughts and opinions. What will I learn? You will build on the skills of speaking and listening, reading and writing practised in the Lower School. You will learn to become increasingly confident in selecting and using a written style appropriate to the writing you undertake: from business letter to poetry, from persuasive writing to autobiography, from literary criticism to short story writing. You will also be taught to use a range of writing styles and how to improve your literacy skills. You will become progressively more adept at reading and analysing a wide range of written material from the past and the present. You will be expected to learn how to make individual, paired and group oral contributions appropriate to your ability.
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CIE 0486 & 0500 Mr N Bowen
How is the written part of the course structured and assessed? At the end of the two-year course the majority of pupils will be entered for both English Language and Literature, thus gaining two IGCSEs with the speaking and listening component recorded separately on a scale of one (excellent) to five (poor). For pupils identified as benefiting from a less literature intensive course Media Studies will be the alternative option to English Literature. In Year 10 we aim to complete the coursework requirements and practise responding to short fiction and non-fiction pieces, both orally and through writing analytically. In Year 11 we will study literature examination texts and practise responding to examination style questions. All written work, whether examination preparation or coursework, will be assessed using the board’s criteria. The examinations’ structures are as follows: In English Literature you will take two papers: Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes) will feature questions on prose and poetry; Paper 2 (45 minutes) will have questions on a drama text. Paper 1 is closed, Paper 2 is open text. In English Language you will take one 2 hour paper. You will answer questions on two thematically linked passages, testing your reading and writing skills.
