A Level English Language & Literature tips
Getting good grades in A Level English Language and Literature is easier said than done, even prior to the many changes to assessment structures and teaching environments. The sheer amount of content covered in the course, as well as the variety of analytical and practical skills that the course demands, makes A Level Lang/Lit challenging for any student. Relying on past papers for revision simply isn’t enough for a subject like English; there is simply too much to cover and consolidate, since the course spans such a variety of text types and writing styles.
To do well in any aspect of A Level Lang/Lit, you need to know the command words. For example, what is the difference between an ‘assess’ and ‘analyse’ question?
While sufficient revision and good tutoring will also help you understand these command words, knowing what examiners look for is extremely important. This is especially true of Language sections, and the creative or argumentative writing elements of the course. With these skills, examiners want to see originality framed in an interesting and critical way. What this looks like in practice can differ depending on the exam board, and knowing how to tackle any question comes from knowing how you are marked.
In A Level Lang/Lit, there are adaptable skills when it comes to analysing different text types. It is much more efficient and productive to train these foundational analytical skills; this way, you can be prepared for any text to show up in the exam.
Depending on whether you follow the Cambridge (CIE), AQA, or Pearson Edexcel syllabus, your exam structure will look quite different. However, there are many things that run common across A Level Lang/Lit courses in general: students are expected to be able to analyse a large variety of non-literary texts for the Language portion of the course, and excel at literary analysis of prose, poetry, and drama for the Literature portion. A Level English relies on a set of analytical and evaluative skills that ultimately asks students to relate context, genre, and purpose to meaning and effect.
Continually familiarising yourself with a variety of texts helps you situate the various genres in a broader scope and context.
The sheer number of text types examined in the A Level Lang/Lit course can be overwhelming. However, all these literary and non-literary genres are very much prevalent in daily life; this means that engaging with a wide variety of texts can be integrated into life outside of the classroom. On top of reading a wider range of literary texts, applying an analytical lens to the news stories, letters, podcasts, and speeches that we encounter every day makes the materials in the course more accessible.
We hope that these tips will help you in the course, and make the assessments less daunting. It may seem obvious, but often seeking individualised guidance, whether from a teacher or tutor, makes all the difference. With an experienced tutor who can adapt how you train crucial skills based on your specific learning style and areas for improvement, navigating the many hurdles of A Level Lang/Lit is much easier. Find out more about BartyED’s A Level English tutoring programmes on our website here, or contact us directly today!