Although the final deadline for milestone grades is a couple of weeks away, we will be having ours this week. Firstly, on Wednesday, you'll have a milestone assessment for The Great Gatsby.
Then on Thursday, you'll have a milestone assessment on Owen's Insesibility or Dulce Et Docurum Est.
Please ensure you revisit any context or lesson notes.
Mr. D & Ms H
Monday 28 September 2009
Thursday 10 September 2009
Some information on beginning your course of study...
Bridging the gap from GCSE...
Don't be surprised or dismayed by the feeling you will almost certainly have in the few weeks of your sixth-form course that the gap between GCSE and AS seems rather wide. A wider range of more demanding texts will make you feel that the subject has changed - some of the set books, genres and periods will be completely new to you, and some you may never even have heard of!
You may be ready for authors or genres you did not appreciate before, and you will continue to develop as a reader throughout the course. You may, for instance, enjoy poetry more at the end of the course than the beginning.
It may seem strange that you will be studying only six texts per year, but this does not mean that you can be leisurely in your work habits; enlightenment, expertise and reaching examination standard come from thorough study and extensive rereading.
You may be disappointed to learn that there isn't much scope for creative writing. You may use it to access a text or one of its ideas, but you won't be assessed on it. You must also be warned that there will not be any 'spoon feeding' - you will have to rely on your own responses and research skills. There is no place at AS for tkaing down dictation from the teacher, or copying notes from the whiteboard or textbook. You can, however, still expect some help with organising your thoughts and structuring essays and exam style responses.
Wider reading is less of an option and more of a necessity; its something you can do from the outset to become a more independent and better informed student. If you got way with bad habits at GCSE, such as not planning essays or not taking notes in class, or disregarding advice given on returned written work - you will now have to be prepared to acquire better practices.
AS Literature Outline
Studying for these qualifications will enable you to develop:
• your interests in and enjoyment of reading and discussing literary texts;
• your knowledge and understanding of a wide range of English literature texts;
• your skills of literary analysis.
This qualification gives you the opportunity to study literature across the genres of prose, poetry and drama, and to read around concepts of literature and literary analysis. To get the AS qualification, you’ll need to cover six texts and then another six texts to get the A level qualification, and it is possible to choose texts that link together or contrast with each other.
Before you start this qualification it is usual to have a GCSE in English or English Literature (at least at Grade B at JRCS). The emphasis is on progression from GCSE to the AS qualification and progression from the full A level towards study in Higher Education. English Literature combines well with many other subjects. History, Classics and Modern Foreign Languages are particularly suitable, but it can also be a valuable contrast to scientific, technological and economics-based subjects.
If you are considering going on to Higher Education, the English Literature qualification provides a wide range of opportunities for degree courses in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The English Literature qualification is also welcomed for many different careers because it emphasises creativity, disciplined thought and communication, plus an ability to synthesise and contextualise ideas.
Requirements of the qualifications:
To get a certificate for Advanced Subsidiary GCE, you will need to have studied for and been assessed on the two mandatory AS units (F661 and F662).
To get a certificate for Advanced GCE A level, you will need to have studied for and been assessed on the two mandatory A2 units (F663 and F664), in addition to the two AS units.
Assessment Units:
AS Unit F661: Poetry and Prose 1800-1945 (closed text examination)
This is a two-hour examination, divided into Section A (poetry) and Section B (prose). You have to answer two essay-style questions, one from Section A and one from Section B, based on the set texts you have studied.
Section A - you answer one question on one poem, written by a poet you have studied, and you are expected to make appropriate reference to other poems by the same poet. This is a closed text examination, so you do not take any books or copies of the poem into the examination room with you. The poems on which the questions are set will be printed in the examination paper.
Section B - there is a choice of two questions on each set text and you answer one question.
You will need to:
• respond to the proposition in the question and discuss how themes and issues
are presented;
• demonstrate an understanding of literary-critical concepts and approaches, which you will have studied from the complementary literary-critical text.
AS Unit F662: Literature post-1900 (coursework)
In this unit you complete two pieces of writing based on three texts chosen the Mr. D, KS5 Coordinator
First piece of writing: this is a close, critical analysis of a section of one chosen text or poem. This should be approximately 1000 words.
Second piece of writing: this must be an essay considering two texts, exploring contrasts and comparisons between them, informed by interpretations of other readers. This should be approximately 2000 words.
The work submitted cannot be any longer than 3,000 words in total. It is assessed by Miss Havis & Mr. Donovan and moderated by OCR.
Don't be surprised or dismayed by the feeling you will almost certainly have in the few weeks of your sixth-form course that the gap between GCSE and AS seems rather wide. A wider range of more demanding texts will make you feel that the subject has changed - some of the set books, genres and periods will be completely new to you, and some you may never even have heard of!
You may be ready for authors or genres you did not appreciate before, and you will continue to develop as a reader throughout the course. You may, for instance, enjoy poetry more at the end of the course than the beginning.
It may seem strange that you will be studying only six texts per year, but this does not mean that you can be leisurely in your work habits; enlightenment, expertise and reaching examination standard come from thorough study and extensive rereading.
You may be disappointed to learn that there isn't much scope for creative writing. You may use it to access a text or one of its ideas, but you won't be assessed on it. You must also be warned that there will not be any 'spoon feeding' - you will have to rely on your own responses and research skills. There is no place at AS for tkaing down dictation from the teacher, or copying notes from the whiteboard or textbook. You can, however, still expect some help with organising your thoughts and structuring essays and exam style responses.
Wider reading is less of an option and more of a necessity; its something you can do from the outset to become a more independent and better informed student. If you got way with bad habits at GCSE, such as not planning essays or not taking notes in class, or disregarding advice given on returned written work - you will now have to be prepared to acquire better practices.
AS Literature Outline
Studying for these qualifications will enable you to develop:
• your interests in and enjoyment of reading and discussing literary texts;
• your knowledge and understanding of a wide range of English literature texts;
• your skills of literary analysis.
This qualification gives you the opportunity to study literature across the genres of prose, poetry and drama, and to read around concepts of literature and literary analysis. To get the AS qualification, you’ll need to cover six texts and then another six texts to get the A level qualification, and it is possible to choose texts that link together or contrast with each other.
Before you start this qualification it is usual to have a GCSE in English or English Literature (at least at Grade B at JRCS). The emphasis is on progression from GCSE to the AS qualification and progression from the full A level towards study in Higher Education. English Literature combines well with many other subjects. History, Classics and Modern Foreign Languages are particularly suitable, but it can also be a valuable contrast to scientific, technological and economics-based subjects.
If you are considering going on to Higher Education, the English Literature qualification provides a wide range of opportunities for degree courses in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The English Literature qualification is also welcomed for many different careers because it emphasises creativity, disciplined thought and communication, plus an ability to synthesise and contextualise ideas.
Requirements of the qualifications:
To get a certificate for Advanced Subsidiary GCE, you will need to have studied for and been assessed on the two mandatory AS units (F661 and F662).
To get a certificate for Advanced GCE A level, you will need to have studied for and been assessed on the two mandatory A2 units (F663 and F664), in addition to the two AS units.
Assessment Units:
AS Unit F661: Poetry and Prose 1800-1945 (closed text examination)
This is a two-hour examination, divided into Section A (poetry) and Section B (prose). You have to answer two essay-style questions, one from Section A and one from Section B, based on the set texts you have studied.
Section A - you answer one question on one poem, written by a poet you have studied, and you are expected to make appropriate reference to other poems by the same poet. This is a closed text examination, so you do not take any books or copies of the poem into the examination room with you. The poems on which the questions are set will be printed in the examination paper.
Section B - there is a choice of two questions on each set text and you answer one question.
You will need to:
• respond to the proposition in the question and discuss how themes and issues
are presented;
• demonstrate an understanding of literary-critical concepts and approaches, which you will have studied from the complementary literary-critical text.
AS Unit F662: Literature post-1900 (coursework)
In this unit you complete two pieces of writing based on three texts chosen the Mr. D, KS5 Coordinator
First piece of writing: this is a close, critical analysis of a section of one chosen text or poem. This should be approximately 1000 words.
Second piece of writing: this must be an essay considering two texts, exploring contrasts and comparisons between them, informed by interpretations of other readers. This should be approximately 2000 words.
The work submitted cannot be any longer than 3,000 words in total. It is assessed by Miss Havis & Mr. Donovan and moderated by OCR.
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