English Language Preparation
Welcome to the English Department.
While there is a significant jump from GCSE to A Level, in completing the enclosed activities, you will work towards narrowing the gap in preparation for your A Level studies from September.
There is one compulsory activity and then you should choose a minimum of two others to complete before you join us in September. These activities will be looked at by your teachers and will form the basis of the first few lessons of your A Level course.
We hope you find them interesting!
The aim of these tasks is to introduce you to the topics and texts you will study during the course. The course itself consists of an exploration of a range of non-fiction texts with use of analytical methods from linguistic disciplines. You will also have the opportunity for creative writing as part of the course, when completing your NEA (coursework) unit. Your studies in Year 12 will focus on exploring textual variations and representations, and children's language development.
Across the A-level course, you will be assessed in three components:
Paper 1- 40% of A Level. There are two sections to this paper.
Section A requires you to analyse and compare texts of a similar theme or content by exploring the representations within the texts.
Section B focuses on the topic of Children's Language Development. In the exam you will be required to write a discursive essay on children’s language development, with a choice of two questions choosing between spoken, written or multimodal language.
Paper 2 – 40% of A Level. There are two sections to this paper.
Section A, called Diversity and Change requires you to complete one question from a choice of two: an evaluative essay on Language Diversity, or an evaluative essay on Language Change.
Section B involves Language Discourses where you have two texts about a topic linked to the study of Diversity and Change. And you complete a question requiring analysis of how the texts use language to present ideas, attitudes and opinions and then have a directed writing task linked to the same topic and the ideas in the texts.
NEA (coursework component)- 20% of A-level. Students produce: a language investigation (2,000 words excluding data) and a piece of original writing and commentary (1,500 words total).
We look forward to seeing you in September.
Ms Martin
Head of English