How the course are organized

What  your English  GCSEs  will involve

 

You will be studying for two GCSEs in your English lessons:

GCSE English  and  GCSE English Literature.  The exam board is called AQA  and the specification is AQA A.

 

You will be assessed for these examinations in three main ways:

1.      Coursework

2.      Speaking and Listening tasks

3.      Written examinations

 

 

Coursework

Over the eighteen months you will complete five pieces of coursework. Coursework is very important because it counts for 20% of your final grade in English and 30% for English Literature.

 

The deadline for completing coursework is usually set for late February/early March in Year 11.  These
pieces of work will be longer than the kind of work you produced in
Year 9, but you will receive lots of help from your teacher and will
plan and draft work before you submit finished pieces.  Your coursework will be marked by your teacher and then looked at by other teachers to check the marking. 

 

The table below lists the coursework you will be doing and whether it counts for English and/or English Literature

 

Shakespeare	English and English Literature (This assignment is  assessed  orally)
Prose Study (pre-1914)	English and English Literature
Media	English
Original Writing	English
Post-1914 Drama	English Literature

 

 

 

Speaking and Listening

In English, another 20% of your marks come from oral work.  You will be assessed on three different pieces of speaking and listening work.

·        Individual Extended Contribution.  This will involve you speaking on your own, such as in a presentation to the group.

·        Group Interaction.  An example of this could be working in pairs or in group discussion.

·        Drama-focused activity.  This
one needs a bit of imagination and might involve you in answering
questions in role as a character from a text you have been studying.

Written Examinations

 

English GCSE

There are two exam papers.

Paper 1 (1 hour 45 minutes)

You
will have to answer some questions on non-fiction/media texts that you
won't have seen before. Then you will write an essay on a subject to
argue, persuade or advise.

 

Paper 2 (1 hour 30 minutes)

You
will answer a question about the 'Poems from Different Cultures' you
have studied in your Anthology. Then you will write an essay on a
subject to inform, explain and describe.

 

 

English Literature GCSE

One Paper only (1 hour 45 minutes)

You
will do one question on a post 1914 novel like 'Of Mice and Men' by
John Steinbeck which you will study in the two years. You will answer a
question about pre and post 1914
poetry from a selection you will have studied in your Anthology.

 

 

 

Practice and preparation

Although there is a lot of work, you are able to gain two GCSEs. 
We aim to have all the coursework done by the end of year 10, at least
as a first draft:  This allows more time to be spent preparing for the
exam in Year 11. We will arrange school exams in year 10 and 'mock' exams
in Year 11 and lots of exam practice running up to the actual GCSEs. The school produces revision guides which are a great help.