GCSE English Language & English Literature/ GCSE English
Course overview – Year 11
Most pupils will be studying the GCSE English Language and English Literature course in Year 10 and Year 11.
Students in Set 5 will be studying the GCSE English course.
GCSE English Language
GCSE English Language is assessed by inter nal controlled assessment and 1 exter nal examination. Pupils will be
required to demonstrate reading and writing skills in both of these types of assessment.
The controlled assessment tasks involve studying written language in the form of reading an extended literary
text, analysing spoken language, and two creative writing pieces – most of these will have been completed in Year
10. They also involve a range of speaking and listening activities. T he examination tests pupils’ reading skills when
studying written language in non-fiction texts and their writing skills in using language to produce their ow n nonfiction texts.
During the course students develop a wide range of skills: writing for different audiences and pur poses with
emphasis placed on spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting; reading of literary and non-fiction texts.
In Year 11, pupils will be focusing on:
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The Spoken Language Study, exploring the way people communicate digitally with one another and public
attitudes towards the way language is adapted for texting, instant messaging etc, and pr oducing their
controlled assessment before October half term (worth 10% of the final GCSE)
Examination practice including reading and writing skills, to be tested by a mock examination after
October half term, before the final GCSE examination in the summer (worth 60% of the GCSE).
GCSE English Literature
GCSE English Literature is assessed by internal controlled assessment and 2 external examinations. Pupils will be
required to demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of literature and the ability to write critical essays in
both of these types of assessment.
The controlled assessment task involves studying a Shakespeare play and another text/s from the Literary
Heritage and was completed in Year 10. The first examination tests pupils’ understanding and analysis of two
modern texts – ‘Of Mice & Men’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’, whilst the second tests their abil ity to analytically
compare poems from a pre-studied collection – the ‘Character and Voice’ cluster from the AQA ‘Moon on the Tides’
Anthology – as well as their ability to interpret and analyse an unseen poem. Marks are given for accurate written
expression.
During the course students develop the ability to explore literary texts in depth, honing their an alytical and
comparative skills, as well as their essay writing skills.
In Year 11, pupils will be focusing on:
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
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‘Of Mice and Men’, analysing characters, themes and writer’s techniques and exploring the context of the
novella.
‘An Inspector Calls’, analysing characters, themes and writer’s techniques within the play.
Poetr y revision, working with the above named anthology which has already been studied in Year 10, as
well as practising analysing unseen poems.
Please note the first examination, featuring ‘Of Mice and men’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’ is worth 40% of the
final GCSE grade; the poetry examination is worth 35%.
GCSE English
GCSE English combines elements of both language and literature and is assessed by internal controlled
assessment and 1 external examination. Pupils will be required to demonstrate reading and writing skills in both of
these types of assessment.
The controlled assessment tasks involve studying written language in the form of reading a range of extended
literary texts, and tw o creative writing pieces. Most of these will have been completed in Year 10, although
students will be given opportunities to attempt different tasks to improve their controlled assessment scores. T hey
also involve a range of speaking and listening activities. The examination tests pupils’ reading skills w hen studying
written language in non-fiction texts and their writing skills in using lan guage to produce their ow n non-fiction
texts.
During the course students develop a wide range of skills: writing for different audiences and purposes with
emphasis placed on spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting; reading of literary and non -fiction texts.
In Year 10, pupils will be focusing on:
 Examination practice including reading and writing skills, to be tested by a practice examination in the
summer term.
 Improving controlled assessment marks by attempting new creative writing tasks and new reading tasks
on ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Macbeth’.
Controlled Assessment
Pupils will complete all their ‘coursework’ in the form of internal controlled assessments w hich will make up a f inal
portfolio of work that is 40% of their final GCSE English Language or English grade. Speaking and Listening tasks
will be assessed separately and students will receive a separate mark (from 1-5) indicating their level for this
component of the course, alongside their GCSE grade. For English Literature the controlled assessment task is
worth 25% of the final grade. T he tasks will be super vised at all times and will be produced and completed in the
classroom. The controlled written assessment makes up 40% of their final grade. It is therefore extremely
important that these are completed to the highest standards.
Useful Links
www.aqa.org.uk
Information on the GCSE English course – provides access to the course specification, past paper questions and
mark schemes.
www.mrbruff.com
Helpful revision aids for a range of aspects of all the courses including revision materials for the English/ English
Language exam and set texts for English/ English Literature
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/
Helpful revision aids for all the courses including revision materials for the set texts for controlled assessments
and examinations, including the English Literature poetry anthology
There are a range of revision guides available for the set texts (York Notes and CGP guides are tried and tested)
and these may be worth investing in. In addition, encouraging students to read a wide range of material – in
particular non-fiction texts such as newspaper articles, brochures and biographical works – will be invaluable to
their progress.