Autumn 2014
2015 SPECIFICATIONS
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE
THE WJEC EDUQAS GCSE IN ENGLISH
LITERATURE
In developing this specification, WJEC has been mindful to
include the follow features:
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tasks which enable candidates to demonstrate what they
know, understand and can do
flexibility in the choice of texts to be studied (taking into
account stakeholder feedback)
a WJEC Eduqas produced poetry anthology
opportunities for breadth of study
high-quality free support materials
straightforward wording of questions
analysis of unseen poetry
opportunities for close analysis of texts
opportunities for extended essay responses
KEY CHANGES
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
GCSE English literature will:
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be assessed by examination only
be untiered
be linear, with assessment in the summer series
require the study of whole texts
allocate 5% of the total marks to accurate spelling,
punctuation and grammar
• allocate 20-25% of the total marks for tasks which
require learners to perform comparison across texts
• be graded 9 to 1
KEY CHANGES
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition, learners are required to study:
• a play by Shakespeare
• a 19th century novel
• a selection of poetry from 1789, including
representative Romantic poetry
• fiction or drama from the British Isles from
1914 onwards
• unseen texts
TRANSITION TO THE NEW
SPECIFICATIONS
• For those following a two-year course,
first teaching September 2015.
• First qualification award Summer 2017.
• Last award of current specification
Summer 2016.
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
Component 1: :Shakespeare and Poetry
Written examination: 2 hours
40% of qualification
Section A (20%) Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet; OR Macbeth; OR Othello; OR Much Ado About Nothing; OR
Henry V; OR Merchant of Venice
One extract question and one essay question based on the reading of a
Shakespeare text from the above prescribed list.
Section B (20%) Poetry from 1789 to the present day
Two questions based on poems from the WJEC Poetry Anthology, one of which
involves comparison.
Draft GCSE English
Literature
WJEC EDUQAS ENGLISH LITERATURE
POETRY ANTHOLOGY
The Manhunt Simon Armitage
Sonnet 43 Elizabeth Barrett Browning
London William Blake
The Soldier Rupert Brooke
She Walks in Beauty Lord Byron
Living Space Imtiaz Dharker
As Imperceptibly as Grief Emily
Dickinson
Cozy Apologia Rita Dove
Valentine Carol Ann Duffy
A Wife in London Thomas Hardy
Death of a Naturalist Seamus Heaney
Hawk Roosting Ted Hughes
To Autumn John Keats
Afternoons Philip Larkin
Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen
Ozymandias Percy Bysshe Shelley
Mametz Wood Owen Sheers
Excerpt from The Prelude William
Wordsworth
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
Component 2: Post-1914 Prose/ Drama, 19th Century Prose and Unseen
Poetry
Written examination: 2 hours and 30 minutes
60% of qualification
Section A (20%) Post 1914 Prose/Drama
Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro); OR Anita and Me (Syal); OR Lord of the Flies (Golding); OR The
Woman In Black (Hill); OR Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit (Winterson); OR An Inspector
Calls (Priestley); OR The History Boys (Bennett); OR Blood Brothers (Russell); OR The
Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time (play) (Haddon, ad. Stephens); OR A Taste Of
Honey (Delaney)
One source based question on a post-1914 text from the above prescribed list.
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
Component 2: Post-1914 Prose/ Drama, 19th Century Prose and Unseen
Poetry
Written examination: 2 hours and 30 minutes
60% of qualification
Section B (20%) 19th Century Prose
Silas Marner (Eliot); OR A Christmas Carol (Dickens);OR Pride and Prejudice
(Austen); OR War of the Worlds (Wells); OR Jane Eyre (Bronte); OR The Strange
Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde (Stevenson)
One source based question on a 19th century prose text from the above prescribed
list.
Section C (20%) Unseen Poetry
Two questions on unseen poems, one of which involves comparison.
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
AO1
Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to:
- maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response
-use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations (assessed in all
questions)
AO2
Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant
subject terminology where appropriate (assessed in all questions)
AO3
Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written
(assessed in responses to the poetry anthology question and 19th century prose question)
AO4
Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling
and punctuation (assessed in Shakespeare essay response and the post 1914 prose/drama response)
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
Interpreting AO3
• The range of contexts that is most relevant as part of AO3 will depend on the
text, the author and the task.
• In this new specification, AO3 can be taught and interpreted in a flexible way.
In some cases, it may be most relevant to focus on the place and time in which
the author was writing and how these might have affected different aspects of
the author’s work.
• However, it may also be appropriate for candidates to explore context through
consideration of the context within which the text is set. This includes, but is
not limited to, location, social structures and features, cultural contexts, and
periods in time. Also pertinent are the literary contexts around texts, such as
genres.
COMPONENT 1: SECTION A
One extract and one essay question on text by Shakespeare
Texts:
• Choice of tragedy / history / comedy
Extract:
e.g.
Read the extract on the opposite page. Look at how Juliet and her father speak and behave here. What
does it reveal to an audience about their relationship at this point in the play? Refer closely to details from
the extract to support your answer.
[15]
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Assesses AO1 and AO2
Close reading required, to show understanding and allow analysis of language and structure
COMPONENT 1: SECTION A
One extract and one essay question on text by Shakespeare
Essay:
e.g.
‘Even though Mercutio dies at the beginning of Act 3, he is very important to the play as a whole.’ Show
how Mercutio could be described as important to the play as a whole.
[25]
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Assesses AO1 , AO2, and AO4
Learners select, analyse and evaluate appropriate evidence from the text as a whole
COMPONENT 1: SECTION B
Two questions on poetry from 1789 to the present day, one of which requires comparison
Anthology:
• Range of poetry from UK and abroad, from 1789 to 21st century
• Learners must study all poems in anthology
• One poem printed on the examination paper as close analysis of language required
• Structured approach allows learner to show what s/he can do, across the ability range
• Assesses AO1, AO2, and AO3
• Separation from comparison promotes accessibility
COMPONENT 1: SECTION B
Two questions on poetry from 1789 to the present day, one of which requires comparison
Answer both part (a) and part (b)
You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on part (a) and about 40 minutes on part (b).
(a) Read the poem below, To Autumn, by John Keats. In this poem Keats explores ideas about nature. Write
about the ways in which Keats presents nature in this poem.
[15]
(b) Choose one other poem from the anthology in which the poet also writes about nature. Compare the
presentation of nature in your chosen poem to the presentation of nature in To Autumn.
[25]
In your answer to part (b) you should compare:
• the content and structure of the poems - what they are about and how they are organised;
• how the writers create effects, using appropriate terminology where relevant;
• the contexts of the poems, and how these may have influenced the ideas in them;
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Assesses A01, A02 and A03
Allows learners to make connections across texts in the context the first two assessment objectives
Comparison required in part (b) in order to ‘sustain focus on the task’ (A01)
COMPONENT 2: SECTION A
One source-based response on post-1914 prose or drama text
Texts:
• Choice of established and more recent novels and dramas
e.g.
You should use the extract below and your knowledge of the whole novel to answer this question.
Write about the character of Jack and how he is presented throughout the novel.
In your response you should:
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refer to the extract and the novel as a whole;
show your understanding of characters and events in the novel.
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Extract reproduced in the examination paper acts as stimulus for answer on text as a whole
Assesses AO1, AO2 and AO4
[40]
COMPONENT 2: SECTION B
One source- based question on 19th century prose text
Texts:
• Choice of established novels to suit interests of a range of learners
Source-based question:
e.g.
You should use the extract below and your knowledge of the whole novel to answer this question.
Write about Scrooge and the way he changes throughout the novel. In your response you should:
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refer to the extract and the novel as a whole;
show your understanding of characters and events in the novel;
refer to the contexts of the novel.
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Extract reproduced in the examination paper acts as stimulus for answer on text as a whole
Assesses AO1 , AO2, and AO3
[40]
COMPONENT 2: SECTION C
Two questions on previously unseen poetry from the 20th and / or 21st centuries, one of which requires
comparison
• WJEC has long experience of setting suitably challenging and yet accessible unseen poetry at GCSE
• Provides a useful assessment of skills required for future study
• Structured approach allows learner to show what s/he can do, across the ability range
Answer both part (a) and part (b)
You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on part (a) and about 40 minutes on part (b).
Read the two poems, A Gull by Edwin Morgan and Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn. In both of these poems
the poets write about the effect animals have on people.
(a) Write about the poem A Gull by Edwin Morgan, and its effect on you.
You may wish to consider:
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what the poem is about and how it is organised;
the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about;
The poet’s choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create;
how your respond to the poem.
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Assesses A01 and A02
Separation from comparison promotes accessibility
[15]
COMPONENT 2: SECTION C
Read the two poems, A Gull by Edwin Morgan and Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn. In both of these poems
the poets write about the effect animals have on people.
Comparison of first poem with second poem:
Now compare Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn and A Gull by Edwin Morgan. [25]
You should compare:
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what the poems are about and how they are organised;
the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about;
the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create;
how you respond to the poems;
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Assesses AO1 and AO2
Allows learners to make connections across texts in the context the first two assessment objectives
Comparison required in part (b) in order to ‘sustain focus on the task’ (A01)
WHY TAKE BOTH GCSE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE AND GCSE ENGLISH
LITERATURE?
•specifications are co-teachable
•offers students a broader and more varied English
curriculum
•transferable skills e.g. analysis of a writer’s choice of
language
•prepares students for further study
•if a student sits both qualifications, the higher grade is
double weighted in the Progress 8 performance
measure
Any Questions?
Contact our specialist Subject Officers and administrative support team
for any queries.
• Julia Harrison / Nancy Hutt
Subject Officers, GCSE English
029 2026 5374 / 5023
• Matt Oatley / Charlotte Dix
Subject Support Officers, GCSE English
029 2026 5054 / 5051
Email: [email protected]
eduqas.co.uk