It is essential that all students develop their literacy skills in order to thrive in a competitive world yet we also encourage a love of reading and promote creativity through the focus on imaginative writing for a variety of purposes. We aim to develop imaginative, inquisitive and analytical individuals through a variety of learning activities and stimuli to widen their understanding and enjoyment of texts and to learn more about themselves and the world they live in.
BA English, BA English Literature, BA English Language, BA Creative Writing, BA Journalism, BA Linguistics, BA Classics, BA Combined Studies, BA Communcation; BA English Joint Honours studying English alongside another subject including: History, American Studies, Film and Media, Languages, Politics, Education Studies, Social Studies
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AQA A Level English Language: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-language-7701-7702 AQA A Level English Literature (A): https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-a-7711-7712
Key questions/concepts
How has our language changed and why?
How do you correctly punctuate different sentence forms?
How have writers experimented with language over the years?
How can I write empathetically?
Timeframe
Key vocabulary
Wider reading
The Seven Voyages Of Sinbad
Haroun and the sea of stories (Rushdie)
Percy Jackson (Riordan)
Tales of the Greek Heroes (Lancelyn Green)
How does a writer help create sympathy or empathy for a character?
How does the description of setting help to create a specific atmosphere?
How do writers link ideas together across a text?
How do writers create morals within their stories?
A Monster Calls (Ness)
Millions (Cottrell Boyce)
Wonder (Palacio)
Caught in the Crossfire (Gibbons)
What were performances like in Shakespeare's Globe?
What are the features of a Shakespearean Comedy?
How does Shakespeare create tension in his plays?
How do you use subordinate clauses to add detail to a description?
Harry Potter (Rowling)
Shakespeare Retellings: The Tempest
Twisted Tales: Shakespeare Stories
John Green CrashCourse: Shakespeare (YouTube)
What is Gothic literature?
How is tension built in a Gothic text?
What are the key features of a Gothic text?
How does a specific word or phrase build specific meaning in a text?
A Series of Unfortunate Events (Snickett)
The Graveyard Book (Gaiman)
Master Creecher (Chris Priestley)
What are the conventions of a villainous character?
How does Shakespeare use language to make characters appear villainous?
What are the features of a Shakespearean tragedy?
How can you use language to build tension in your writing?
Six of Crows (Bardugo)
The British Library collection on Macbeth
Northern Lights (Pullman)
Homeschool History Podcast: William Shakespeare
How did war affect children and their families?
How did propoganda influence young men?
What was life like in the trenches?
How does the narrative voice of a novel impact upon the reader?
War Horse (Morpurgo)
Blitzed (Swindell)
Five children on the Western Front (Saunders)
Those Who Were There Podcast
How has the treatment of women changed since the Elizabethan Era?
How can we convey a change in social and historical perspective?
How do writers manipulate and craft decsriptive language?
What make an effective analytical comparison?
The Time Machine (Wells)
News From the Dead (Hooper)
Time Traveller's Wife (Niffeneger)
John Green Crash Course: Shakespeare's Sonnets
What does it mean to subvert traditional expectations?
How do writers explore contemporary issues?
How can you apply ideas from a novel to your own life?
What do you believe are the features of a good novel?
WLooking Glass Girl (Cassidy)
Girl in Pieces (Glasgow)
100 books everyone should read before they die: https://www.businessinsider.com/100-books-everyone-should-read-amazon-goodreads-2015-3?r=US&IR=T
I am Malala (Yousafzai)
How is meaning developed in a fiction text?
How can a text be organised to have an impact on the reader?
What impact does specific Victorian Context have on the novel?
What specific technqiues does the writer use to create meaning?
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Oliver (Charles Dickens)
Revise GCSE English Lit by Seneca Podcast
Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians (British Library)
How can a writer share their opinion effectively in writing?
What techniques effectively convey a writer's opinion?
How is a play structured to have an effect on the audience?
What effect can staging have on an audience?
J.B Priestley interviews (British Library)
The People: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class (Todd)
The Birth of the NHS (historic-uk.com)
Animal Farm George Orwell
Why are relationships so important to us?
What structural and linguistic devices do poets use?
How would you approach a poem you have never seen before?
How do we create lines of comparative debate?
Shakespeare's Sonnets
The Penguin Book of English Verse
The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed: Simon Armitage Podcast
Mr Bruff revision podcast
What is Shakespeare suggesting about love?
How does time influence the way an audience receives a production?
How does a writer structure a dramatic text to have impact?
How do I evaluate and validate my own responses?
https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/an-introduction-to-shakespearean-tragedy
https://www.enotes.com/topics/romeo-and-juliet/in-depth/connections-further-reading
Five Feet Apart (Lippincot)
The Fault in our Stars (Green)
How does a writer use language, form and structure to create meaning?
What have I learnt about the writers' key intentions?
What is the impact of crafting my vocabulary, sentences and content?
What is meant by clear, thoughtful and perceptive?
Mr Bruff Podcast
You Can't Revise for GCSE English. Yes you can! (Roberts)
First You Write a Sentence (Moran)
How has poetry evolved over the ages?
How has love been explored in literature over the ages?
How is a writer influenced by literary genre and period?
What skills do I need to compare poetry and prose?
Women in Love (DH Lawrence)
Cold Comfort Farm (Gibbons)
The Good Morrow, The Broken Heart (Donne)
Bonnets At Dawn Podcast.
What different perspectives of WW1 are demonstrated through the prose/poetry of WW1?
How did the image of the soldier evolve through poetry?
Who are the real inspirations behind the novel "Regeneration"?
What does Barker suggest about the impact of war the mental health of all?
Henry V (Shakespeare)
The First World War: A Very Short Introduction
The Old Front Line Podcast
W H R Rivers on the treatment of shell shock, from The Lancet (British Library)
How is Fitzgerald influenced by literary genre and period?
Tender is the Night(Fitzgerald)
Atonement (McEwan)
To My Brothers (Keats)
Revise A Level English Lit by Seneca podcast.
How does Haig structure the play to maintain audience interest?
How does Haig present the realities of war?
What is Barker's intention in the ending of My Boy Jack?
To what extent is the novel resolved?
Birdsong (Faulks)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
The First Casualty (Elton)
Radio 4 Bookclub with Pat Barker
How do I include critical theory?
How do I create a strong line of debate?
How can I place typicality or atypicality?
How can I use wider reading to illuminate my ideas?
The English Literature Writing Guide: University of Edinburgh
Feminism: A Very Short Introduction (Walters)
Literary Friction Podcast
https://almeida.co.uk/women-writers-vs-the-literary-canon
What perspectives and experiences of war are presented by female writers and how/do they differ to men?
What connections and comparisons can be drawn between My Boy Jack and the poems of the anthology?
How do I structure a poetry comparison?
Who was Rudyard Kipling and why is he a significant figure?
Oh! What a Lovely War
The Wipers Times (Hislop)
Kim (Kipling)
Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC)
What do the two texts mean?
What do they represent?
How is language used to represent people, situations and ideas?
How are language levels applied to a text?
Where does language come from?
How is language governed?
Is our language decaying?
Evaluate the idea that the advances in technology will destroy the role of English.
The Language Wars- Henry Hitchings
Language Change- Progress or Decay-Jean Aitchison
Texting: The Great Debate-David Crystal
Language Change-Adrian Beard
How do texts work within particular contexts?
What language features have been applied?
What does language tell you about cultural history?
How is language used to shape meaning?
Variation across Speech by Doug Biber
The Language of Speech and Writng by Carter & Cornbleet
What is meant by identity?
How does a persons accent and dialect affect their prospects?
Why do people assimilate?
Evaluate the idea that levelling has created a more equal society
Language and Region-Joan Beal
Language and Identities- Carmen Llamas and Dominic Watt
How do children develop spoken language?
What is the nature v nurture debate?
How do I prepare for my NEA?
How do I structure my NEA?
What is a style model?
Listen to your Child by David Crystal
The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker
Novels
Brochures
Is there more than one English?
Why is English the lingua franca?
Does ELF disadvantage other languages?
Evaluate the idea that English is changing and breaking up into many different Englishes
The Last Lingua Franca-Nicolas Ostler
English as Global Language-David Crystal
World Englishes: a resource book for students
Does occupational jargon exclude laymen?
What speech is more valued in society, rapport or report?
Does occupation have a affect on a person's speech?
Evaluate the perception that women are collabrative?
A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams)
Various critical works and essays in Othello Work Book
University of Oxford Approacing Shakespeare Podcast
You Can't Revise for A Level English? Yes You Can! (Roberts)
A statement of theory that is put forward to be proven or explained
A list of works referred to in an academic text.
A consideration of how literature is influenced by social, historical or philosophical elements
The ability to discuss complex ideas with well thought through evidence and analysis
The Academic Essay: How to plan, draft, write and revise.
Higher English: Critical Essay writing podcast
Critical Theory: The Key Concepts
CrashCourse: Various theories and concepts (YouTube)
Is there such a thing as innovative literature?
What are the key periods of change?
How does intertextuality affect our interpretation of a poem?
How can I be a critical reader?
Book of Matches (Armitage)
Selected Poems (Plath)
The World's Wife (Duffy)
What are the typical elements of WW1 Literature?
What influences might cause someone to contrast the typicality of WW1 Literature?
How do modern war texts compare and contrast with texts written in WW1?
Which poems across the anthology link well?
British Army War diaries 1914-1922 (The National Archives)
WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow (BBC)
The Great War Interviews (BBC)
The First World War Poetry Digital Archive (Oxford University)
What is an investigation?
How do I choose my NEA?
How do I formulate a question?
How do I find out information to back up my hypothesis?
The Myth of Mars and Venus- Deborah Cameron
Language and Gender-Angela Goddard
How do children learn to read and write?
Is there a definitive theory about language acquisition?
Have I structured my writing clearly?
Have I edited my NEA thoroughly?
How Children Learn Language by William O'Grady
A new kind of language article by Paul Ibbotson
Evaluate the idea that Polari is devisive
Evaluate the idea that new language can be born out of prejudice
Why might Multicultural London English arouse strong feelings?
How do we write?
Sociolinguistics: a resource for students-Peter Stockwell
Language and Power-Paul Simpson and Andrea Mayr
How do I apply the knowledge gained during my studies?
How do I use terminology in my analysis?
How much reference to data do I need?
What should I focus my revision on?
Is occupational language a good thing or a bad thing?
Evaluate the idea that spoken interactions between men and women are characterised by miscommunication.Why might Multicultural London English arouse strong feelings?
What is the future of English?
How do I revise theorists?
Hypercreolisation
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