AQA A level English Literature A Past Papers

We have worked closely with teachers and universities to develop relevant, engaging and up-to-date specifications that approach the study of literature through the lens of historicism.

The specifications encourage independent study of a range of texts within a shared context. Studied together they create an understanding of English Literature that will deepen your students’ knowledge and love of the subject.

Our English AS and A-levels provide strong stand-alone qualifications that are designed to be co-teachable. This gives you and your students valuable choice.

Why choose AQA for AS and A-level English Literature A

Specifications designed for you and your students

We have worked closely with teachers and universities to develop relevant, engaging and up-to-date specifications that approach the study of literature through the lens of historicism, encouraging the independent study of a range of texts within a shared context, giving logic and meaning to the way that texts are grouped for study.

This unifying approach facilitates the inclusion of a range of wider reading, thus extending students’ experience and appreciation of literature.

Offering clear progression from GCSE, these courses allow students to build on the skills and knowledge already gained and prepare for their next steps.

The variety of assessment styles used, such as passage-based questions, unseen material, single-text questions, multiple-text questions, open- and closed-book approaches allows students to develop a wide range of skills, such as the ability to read critically, analyse, evaluate and undertake independent research which are valuable for both further study and future employment.

Choice and flexibility

With a variety of genres and authors, you can choose the texts that will be most appealing and of most interest to your students.

Teach AS and A-level together

Both AS and A-level courses provide strong stand-alone qualifications that are fully co-teachable so that you can choose the approach that best suits your, and your students’, needs.

Independent learning

The A-level non-exam assessment component provides opportunities for students to pursue their own areas of interest and develop personal and independent learning skills.

We support you every step of the way

Our free poetry anthologies, also available digitally, will provide you with easy access to a range of poetry texts and a valuable interactive resource to support teaching.

To further support teaching and learning, we provide a comprehensive range of resources including a resource bank and access to the largest network of English teachers facilitated through our national subject advocate network.

Learn more about our English qualifications at aqa.org.uk/english  

Support and resources to help you teach

We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to find or develop good quality materials. So we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you with a range of resources that will help you confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.

Teaching resources

We have a comprehensive range of English Literature A resources. Visit aqa.org.uk/7712   to see them all. They include:

• a digital resource bank which will include a wide range of free, interactive resources to support the teaching of English language, English literature and English language and literature
• poetry anthologies to give you free and easy access to a range of poetry so that you don’t need to source all the poems set for study
• marked and annotated student responses to the questions on our specimen papers, with senior examiner commentaries
• subject advocates who will support you in the transition to the new specification and facilitate local and regional network and update meetings
• student textbooks and digital resources that have been checked and endorsed by AQA
• training courses to help you deliver AQA qualifications
• subject expertise courses for all teachers, from newly qualified teachers who are just getting started to experienced teachers looking for fresh inspiration.

Preparing for exams

Visit aqa.org.uk/7712 for everything you need to prepare for our exams, including:

• past papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports
• specimen papers and mark schemes for new courses
• exemplar student answers with examiner commentaries.

Analyse your students’ results with Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA)

Find out which questions were the most challenging, how the results compare to previous years and where your students need to improve. ERA, our free online results analysis tool, will help you see where to focus your teaching. Register at aqa.org.uk/era  

For information about results, including maintaining standards over time, grade boundaries and our post-results services, visit aqa.org.uk/results  

Keep your skills up to date with professional development

Wherever you are in your career, there’s always something new to learn. As well as subject-specific training, we offer a range of courses to help boost your skills.

• Improve your teaching skills in areas including differentiation, teaching literacy and meeting Ofsted requirements.
• Prepare for a new role with our leadership and management courses.

You can attend a course at venues around the country, in your school or online – whatever suits your needs and availability. Find out more at coursesandevents.aqa.org.uk  

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