English Literature B AS and A-level Specification
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A-level English Literature B7717
Five new additional texts for A-level English Literature
From September 2025, you'll have even more choice. We've added five new additional texts to our existing A-level English Literature specifications. Explore the new texts.
2.0 Specification at a glance
This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all the AS exams at the end of their AS course and all the A-level exams at the end of their A-level course.
Subject content
Core content:- 3.1 Literary genres
- 3.2 Texts and genres
- 3.3 Theory and independence
Options:
- 3.1.1 Aspects of tragedy
- 3.1.2 Aspects of comedy
- 3.2.1 Elements of crime writing
- 3.2.2 Elements of political and social protest writing
Assessments
| Paper 1: Literary genres |
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| What's assessed Choice of two options Option 1A: Aspects of tragedy Option 1B: Aspects of comedy Study of three texts: one Shakespeare text; a second drama text and one further text, of which one must be written pre-1900 |
Assessed
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Questions Section A: one passage-based question on set Shakespeare text (25 marks) Section B: one essay question on set Shakespeare text (25 marks) Section C: one essay question linking two texts (25 marks) |
| Paper 2: Texts and genres |
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| What's assessed Choice of two options Option 2A: Elements of crime writing Option 2B: Elements of political and social protest writing Study of three texts: one post-2000 prose text; one poetry and one further text, one of which must be written pre-1900 Examination will include an unseen passage. |
Assessed
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Questions Section A: one compulsory question on an unseen passage (25 marks) Section B: one essay question on set text (25 marks) Section C: one essay question which connects two texts (25 marks) |
| Non-exam assessment: Theory and independence |
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| What's assessed Study of two texts: one poetry and one prose text, informed by study of the Critical Anthology Two essays of 1250–1500 words, each responding to a different text and linking to a different aspect of the Critical anthologyOne essay can be re-creative. The re-creative piece will be accompanied by a commentary. |
Assessed
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