English A: Literature
Prerequisites
Nil.
Course Structure: SL and HL
Course Description
In the English A: Literature course, students will learn about the various manifestations of literature as a powerful mode of writing across cultures and throughout history. They will explore and develop an understanding of factors that contribute to the production and reception of literature, such as:
- the creativity of writers and readers
- the nature of the interaction with the writers’ and readers’ respective contexts and with literary tradition
- the ways in which language can give rise to meaning and/or effect
- the performative and transformative potential of literary creation and response.
Through close analysis of literary texts in a number of forms and from different times and places, students will consider their own interpretations, as well as the critical perspectives of others. In turn, this will encourage the exploration of how viewpoints are shaped by cultural belief systems and how meanings are negotiated within them. Students will be involved in processes of critical response and creative production, which will help shape their awareness of how texts work to influence the reader and how readers open up the possibilities of texts. With its focus on literature, this course is particularly concerned with developing sensitivity to aesthetic uses of language and empowering students to consider the ways in which literature represents and constructs the world and social and cultural identities.
The English A: Literature course is organised around three areas of exploration:
1. Readers, writers, texts
2. Time and space
3. Intertextuality: connecting texts
At GGS, these areas of exploration will be taught discretely in Year 11 and concurrently in Year 12. The inquiry into literary texts across the three areas of exploration is focussed through seven concepts:
1. Identity
2. Culture
3. Creativity
4. Communication
5. Perspective
6. Transformation
7. Representation
These concepts interact with the three areas of exploration in numerous ways and contribute a sense of continuity in the transition from one area to the next. They also facilitate the process of establishing connections between texts, making it easier for students to identify different ways in which the works they study relate to one another.
SL students must study at least 9 works of which:
- a minimum of four must be written originally in the language studied, by authors on the Prescribed reading list
- a minimum of three must be works in translation written by authors on the Prescribed reading list
- two can be chosen freely – from the Prescribed reading list or elsewhere – and may be in translation.
Works must be selected to cover three literary forms, three periods and three countries or regions in at least two continents.
HL students must study at least 13 works of which:
- a minimum of five must be written originally in the language studied, by authors on the Prescribed reading list
- a minimum of four must be works in translation written by authors on the Prescribed reading list
- four can be chosen freely — from the Prescribed reading list or elsewhere — and may be in translation.
Works must be selected to cover the four literary forms, three periods and four countries or regions in at least two continents.
ASSESSMENT OUTLINE – SL
Internal assessment
1. Individual oral (15 minutes) (30%) – Supported by an extract from one work written originally in the language studied and one from a work studied in translation, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes.
External assessment
1. Paper 1: Guided literary analysis (1 hour 15 minutes) (35%)
2. Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes) (35%)
ASSESSMENT OUTLINE – HL
Internal assessment
1. Individual oral (15 minutes) (20%) – Supported by an extract from one work written originally in the language studied and one from a work studied in translation, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions.
External assessment
1. Higher level essay – internally set and externally marked (20%)
2. Paper 1: Guided literary analysis (2 hours 15 minutes) (35%)
3. Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes) (25%)
English A: Language and Literature
Prerequisites
Nil.
Course Structure: SL and HL
Course Description
In the English A: Language and Literature course students will learn about the complex and dynamic nature of language and explore both its practical and aesthetic dimensions. They will explore the crucial role language plays in communication, reflecting experience and shaping the world. Students will also learn about their own roles as producers of language and develop their productive skills. Throughout the course, students will explore the various ways in which language choices, text types, literary forms and contextual elements all effect meaning. Through close analysis of various text types and literary forms, students will consider their own interpretations, as well as the critical perspectives of others, to explore how such positions are shaped by cultural belief systems and to negotiate meanings for texts. Students will engage in activities that involve them in the process of production and help shape their critical awareness of how texts and their associated visual and audio elements work together to influence the audience/reader and how audiences/readers open up the possibilities of texts. With its focus on a wide variety of communicative acts, the course is meant to develop sensitivity to the foundational nature, and pervasive influence, of language in the world at large.
The English A: Language and Literature course is organised around three areas of exploration:
1. Readers, writers, texts
2. Time and space
3. Intertextuality: connecting texts
At GGS, these areas of exploration will be taught discretely in Year 11 and concurrently in Year 12. The inquiry into literary texts across the three areas of exploration is focussed through seven concepts:
1. Identity
2. Culture
3. Creativity
4. Communication
5. Perspective
6. Transformation
7. Representation
These concepts interact with the three areas of exploration in numerous ways and contribute a sense of continuity in the transition from one area to the next. They also facilitate the process of establishing connections between literary and non-literary texts, making it easier for students to identify different ways in which the works they study relate to one another.
Across the three areas of exploration at least four literary works (including one work in translation) must be studied in the SL course and at least six works (including two works in translation) must be studied in the HL course. Each area of exploration must involve the study of both literary works and non-literary texts, with equal time devoted to the study of each. Non-literary texts may include advertisements, biographies, guide books, infographics, radio broadcasts, blogs, brochures, cartoons, magazine articles, travel writing and photographs.
ASSESSMENT OUTLINE – SL
Internal assessment
1. Individual oral (15 minutes) (30%) – Supported by an extract from one literary text and one non-literary work, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions.
External assessment
1. Paper 1: Guided textual analysis (1 hour 15 minutes) (35%)
2. Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes) (35%)
ASSESSMENT OUTLINE – HL
Internal assessment
1. Individual oral (15 minutes) (20%) – Supported by an extract from one work written originally in the language studied and one from a work studied in translation, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions.
External assessment
1. Higher level essay – internally set and externally marked (20%)
2. Paper 1: Guided textual analysis (2 hours 15 minutes) (35%)
3. Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes) (25%)