A Level English Literature

Non Examination Assessment (Coursework)

QuickReminder of the A Level course

The Non Examination Assessment is often referred to as the NEA and replaces coursework of the past.

The NEA is worth 20% of the total A Level

• It is marked out of 25 the same as all of the other components of the A Level.

• It uses the same mark scheme as all of the other components.

• Then the marks are doubled, so a final mark out of 50 marks is sent to the exam board.

1. Choose two texts to compare to each other.

Important note: ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’

must be used with 2 of the other stories in

that collection.

These are some of the texts recommended in the AQA Specification, but they DO NOT have

to be used.

Here are some possible themes that you could consider when choosing which texts you want to write about:

1. Choose two texts to compare to each other.

▪ It is likely that you have already chosen your two texts and had them approved by your teacher.

▪ If you have not already done so, please email your teacher with your choice of two texts to compare as soon as possible.

Mrs Clark: l.clark@durhamjohnston.org.uk

Mrs Johnson: m.johnson2@durhamjohnston.org.uk

Remember the list of texts that you have that you CANNOT use in your coursework.

2. Once you have chosen your texts and have a possible theme or themes in mind, start a basic plan. Below is an example:

Dorian Gray Frankenstein

Macabre descriptions of Basil’s death Macabre descriptions of Frankenstein in graveyards then animating the monster

Doppelgangers: the portrait and Dorian Doppelgangers: Frankenstein and his monster

Decaying settings: the opium dens but this is in stark contrast to the wealth and ostentatious décor of Dorian’s house (except the old nursery) – Wilde’s aestheticism.

Decaying settings of graveyards, but juxtaposed to the sublime descriptions of nature later in the text – Shelley’s Romanticism.

Possible theme: the gothicAt this stage, this is mainly to see if you will have enough to write about on this

theme/ whether this combination of texts is going to work

Here are some example questions from the AQA Specification.

Here are some examples of past titles from this school:

1. Andrew Smith has argued that “the Gothic so often appears to delight in transgression.”Compare and contrast the presentation of immortality in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in the light of this view.

2. “Unlike women, men often take too little responsibility when being judged for societal impropriety”Compare and contrast the roles of Hester and Rev.Dimmesdale In “The Scarlet Letter” and the Bride and Leonardo in “Blood Wedding” in light of this comment.

Compare and contrast the ways that Jane Austin and Charles Dickens present society in “Mansfield Park” and “Great Expectations”.Examine the view that upward social mobility is of less importance than moral character.

Now try to form your own question using the framework below:

1.

Compare and contrast how __________ and _____________

present ________________ in

_____________ and ___________

2.

Examine the view that

____________________________________________________________________________________

Writers’ names here

Themehere

Names of the texts here.

Try to have a controversial viewpoint here so that you have something to argue against

When looking for an ‘examine the view’ idea, reading secondary material can help.

For example, try:

▪ https://www.jstor.org/

This site has many essays written about thousands of different texts. You will need to create a log on, but at the time of writing this it is free.

▪ https://www.bl.uk/

The British Library site has numerous different articles to read about texts. It is particularly useful in studying the Romantics and Victorian era literature: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians

4. Create a detailed plan based upon your question.

Dorian Frankenstein

1. Delights in the transgression of conventional morality in the portrayal of Lord Henry,especially in how he is the more attractive foil to Basil. Ch 2 extended metaphor or Henry’s “mere words” (metafiction of writer’s craft and power) corrupting Dorian, touching a “secret chord”, more than “music”, even though they are “fiery-coloured” (satanic).

1. Delights in the transgression of medical ethics in the thrilling description of the creation of the monster in chapter 5: “instruments of life”, F sees himself as god-like “Modern Prometheus”; yet pathetic fallacy of the “dreary night of November” could be Shelley’s warning rather than delight.

4. Continued...

Dorian Frankenstein

2. Do not delight in transgression as Dorian is punished and the order of morality restored when the portrait is destroyed? Irony of the vain Dorian not “recognized” by even his servants in the end and “loathsome” in visage. The poetic justice of him stabbing himself and slaying (or being slain by) his own doppelganger. However, Wilde’s aesthetic mantra of “art for art’s sake” as expounded in the preface with “there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book” contradicts this, as do most of the other 19 chapters.

2. Do not delight in transgression as Frankenstein is punished and the order of morality restored when the monster leaves? F is brutally punished throughout the text with the deaths of William, Justine, Henry and Elizabeth. These deaths often parallel F’s crimes e.g. Elizabeth is killed when F refuses to make the monster a companion. F reflects on his downfall: “like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in eternal hell” and his “lofty ambition” now “sunk” are both allusions to Milton’s Paradise Lost. F as tragic hero?

Please remember that this powerpoint is intended as a guide, to help you with your NEA.

▪ If you find that approaching the points in a different order e.g. point 3 writing the title before point 2 creating a plan, then that is fine.

▪ Work in the way that is most effective for you.