a level english lit essay examples aqa

A-Level English With Miss Huttlestone

A FULL MARK ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Essay

The following essay, penned by Heidi in year 12, captures the essence of the top band – it is developed, has true voice, and supports each ambitious idea with extensive textual evidence. Heidi’s knowledge of theorists, and her passion for debate adds enviable flair to the response .

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is not primarily about the suppression of women but about their defiance. To what extent to you agree?

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a piece of speculative fiction about both the extensive oppression of women and their attempts to defy it, however their attempts exist in accordance with the misogyny that existed in the time before Gilead and this greatly limits the effectiveness of it. As philosopher Christopher Lasch would say, their protest is incurvatus in se or turned inward. This means that the protest throughout the narrative is lacklustre and far more about the actualisation of the self than the organised movement against total oppression. Atwood’s writing in the era of Reganism, where the rights of women were being pushed back against and thus the narrative reflects the internalised misogyny that each woman possessed via social conditioning that lowers one’s ability to protest effectively. Characters who defy do so by becoming more masculine as the culture hegemonic standard is that men are strong, and women are weak that existed long before Gilead came to be. Atwood seems to say with the lack of effective protest that the suppression of women existed before, it harmed women before, and it will continue to do so unless far greater pushback is made.

Firstly, the character of Serena Joy is created such that her defiance comes from her personal brutality and masculinisation of the self. She is a character who smokes, a recurring motif seen in all protesting characters, however smoking itself is seen as a masculine trait throughout history, with instances such as the Nazi regime totally banning smoking for women when they came to power. Further, the image of a cigarette is incredibly phallic, and the fact that this phallus is used as a semiotic representor of protest reflects the nature of such an act for women. They see no other alternative but this masculine object to use as their defiance, the social conditioning from year of demonisation of feminine power stemming long before Gilead has run so deeply into the psyche that the characters look for a phallic object to protest using. Serena, in her smoking is described by Offred by putting ‘the cigarette out, half-smoked, decisively one jab and one grind’, this imagery is violent, it is the pressing of the cigarette downwards and crushing of its end. The use of the repetition of the determiner ‘one’ creates the imagery of conclusion, she has done this action before and she is used to pushing the cigarette out, she needs no further courses of action. These traits embody the stereotypical masculine, she has decisiveness and not the stereotypical questioning femininity that has been so greatly propounded by wider society. This line also relates to Offred later recognition that she must ‘steel herself’ when partaking in the ceremony, Serena seems steely here, she seems solid, she seems in practise and almost robotic. Further, the way Serena acts is told to be opposing those in in the same social class as her and Offred goes on to say that they ways she puts out her own cigarette is different to the ‘many series of genteel taps favoured by many wives’. Not only does this quote indicate that there is protest and the taking up of black-market objects across the female hierarchy, but it separates Serena and solidifies her as a far more masculine and expectation defiant character. The other wives are dainty and adhere to gender norms that were present pre-Gilead, their actions are graceful and ladylike, they are far more the ‘Angel in the House’ than Serena seems to be. In addition to this, to tap a cigarette is to remove the ash, presumably a fully smoked one, since the Wives cannot work they are reliant on their husbands for the money to buy the black-market cigarettes, yet Serena disrespects this, her cigarette is wasted. She defies the view of ‘waste not want not’. Atwood has stated previously that there are droughts and struggles to get things into the regime, but Serena does not care, her protest here is one of apathy. She removes herself from the feminine doting stereotype who cares over all small details. The character of Serena Joy is one of two opposing sides, on the one hand she is the defiant strong masculine woman who acts aggressively and appositionally, yet her protest is about becoming a man more than it is becoming a defiant individual. She is far more preoccupied with masculinising herself to remove from the expectation of women than fostering true escape from Gilead. This makes her character one entangled with both the suppression of women and the feminine and the defiance of expectation. 

Moreover, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ presents the extent that misogyny invades the self through the internalisation of Gileadean and pre-Gileadean ideas of women and stereotypes. Throughout the novel, the ideas of Gilead are presented through the character Aunt Lydia, who remains a construct within the mind of Offred until the near end of the book. In turning the character in to a construction, Atwood is able to expertly show just how pervasive and condemning misogyny is to the minds of women, just how easily it finds itself inside the heads of those it infects. She uses no quotation marks around Aunt Lydia’s remarks to emphasise the degree at which it has been absorbed into each person. ‘Yours is a position of honour, she said’ is something Offred repeats in her internal narrative within the story. This idea has embedded itself in the protagonist and she speaks of how her ‘flesh arranges itself differently’ and she is less a woman and more of a ‘cloud’. Through this metaphorical imagery, the reader is shown the degree at which Gilead breaks the psyche of women. Offred is within Gilead to the point at which it ahs changed her flesh entirely and is no longer herself, no longer bodily autonomous. To include this detail, Atwood creates the impression that the ideas of the patriarchy imbed themselves so deeply within the women subjected to them that they gain the ability to almost change their existence and self-perception entirely. A feminist reader would conclude from this that the character of Offred is one afflicted with internalised misogyny, she becomes her own oppressor and the oppressor of those around her due to her social conditioning. This is backed up by the recollection of a session within the Red Centre that was reflective of the struggle sessions of Maoist China where in abuse was shouted at a central, labelled dissident – in this case Janine. She says that ‘We meant it’, the ‘it’ in reference to the psychological attacks levied against the rape victim, yet she refuses to label it such due to well-placed shame, replacing it with a mediator, replacing it with the innocent and decent sounding ‘it’, she attempts to remove herself from her own actions. In using a collective pronoun, she is implicating the entirety of the Handmaidens who were with her in this abuse, she acts as though she understands their thoughts and in many ways she likely does as they were all put through the same cycle of abuse. It also creates the idea of togetherness and sisterhood; however, this is sisterhood that has been manufactured by the state to abuse someone, it is sisterhood that exists because of women coming together to attack another. So often in the modern media, women are pitted against one another and there seems a great manipulation to make them hate each other. This sisterhood is contrived, it is there because Gilead understands that they must give these women a slight amount of togetherness, so long as it is to attack another individual. This defiance here is a reflection of the patriarchy.

Despite this internalisation, there are many instances of the creation of distinction between us and them within the narrative. Although much of what Aunt Lydia has told Offred is presented uncommented on and internalised, we are still seen some instances of the opposition to her word such as the criticism of her cherry picking of the Bible verse ‘Blessed are the meek’ and her decision to not ‘go on to say anything about inheriting the earth’. The Bible verse blessed are the meek was debated in DH Lawrence’s novel ‘The Rainbow’ wherein his defiant female Ursula character criticized the term due to the connotation it holds that you must be poor and weak to be ‘blessed’ by God. Her character believed that this term is used to satiate the poor and those in unfortunate positions. In many ways, Aunt Lydia’s statement of this term represents that, she is trying to say that the women are weak and must stay ‘meek’ to be drawn under God’s Grace, however Offred unpicks this and criticizes her use of the term in the fact it has so clearly been cherry picked for this purpose. It is meant to satiate the handmaids, lower their drive to protest and suppress them. Yet in Offred educated background she is aware that this is not the full quote and defies expectation by finishing it herself. A reader may believe that this means she sees a life outside of Gilead, that she believes she will ‘inherit the earth’, or rather there will be some form of balance restored. The use of ‘they’ within this recital also indicates a belief in a collective of Handmaids that will work to subvert the rule of Gilead, she does not talk about herself here and rather talks about a collective of the ‘meek’ who shall take over and repossess what they have been stripped of. Further, this idea of the collective ‘meek’ being together is emphasised in the idea that comes after Ofglen’s taking of Offred into the resistance. Offred thinks ‘there is an us then, there is a we’ before going onto say ‘what about them’. These three collective pronouns create the idea that there are two groups of people in Offred’s mind and that she is separate from the regime and its agents. The ‘them’ is in reference to the state actors that exist within Gilead and their violence. Offred separates herself from the violence in the recognition of a ‘them’, she is no longer a part of what has placed others on a wall, what has murdered those around her because she is able to self-actualise and join a group, to join a ‘we’, to join an ‘us’. and while this sentiment is incredible, it is short lived and just a few pages onward Offred reverts to the personal. The chapter ends with the pronoun ‘me’ in Offred joy that she was not taken away by the Eyes. This is a sad reflection that relates to the thesis that protest within Gilead is protest governed by laws of self-actualisation and not true revolutionary action. Offred creates an ‘us’, joins it, and, due to social conditioning, leaves it at the first sign of struggle.  

Finally, the way protest within the novel creates itself is in line with the concept of inward protest rather than outward revolutionary action. This is called incurvatus in se in the words of Christopher Lasch and generally forms itself in the self-actualisation over active opposition against injustice. One example of this is the stealing of a ‘withered daffodil’ from the kitchen by Offred. The daffodil is named after the Greek myth of narcissus and semiotically reflects narcissism. For Atwood to specify this flowers breed she creates the impression that what Offred is doing is to oppose standards of beauty set out by Gilead. However, a Laschian reader would take this symbol far differently. The fact that her protest is the taking of a symbol of narcissism is a reflection of the inability to protest non-narcissistically created in the 1980s during the creation of neo-liberalism. This phenomena praised the individuals actions over anything else and thus the individual saw themselves as more important than the collective group. Atwood, writing at a time where neoliberalism was being created, places her character past in the same time line as her own and thus Offred is afflicted by the same hegemonic standard. Offred exhibits much of the narcissistic tendencies that are noted by Lasch, namely the taking without much real action and what little action that does take place being to self-actualise. Her decision to take the Daffodil was arrived at because it ‘will not be missed’, this is an example of ‘meek’ defiance, and the aforementioned internalisation of such a thing. We have seen how Aunt Lydia wanted the handmaids to be ‘meek’ and Offred still acts in this way, she still internalises her message. The daffodil is ‘withered’, it is presumably about to be thrown out, it is dying. And Offred recognises this and takes it, because this protest is about self-actualising more than it is protest. 

Overall, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a novel that cannot be split into the suppression of women and their defiance. It must be viewed as a conjunction of the two; how the suppression of women harms their protest, how the protest of women changes their suppression. These two concepts exist in symbiosis, the protest of the female characters is in accordance to hegemonic weakening female stereotypes, the women are forced to internalise ideas about their own gender that are near impossible to refute. 

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Centre declaration sheet 2025

Published 10 Nov 2023 | PDF | 74 KB

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Candidate record form (A-level): Component 3 NEA Theory and Independence 2025

Published 10 Nov 2023 | PDF | 101 KB

Published 10 Nov 2023 | DOCX | 513 KB

Question paper (A-level): Paper 2B Texts and genres: elements of political and social protest writing - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 281 KB

Question paper (A-level): Paper 2A Texts and genres: elements of crime writing - June 2022

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Question paper (A-level): Paper 1A Literary genres: aspects of tragedy - June 2022

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Examiner report (A-level): Component 3 NEA Theory and Independence - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts and genres: elements of political and social protest writing - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2A Texts and genres: elements of crime writing - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts and genres: elements of political and social protest writing - June 2022

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Question paper (A-level): Paper 1B Literary genres: aspects of comedy - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 1A Literary genres: aspects of tragedy - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 1A Literary genres: aspects of tragedy - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 1B Literary genres: aspects of comedy - June 2022

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Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 1B Literary genres: aspects of comedy - June 2022

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Examiner report (AS): Paper 1A Literary genres: Drama: aspects of tragedy - June 2022

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Examiner report (AS): Paper 2B Literary genres: Prose and poetry: aspects of comedy - June 2022

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Examiner report (A-level): Paper 2A Texts and genres: elements of crime writing - June 2022

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AQA A Level English Literature A Unseen Poetry Exemplar Essays

AQA A Level English Literature A Unseen Poetry Exemplar Essays

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Assessment and revision

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Last updated

3 January 2022

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This resource includes answers to exam-styled questions for AQA A Level English Literature.

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AQA A-Level English Literature Past Papers

This section includes recent AQA A-Level and AS English Literature A (7712 & 7711) and A-Level and AS English Literature B (7717 & 7716) past papers. If you are not sure which syllabus A (7711 & 7712) or B (7716 & 7717) you are studying ask your teacher. You can download each of the AQA A-Level English Literature past papers and marking schemes by clicking the links below.

June 2022 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers

June 2022 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -   Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Past Papers

June 2022 7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2022 7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers (Labelled as June 2021)

November 2021 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -   Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Past Papers  (Labelled as June 2021)

November 2021 7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2021 7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers (Labelled as June 2020)

November 2020 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -   Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 AQA AS-Level English Literature A (7711) Past Papers  (Labelled as June 2020)

November 2020 7711/1 AS Paper 1: Love Through the Ages: Shakespeare and Poetry Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7711/2 AS Paper 2: Love Through the Ages: Prose Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Past Papers  (Labelled as June 2020)

November 2020 7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 AQA AS-Level English Literature B (7716) Past Papers  (Labelled as June 2020)

November 2020 7716/1A AS Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

November 2020 7716/1B AS Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers

June 2019 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert    -    Download Past Paper    -   Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 AQA AS-Level English Literature A (7711) Past Papers

June 2019 7711/1 AS Paper 1: Love Through the Ages: Shakespeare and Poetry Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7711/2 AS Paper 2: Love Through the Ages: Prose Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Past Papers

June 2019 7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 AQA AS-Level English Literature B (7716) Past Papers

June 2019 7716/1A AS Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7716/1B AS Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7716/2A AS Paper 2A: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2019 7716/2B AS Paper 2B: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper    -    Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers

June 2018 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 AQA AS-Level English Literature A (7711) Past Papers

June 2018 7711/1 AS Paper 1: Love Through the Ages: Shakespeare and Poetry Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7711/2 AS Paper 2: Love Through the Ages: Prose Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Past Papers

June 2018 7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 AQA AS-Level English Literature B (7716) Past Papers

June 2018 7716/1A AS Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7716/1B AS Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy   Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7716/2A AS Paper 2A: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

June 2018 7716/2B AS Paper 2B: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

AQA A-Level English Literature Past Papers June 2017

Specification A (7711 & 7712)

7711/1 AS Paper 1: Love Through the Ages: Shakespeare and Poetry - Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7711/2 AS Paper 2: Love Through the Ages: Prose - Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages - Download Past Paper   -  Download Mark Scheme

7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Insert -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Insert -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Specification B (7716 & 7717)

7716/1A AS Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7716/1B AS Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7716/2A AS Paper 2A: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Tragedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7716/2B AS Paper 2B: Literary Genres: Prose and Poetry: Aspects of Comedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/2B A-Level Paper 2B: Texts and Genres: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Specimen Papers

7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7712/2B A- Level Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) Specimen Papers

7717/1A A-Level Paper 1A: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Tragedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/1B A-Level Paper 1B: Literary Genres: Drama: Aspects of Comedy Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

7717/2A A-Level Paper 2A: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

A-Level AQA English Language and Literature past papers (7706 and 7707) can be found on the English Language section

For more A-Level English Literature past papers from other exam boards  click here .

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IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. AQA

    AO5. The candidate engages thoroughly with the debate set up in the question in the focus on the suffering of male characters in these texts and in the discussion of different forms of suffering. Overall: Coherent and thorough: this response seems to fit the Band 4 descriptors. This resource is part of the Love through the ages resource package.

  2. PDF Student responses with examiner commentary

    A-level English Language and Literature Paper 1: Telling Stories 7707/1 Section A For teaching from September 2015 For assessment from June 2017 Introduction This collection of resources gives examples of student responses to questions from our A-level English Language and Literature specimen materials, with accompanying examiner commentaries.

  3. A FULL MARK 'The Handmaid's Tale' Essay

    A FULL MARK 'The Handmaid's Tale' Essay. The following essay, penned by Heidi in year 12, captures the essence of the top band - it is developed, has true voice, and supports each ambitious idea with extensive textual evidence. Heidi's knowledge of theorists, and her passion for debate adds enviable flair to the response.

  4. How to Write an A-Level English Literature Essay

    Writing begins with understanding. When faced with an essay prompt, dissect it carefully. Identify keywords and phrases to grasp what's expected. Pay attention to verbs like "analyse," "discuss," or "evaluate.". These guide your approach. For instance, if asked to analyse, delve into the how and why of a literary element.

  5. A Level English Lit

    Othello A Level - A* EXEMPLAR ESSAYS. I achieved an A* in AQA English Literature A Level - here are all my exemplar essays for different texts. There are 12 exemplar essays in total - 8 achieved 25/25, 3 achieved 24/25 and 1 achieved 23/25. These are all in Band 5 and high A* standard. An AQA Examiner marked these.

  6. PDF A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A

    that she'd better try something like English or history instead. In her mind she prepared her retort. Instead he said, "All right, then, why don't you try chemistry - if you think you can handle it," and signed her course slip and handed it over, just like that. When she arrived at the laboratory,

  7. AQA

    Examiner report (AS): Paper 1A Literary genres: Drama: aspects of tragedy - June 2022. Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 179 KB. Examiner report (AS): Paper 2B Literary genres: Prose and poetry: aspects of comedy - June 2022. Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 219 KB. Examiner report (A-level): Paper 2A Texts and genres: elements of crime writing - June ...

  8. Essay writing guide: AQA A Level English Literature

    This is aimed at AQA English Literature Specification B, but would fit with the other specification. It includes basic information, a self-assessment task on experiences of writing essays, pointers for successful essays, pointers for the specific kinds of essays which AQA require in exams, a section on troubleshooting, guidance on the mark ...

  9. AQA A Level English Literature

    Past papers. Mark schemes. Exam paper questions organised by topic and difficulty. Our worksheets cover all topics from GCSE, IGCSE and A Level courses. Give them a try and see how you do!

  10. AQA A Level English Literature A Unseen Poetry Exemplar Essays

    This resource includes answers to exam-styled questions for AQA A Level English Literature. One of the best ways to use these exemplar essays is: To read the essay. To reread the essay. To assign five different colours to each assessment objective. To highlight where you see each assessment objective being addressed.

  11. PDF AQA A Level English Language and Literature Handbook

    A Level English Language and Literature: Course Outline • You will be studying a range of literary (i.e. prose fiction, drama and poetry) and non-literary (i.e. non-fiction, advertising and transcript) texts. You will be studying a range of texts from different periods: some texts from the 19th century and modern literary and non-literary texts.

  12. A* A level English Literature Essay Examples

    A* A level English Literature Essay Examples. Ali-liyyah. 15. Hey guys! ... AQA A-Level English Literature B Paper 2 (7716/2) - 8th June 2023 [Exam Chat] AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 (8700/1) - 7th November 2023 [Exam Chat] Please mark my gcse english language paper 2 question 5!!!

  13. AQA A-Level English Literature Past Papers

    June 2019 AQA A-Level English Literature A (7712) Past Papers. June 2019 7712/1 A- Level Paper 1: Love Through the Ages. Download Past Paper - Download Mark Scheme. June 2019 7712/2A A- Level Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath. Download Insert - Download Past Paper - Download Mark Scheme.

  14. PDF A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A

    A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath June 2020 7712/2A/INS A . 2 . And then as if it were something that every one in the Dower House had been waiting for, came the message ... AQA Subject: English Literature A; English Created Date: