english coursework bibliography

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Thoughts about teaching, literature, and teaching literature

A Student Guide: How to Reference for A Level Coursework

The below guide as to how to write references for A Level coursework uses the MLA citation style. This is of course not the only citation style and is not inherently better than others, but the key is to be consistent.

Italics Vs Quotation Marks

• If you are citing any complete work, for example, a novel, a volume of poetry, an anthology, a film, a TV series, a play, or a newspaper then you should cite that text using italics.
• For example, The Great Gatsby, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Spring and All, Death of a Salesman, Hamlet, The Guardian, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Forrest Gump .
• But, if you are citing a work that is contained within another work, for example an individual poem, a television episode, an essay, a journal article, or a short story then you cite that using single quotation marks.
• For example, ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’, ‘The Death of an Author’, ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’, ‘Sonnet 101’, ‘The One with the Candy Hearts’, ‘In the Penal Colony’.
• However, not every poem goes in quotation marks. It just depends if it was published within a volume or as a self-contained entity. For example, The Waste Land is in italics because it was published in book form. Paradise Lost is also in italics because it is a self-contained book and was not published within another work.
• Also, if a poem is titled the same as the volume that doesn’t matter. You would write: ‘Spring and All’ is contained within Spring and All .
• Finally, what do you do if a complete work is contained with a larger work, for example an anthology?
• For example, Death of a Salesman is contained within The Norton of American Literature .
• You need to go back to the original publication: Death of a Salesman was originally published as a self-contained work so it will always be in italics
• It doesn’t matter if Hamlet or The Waste Land is in an anthology; they will never be ‘Hamlet’ or ‘The Waste Land’.

Double Spaces

• Always double space
• Everything, other than footnotes, must be double spaced
• How to double space: highlight the text, right click, go to paragraph, go to line spacing, click on the drop down box and choose double.

Quotation Marks

• When quoting something, always use single quotation marks
• Double quotation marks are the American version
• So, ‘ The Waste Land is amazing’ not “ The Waste Land is amazing”.
• The latter is tantamount to writing color instead of colour
• If you are quoting within a quotation then you can use double marks. For example, Just above the writer wrote ‘According to Bob, The Waste Land is “an amazing poem that changed the tone of poetry forever”’.

How to Cite within an Essay

• It is essential that any work that you make use of within the essay is cited appropriately and accurately.
• You are using the MLA style, which means you do not cite with footnotes, but rather parenthetically.
• Footnotes can still be used in your essay, but they would be discursive, which means they can add information that is relevant, but does not fit in the main body of the essay. Do this sparingly.
• So, each time you quote from any text, whether it is the primary text or an article, you insert a page reference in brackets next to that quotation
• For example: When Faulkner writes that the sun was ‘glistening’ (106) he accentuates its beauty.
• If you are analysing one specific passage and quoting from it frequently within a short space in your essay then just reference the final quotation. For example, When Faulkner writes that the sun was ‘glistening’ and that it was like a ‘jewel’, which had been ‘pocketed in the sky’ (106) he accentuates its beauty.
• If it is not clear where the quotation is from either because you do not state the writer in the main body or because you reference more than one text from that writer include this information parenthetically. For example, just as the sun was ‘glistening’ (Faulkner 106) so too Eliot describes the moon as ‘shining’ (334).
• The idea is that a reader would be able to look at your quotation and know the author and text (both usually evident in the main body of the essay) and also page number (cited parenthetically) and then look at the relevant entry in the bibliography and as such find the full and precise reference.

How to Write a Bibliography

• The bibliography is a complete list of all sources that you have referenced throughout the essay and it comes at the end of the essay
• Surname, forename. Title of text including editor if relevant. (Place of publication: publisher, date). This is for anything other than a journal article.
• For example, Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson ed. by Alfred R. Ferguson et al. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971)
• Frost, Robert. ‘The Pasture’, Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays , ed. by Richard Poirier & Mark Richardson (New York: Library of America, 1995)
• Eliot, TS. ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’, The Complete Poems & Plays , (London: Faber & Faber, 2004)
• Faulkner, William. Light in August . (London and New York: Vintage, 2002).
• If you are citing a journal article then use the following format: Surname, forename. Name of article using ‘’. Name of journal using italics. Issue number. Publication date. Page numbers of the article within the journal.
• For example: Brinkman, Barth. ‘Scrapbooking Modernism: Marianne Moore and the Making of the Modern Collage Poem’. Modernism / modernity . 18.1. (2011). 43-66.

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UCL Philosophy

Guide to Referencing for Coursework

Many different ways of giving references are used in academic publications. All systems are acceptable, provided they are applied consistently.

For your guidance, we suggest the following, which is a simplified version of the Harvard system:

1. References may be given either in the main text of your essay, or in a footnote or endnote. References are in brackets and take the form of the author's surname, followed by date of publication, followed (if appropriate) by page number(s), e.g. (Wiggins 1997, 251). Note that all quotations must be supplied with page references, but if you are referring to an author's text in general terms, then of course page numbers are not required. 

2. Full details of all the works to which you refer must be supplied in a list of references or bibliography at the end of your essay. (See below regarding what form these should take.)

Some finer points regarding references given in the main text or in footnotes/endnotes:

• Authors' names are given without initials, e.g. (Dennett 1996). Initials need to be given only when two authors with the same surname are referred to, e.g. (Smith, A. 1996; Smith, W. 1994).
• When referring to more than one article published in the same year by the same author , use lower-case letters to differentiate them, e.g. (Henrich 1981a) and (Henrich 1981b).
• If you refer to republished historical works, it is good practice to give the date of original publication in square brackets, e.g. (Kant 1997, 26 [1786] ).
• If the name of the author is already given in the text, then the date alone should be added in brackets, e.g. '... work by Fodor (1981) shows the importance of understanding ...'
• References to two or more works should be in alphabetical order, separated by a semi-colon, e.g. (Budd 1991; Goodman 1970; Wollheim 1986a; Wollheim 1986b).

Full bibliographical references:

References should be listed in alphabetical order according to author surname, regardless of whether the work is a whole book, an edited collection, a chapter/article in an edited collection, a journal paper, or an online publication.

A book reference should contain the following information: author/editor(s) surname; author/editor(s) first name or initial(s); date; title (in italics); special edition (e.g. 2nd or revised); place of publication (city); name of publisher. E.g.:

Allison, Henry (2004), Kant's Transcendental Idealism: An Interpretation and Defense , revised edition (New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press).

Ariew, Roger, and Eric Watkins (eds) (2009), Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources , 2nd edn. (Indianapolis: Hackett).

References to chapters/articles in an edited collection should contain the following information: author surname; author first name or initial(s); date of edited collection; title of chapter/article (in inverted commas); full name of editor(s); title of edited collection (in italics); place of publication (city); name of publisher. E.g.:

Davidson, Donald (1982), 'Paradoxes of Irrationality', in Richard Wollheim and James Hopkins (eds), Philosophical Essays on Freud (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Halbig, C. (2008), 'Varieties of Nature in Hegel and McDowell', in Jakob Lindgaard (ed.), John McDowell: Experience, Norm, and Nature (Oxford: Blackwell).

References to papers/articles in journals should contain the following information: author surname; author first name or initial(s); date of issue of journal; title of article (in inverted commas); name of journal (in italics); volume number; article pages. E.g.:

McDowell, John (1995), 'Knowledge and the Internal', Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 55, 877-893

All internet publications should be treated as if they were hard copy, i.e. cited by author's name and date in the main text and full citation in the bibliography. In the bibliography you should give the web address and also indicate the date on which you retrieved the information, as web-based information is prone to change. E.g.:

Parfit, Derek (1998), 'Why Anything? Why This?',  https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n02/derek-parfit/why-anything-why-this (retrieved 26/7/2022).

Rohlf, M. (2010), 'Immanuel Kant', Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/ (retrieved 15/8/2012)

Regarding lectures/handouts : It is seldom good practice to cite something that was said during the course of a lecture, or text from a course handout. You should normally aim to cite published references, and should not cite a lecture or handout simply to avoid searching the literature for yourself. If you do need to cite a lecturer or a handout, because the information in question is not in the published literature, then you should just put a reference in the text of your coursework, without putting any further entry in your list of references, e.g. 'It can be objected to Locke that ... (Paul Snowdon, lecture 15/03/2012)' or 'It can be objected to Locke that ... (Paul Snowdon, lecture handout)'.

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• How to Make Your Coursework as Good as It Can Possibly Be

Many GCSE and A-level subjects are assessed in part by coursework in addition to exams, meaning that the mark you receive for coursework contributes to your overall grade. Many students prefer coursework, because it’s a chance to showcase your academic abilities away from the high-pressured environment of the exam room, making it ideal for those who don’t perform to the best of their abilities in exams. However, the time you have available for coursework, in contrast with the time constraints of the exam room, can lull some students into a false sense of security. Coursework is arguably just as challenging as exams, just in different ways – and, given the fact that you have more time, much higher standards are expected of you in coursework than in exams. Careful planning and research are needed for successful coursework, as well as strong data-gathering and essay-writing skills. In this article, we look at how to produce excellent coursework, from planning to proofreading. This information might also be useful to you if you’re planning on attending an Oxford Summer School this summer.

What is coursework?

GCSE and A-level coursework typically takes the form of an extended essay or project. Its objectives vary from one subject to another, but there’s usually an emphasis on the student conducting independent research into a topic of their own choice. Thus coursework often takes the form of some sort of investigation; it may, therefore, help to have your ‘detective’ hat on as you explore, investigate and analyse your topic. You can usually work on your coursework at home, though it’s sometimes completed under controlled conditions through sessions at school. To give you a better idea of how coursework varies from one subject to another, here are some examples:

• English – English coursework usually takes the form of an extended essay with a title of your choice. You’re usually given a choice of themes and/or texts to explore, and you could choose a format such as a comparison between a set text and another one.
• Geography – Geography coursework usually focuses on the gathering, reporting and interpretation of data designed to answer a particular geographical question. You could investigate usage of a shopping centre, for example, or look at erosion on a particular beach.
• Sciences – coursework for science subjects often takes the form of a scientific project or experiment that you conduct and report on yourself.

Before you start work on your coursework, it’s essential that you have a thorough understanding of the rules. Failing to conform to the rules – inadvertently or not – may result in your coursework (or possibly even your entire qualification) being disqualified, so it’s a serious matter.

• No plagiarism – this is particularly dangerous given the ready availability of relevant information on the internet these days. Make sure everything is in your own words; you’ll need to sign a declaration stating that it’s your own original work.
• There’s only so much help your teacher can give you . They can provide guidance on what you need to include, and on what the examiners will be looking for. You can ask them questions, but they’ll usually only be able to check through your first draft once and offer broad hints on updating it.
• Check the word count , and stick to it. Find out whether footnotes, appendices and bibliographies are included in the word count.
• Check what topics you’re allowed to do your coursework on; if there’s an exam on this topic, you’ll almost certainly have to choose a different one for your coursework.

Choose your topic wisely

Ideally, choose something you’re genuinely interested in, as your enthusiasm will come across and you’ll find it more enjoyable to write. If there’s something you’ve been working on for the course so far that you’ve particularly enjoyed, you may be able to focus more on this as part of your coursework. For science coursework, you’ll need to choose something to investigate that you can measure, change and control; it should be what’s called a ‘fair test’, meaning that you have to acknowledge all the controls you use in the experiment and why. Try not to pick a topic for which the scope is too vast, as you’ll struggle to research it properly and you’re unlikely to do it justice, and it’ll be hard to keep within the word limit. Ask your teachers for some guidance on choosing your topic if you’re not sure what to write about; they might even tell you a bit about what previous students have done to give you some inspiration.

Plan how long it’s going to take

Never leave your coursework until the last minute, even if this is your normal approach to essays and it usually works for you. Make sure you understand when the deadlines are, including time for submitting a first draft for comments from your teacher. Then schedule blocks of time for working on it, allowing plenty of time before the deadline to cater for any unexpected delays. Allow ample time for making corrections based on teacher feedback on your first draft, and keep some time aside before the deadline for final editing and proofreading. Because actual deadlines are few and far between, you’ll need to take responsibility for the writing process and impose some deadlines on yourself to ensure it’s finished in time. Write down your deadlines on a calendar, with the coursework broken into stages and dates assigned to each, by which time each task should be complete. You can base your stages on the next few points in this article – research and data gathering, a structure plan for the piece of work, writing up, and so on.

Conducting your research and gathering data

As coursework is primarily a research exercise, the research phase is crucial, so don’t be tempted to skimp on it and go straight to writing up. Use as many different resources as you can to gather data: books, journals, newspapers, television, radio, the internet and anything else you think might be relevant. For science and Geography coursework, you’ll need to base your work on a hypothesis, so the research stage should start by coming up with at least one hypothesis, otherwise your research will lack direction. The research phase for some subjects may involve site visits for gathering data, so allow plenty of time for this, particularly if you need your parents to drive you somewhere to do so. If it’s a scientific experiment you’re conducting for your coursework, you’ll need to pay careful attention to planning the experiment using rigorous scientific methods (also noting what Health and Safety precautions you are taking), as well as reading up on the background and theory so that you have an idea of what to expect from the outcome of your experiment. In the research stage, make notes about what you expect to happen, so that you can later compare your expectations with what actually did happen. The experiment itself also forms part of the research and data-gathering stage for your science coursework; in the write-up stage, which we come onto shortly, you analyse and write up the results.

Plan your structure

Once you’ve completed your research, the process of writing up begins. Before you get down to the actual writing, however, it’s advisable to write a plan for how you’re going to structure it – essentially an essay plan for English coursework and other subjects for which the coursework is based on an extended essay. It’ll look slightly different from an essay plan for science subjects and others that revolve around project work, but the principle is the same: plan out what order you’re going to present your information in. For big projects, this is particularly important, because with a lot of information to convey, you risk being disorganised and waffling.

Writing up your project

For any coursework, but particularly coursework based around an extended essay, you’ll need to perfect your essay-writing abilities. For science coursework, writing up your project also involves data analysis, as you interpret the results of your experiment and work your notes into formal scientific language. Follow the links below to find lots more useful advice on writing great essays.

• How to write dazzlingly brilliant essays
• How to write more original essays
• Techniques from creative writing that can improve your essays

When you’re writing up, it’s important to find a place where you can work quietly, without distractions that could cause you to make careless errors. You wouldn’t want noise or distractions when you were in an exam room, so treat your coursework with the same reverence.

Supporting materials and images

For some subjects, namely the sciences and Geography, it would be appropriate to include images, graphs, charts, tables and so on in your coursework. For example, for Geography coursework, your extra material could include annotated images and maps of the site you’re talking about, plus tables, graphs and charts. An appendix could then detail your raw data; if, for example, your coursework focused on the results of a survey, you could put the raw survey responses in an appendix and provide summaries and analysis in the main body of the coursework.

Footnotes and bibliography

As we said earlier, it’s important that you always use your own words in your coursework to avoid the possibility of falling foul of plagiarism rules. However, it’s acceptable to quote from another source, as you would in any piece of academic writing, but you must make sure that you state where it is from and use quotation marks to show that it’s a quote from somewhere else. The best way of citing another work is to use a footnote; word processors will allow you to insert one, and it just puts a little number at the end of the sentence and another in the footer of the document, into which you put the name of the author and work, and the page within that work that the quote can be found. At the end of your piece of work, include a bibliography that includes a list of every external source you’ve used in the creation of your coursework. Stick to a set formula when including books. A common format is: Author Surname, Initial. (Date) – Title of Book , page number For example: Lewis, C.S. (1960) – Studies in Words , p. 45 When you get to university, you’ll be expected to include footnotes and bibliographies in all your essays, so it’s a good habit to get into and coursework gives you good practice at it.

The final pre-submission check

Having completed a first draft, received feedback from your teacher, and honed your work into a finished piece of coursework, have a final check through it before you send off your coursework for submission.

• Sense check : have a read through your completed piece of work and check that it all makes sense. Make sure you haven’t contradicted yourself anywhere, or repeated yourself, or laboured the point. If there are any facts that you may have meant to look up to double check their accuracy, do so now.
• Word count : ensure that the completed work falls within the word count, and double check whether the bibliography should be included in the word count. If you’ve exceeded it, you’ll need to work through the piece and tighten up your writing, omitting unnecessary information, reordering sentences so that they use fewer words, and so on.
• Proofread : check your spelling and grammar, and ensure that there are no typos. Don’t just use the spellcheck – go through it with a fine toothcomb, manually, and if you can, ask someone to read through it for you to see if they spot anything you haven’t.
• Formatting : check that you’ve included page numbers, and that the font and line spacing is consistent throughout the work. Ensure that the font is plain and easy to read, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Bibliography : check that you’ve included everything, that the format is the same for all sources mentioned, and that the right information is included for each.

Once this stage is complete, you’re ready to submit your coursework along with your declaration that it’s entirely your own work. Get ready for a feeling of immense satisfaction when you finally send off your hard work!

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English Literature: A Guide to Resources: Bibliographies

• Annual Surveys of Research
• Atlases & Gazeteers

Bibliographies

• Biographical Sources
• Chronologies
• Explication Sources
• Literary Terms and Concepts
• Specialized Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Periodical Articles
• Primary Sources
• Book Reviews
• New Acquisitions
• Citation Tools
• Bibliography of Australian Literature Call Number: Olin Reference Z4021 .B525 2001 Publication Date: Australian Scholarly Pub., 2001-2008. 4 vols. Records separately published volumes by Australian authors from 1788 through 2000, except for authors whose first books appeared after 1992. Includes index of variant names and pseudonyms, title index, a separate bibliography of children's books (1989 - 2000), as well as a list of excluded and relocated authors.
• Chaucer Bibliography Online "...includes materials from the Annotated Chaucer Bibliography published annually in Studies in the Age of Chaucer and is sponsored by the NCS and the library of the University of Texas at San Antonio. It is currently maintained by Mark Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio."
• New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature Call Number: Olin Reference Z 2011 B32+ 1969 (also Olin Room 501) Publication Date: Cambridge UP, 1969-1977, 5 vols. Covers English literature from 600 A.D. to modern times. Arranged chronologically and under periods by literary form (e.g. poetry, prose, drama). References given for each author generally include bibliographies of that author, collected editions of his/her works, individual works with dates of 1st editions and subsequent editions within the next 50 years and some biographical and critical citations about the author.
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: British and Irish Literature Offers peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies on British and Irish literature. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
• Oxford Bibliographies: Victorian Literature Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on the literature of the Victorian period, which encompasses the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable. Contains a "My OBO" function that allows users to create personalized bibliographies of individual citations from different bibliographies.
• Reference Guide for English Studies Call Number: Olin Reference Z2011 M32 1990 Publication Date: Univ. of California, 1990 A large bibliographic overview of literary studies -- not limited to Anglo-American -- arranged by period, country, genre, author, etc., Lists and often annotates important secondary sources. Lists major journals as well as books in any given subject area.
• World Shakespeare Bibliography Online Provides annotated entries for all important books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare. Each year coverage moves forward one year and backwards at least three years.
• << Previous: Atlases & Gazeteers
• Next: Biographical Sources >>
• Last Updated: Jul 7, 2023 4:39 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/englishlit

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AS and A-level English Literature A

• Specification
• Planning resources
• Teaching resources
• Assessment resources
• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• 3.1 Love through the ages
• 4.1 Love through the ages
• 4.2 Texts in shared contexts

4.3 Independent critical study: texts across time

• Scheme of assessment
• Non-exam assessment administration (A-level only)
• General administration

In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts.

This specification is committed to the notion of autonomous personal reading and Texts across time provides a challenging and wide-ranging opportunity for independent study. Possible themes for the comparison are indicated below, but this is not a set list and students are free to develop their own interests from their own wider and independent reading.

Texts chosen for study must maximise opportunities for writing about comparative similarity and difference and must allow access to a range of critical views and interpretations, including over time . Students should take an autonomous approach to the application and evaluation of a range of critical views.

The title 'Independent critical study' highlights the important idea that, within a literature course, students should have the opportunity to work independently. Although one common text could, if required, be taught to a whole cohort, at least one text should be studied independently by each student. Texts should always be chosen with your guidance and support. Students should also individually negotiate their own task.

In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts on a theme of their choice. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• the struggle for identity
• crime and punishment
• minds under stress
• nostalgia and the past
• satire and dystopia
• war and conflict
• representations of race and ethnicity
• representations of sexuality
• representations of women
• representations of men
• representations of social class and culture.

The spirit of this component is for independent study, with schools and colleges submitting work on a range of texts and tasks. Schools and colleges are encouraged to check the appropriateness of texts and tasks with their non-exam assessment adviser, especially where there may be some uncertainty on the approach being taken, either by the school or college as a whole or by individual students.

• The word count is 2,500 words.
• Tasks should be designed to ensure that students address all assessment objectives in their essay response.
• An appropriate academic bibliography (not included within the 2,500 word count) must be included.
• An appropriately academic form of referencing must be used.

The following conditions apply to the texts chosen:

• one text must have been written pre-1900
• two different authors must be studied
• set texts listed for the A-level exam components cannot be used for non-exam assessment, even if they will not be used in the exam
• the essay is comparative and connective so equal attention must be paid to both texts
• a poetry text could be either one longer narrative poem or a single authored collection of shorter poems. If using a collection of poetry, students must have studied the whole text and select at least two poems to write about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• single authored collections of short stories are permissible. If using a collection of short stories, students must have studied the whole text and select at least two stories to write about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that have been influential and significant in the development of literature in English. The translated text should be treated as the original writer's own words for assessment purposes. Therefore, schools and colleges should ensure that they use a version recognised by academia as being a high quality translation which supports the original author's writing appropriately.

Recommended texts

Texts listed in the A-level core set text and comparative set text lists in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 cannot be studied for non-exam assessment. Texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that have been influential and significant in the development of literature in English.

Possible pre-1900 texts include, but are not limited to:

NEA prohibited texts

Students cannot use the following texts for non-exam assessment as they appear on the exam set text lists.

Examples of choices of non-exam assessment texts and possible connections

Compare and contrast the presentation of British attitudes to race and ethnicity in The Moonstone and in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth in the light of this view.

In what ways do you think the Gothic settings of these texts help the writers to shape their presentation of heroines in peril?

Compare and contrast the presentation of Sue Trinder in Fingersmith with Marian Halcombe in The Woman in White in the light of this view.

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Writing a perfect coursework on English

Academic writing

Studentship, what an exciting period! A huge number of new friends, new subjects, new possibilities to show yourself. Time passes cheerfully and pleasantly.

At this very time, there are some things in university life that make students fall into despair. One of those things is a coursework. Why do students hate it so much? Is it very hard to write? Should students have some professional skills to do that? Actually, they don’t! Everything is much easier than you think!

What is English GCSE or English IGCSE coursework and why is it so important?

GCSE is a General Certificate of Secondary Education. This certificate is awarded to a student after he or she has undertaken a course on a particular subject (of a student’s choice), passed an examination, and completed a coursework on the same. IGCSE is, in turn, the certificate, which can be awarded to international students.

Excellent GCSE coursework is a must for every student who strives to enroll in higher educational establishments since it reveals a student’s knowledge and language skills. Also without a high grade for the project, one can hardly enter the training courses or get a good job both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Since English is a mandatory subject, a student will have to lay oneself out to get a good grade for a project on it. Among other advantages, a coursework gives a great opportunity to enrich one’s vocabulary, enhance writing skills, and express views and thoughts on the topic.

What are English language GCSE coursework requirements?

The requirements for both GCSE and IGCSE have become more strict in 2012. Earlier a student had to complete a paper at home, and thus, he or she could get help from friends, relatives, teachers, and, finally, custom writing services. Such paper is now supposed to be written under the supervision of tutors in an attempt to prevent students from cheating. However, the system has one omission. It does not offer the proper supervision for distant learners.

Speaking of the international students or those whose primary language is not English, it is worth noting that they are not expected to write an IGCSE English coursework or any other controlled assignments. However, if a student is willing to complete it, he is allowed to do that. There are some other differences between GCSE and IGCSE exams. For example, students taking IGCSE are not supposed to pass an oral examination. They will have to showcase their writing skills only, which are accurate grammar, punctuation, spelling as well as skills in essay constructions. Also, adults willing to pass the exam are allowed to take only IGCSE even if they are native speakers.

Some students prefer control assessment because it gives a false idea of security. One might think that if he writes under the supervision of a tutor, he will definitely get an A since a tutor will monitor the whole process of paper completion and perhaps even help to carry out some parts of it. However, soon enough he gets to know how much efforts it actually takes.

Tips for writing A2 English language coursework

Before starting to write, take the following recommendations into consideration:

• The word limit of a project must be 4,000 words. Get beyond this limit, and you might lose quite a few marks.
• Support your ideas and thoughts with arguments and analysis. The mere assertions like “I think…”, “As far as I know” or “It seems to me that…” won’t do for your A2.
• All your ideas outlined in the introduction must be supported throughout the whole piece.
• When writing an English coursework, descriptive writing is preferable. That is to say, you should use primarily adjectives, varied sentence structures, and sentence length.
• In Evaluation part, state how each of the sources contributed to your investigation. Again, a statement like “This source is trustworthy because it is written by the well-known writer" can hardly benefit your paper.

These very tips can be applied to any AQA English coursework. One should pay great attention to his writing assignment since the exam assessment is 40% dependent on a paper.

Coursework is used as one the easiest ways for a teacher to check the quality of students’ knowledge. That is why it is a very important part of studies to show the level of your preparation and academic abilities. Among the general English coursework tips are the following:

1) Take your time . Writing is very time-consuming, which is why it is necessary to start the assigned work as soon as possible. In such a way, you will avoid stress when the deadline is due.

2) Consult with your teachers or professors , especially those who supervise your paper. Only they can give you a piece of advice on the topic you picked, and point out what should be corrected for you to succeed.

3) Create an outline . In such a way to won’t lose track of your thoughts. An outline will help you to divide the work into parts. Thus, you will manage to pay attention to each part and then revise the previous ones to make sure everything is clear and logical.

4) Back up your ideas with examples and quotes. It especially matters when doing English coursework persuasive writing since any evidence or example can help you to support your stance and views. However, mind citing all the quotes and sources you used in the paper not to be accused of plagiarism.

5) Proofread your paper as many times as possible. Check if everything is accurate and matches the topic. You may ask someone who has good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar to read your paper in case you think there is nothing to change in it. It often may turn out that you have left something out or did not notice some minor mistakes. Remember that it is not enough to check the work only once before submitting. In fact, it might not be enough to proofread it even 2 or 3 times. So just keep proofreading the final work until you 100% confident you have polished it to perfection.

GCSE English coursework tips are basically the same. However, you should pay special heed to your controlled assessment, since it takes 40% of the final mark, which is quite a lot. Frankly speaking, if you don’t get an A for your writing piece, there is little chance you will get an A as your final mark.

• Before setting to work, check the rubric. In such a way, you will be aware of the general requirements and allocation of marks according to different criteria. In sum, you will know what the examiners are looking for and what they set high a high value on.
• Write drafts. One draft will not be sufficient. Working on the paper you will be able to get back to the previous draft to see whether you have not lost your train of thought. It is not a rare case with many students to make changes in the paper in the course of completion due to new data emergency or the work’s main objective shift, for example.
• Focus on your writing skills. Needless to say that in year 11, writing skills should be more honed than they were in the year 10. Thus, work on a text structure, use various sentence types and sentence starters, pay attention to the spelling of complex words and punctuation, and try to make the paragraphs different in length. The format of the paper is no less important, so consider improving it if you are not sure you acquit yourself of paper formats well.
• Do not hesitate to ask your teacher for a help anytime you feel like it. He or she is a person who is truly interested in you getting a high grade. Also, this person is aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and thus, can hint you at what you should do to master a writing assignment.

By the way, if you are looking for A level English coursework tips, you may look through the above-mentioned ones, since they are pretty much the same.  

Helpful English A2 coursework ideas

A2 has 3 modules, one of which is a project which should be focused on a language investigation topic. As the writing module is worth 30% of the overall mark, you should give much attention to this assignment. At this point, the right choice of a topic is the matter of great significance. Here, we will share several ideas for the A2 project, which you can research or use as the basis for thinking of your own topics.

• How did language change in advertisement and what are the language techniques, which make people want to buy a product?
• How does the gift of eloquence help politicians to get people’s approval?
• How did the non-formal speech influence the formal one in the course of time?
• How has the language of classical literature changed?
• How does the informal speech of teenagers on the Internet influence their educational performance in language classes? What are the positive and negative effects of such a jive talk?
• Usage of various language techniques to convey humor in American and British sitcoms.
• Comparison of a language of heroes and villains in animated films.
• Comparison of characters’ speech in literature and television.
• Comparison of language usage in a family and among friends.
• Comparison of a language used in male and female magazines. How does it influence the real manner of interaction between genders?

This is just a small number of English coursework ideas to research. You may choose any one to your liking. The only thing we can add is that it is better to pick the topic you are interested in, as otherwise, this assignment will turn into an extremely boring process of paper completion.

Luckily for you, this article is going to provide some quality English coursework help and tips in the next few sections. Particularly we will give some basic hints and ideas on how to complete the assignment step-by-step! So, here we go!

How to do an English coursework?

Every paper should be well-structured, and this type of paper is not an exception. Every work includes major sections like an introduction, several body paragraphs, conclusion, and reference list.

Probably the most onerous question for every student is how to start English coursework. This question is of great importance because if you start writing your paper in a wrong way, the chances you end up with a bad paper eventually are rather high. First of all, you have to concentrate on writing your English coursework proposal. You should define the aim, the purpose, the focus, and the data of your paper. At the same time, we would recommend taking all material on the topic into consideration, even if it is not very suitable for your work. While copying the material, don’t forget to mark which sources you took the information from.

How to write English coursework introduction?

If you are racking your brain on the question of how to write an English coursework introduction, look through the following recommendations:

• Firstly, you have to prepare a clear topic and an outline before writing. The topic is usually agreed upon in advance with a teacher or professor. During the conversation with the teacher, try to write down what he/she wants you to pay attention to and what aspects must be considered.
• Keep in mind that the introduction is an important part of any writing piece since a reader may not want to continue reading if the beginning of the work is dull and talks of some hackneyed things.

Do not leave out any of the mandatory components of introduction part: background information on the area of study, the main hypothesis, a reason for choosing this topic, key questions to verify the hypothesis, and key terms with definitions related to the subject.

How to organize body paragraphs properly?

In body paragraphs, you should focus on data and researches that you investigate for this particular project. It is worth noting that the body is the smooth continuation of the introduction. Mind that every paragraph should state the idea or argument supported by at least one example and several supporting sentences. Yet, do not simply restate what has already been said.

It is also worth noting that you should figure out how to write English coursework before getting down to work to avoid multiple rewritings. For example, in what manner you have to write your work, what is the approximate word count, which indents must be around the edges, in what format your paper should follow, etc. We imperatively recommend you to check this article and look through the main points, because the first impression of your work depends exactly on these very items.

What should be included in English coursework conclusion?

Keep in mind that you should avoid simply restating what has been said before in the paper. It is essential for the conclusion to answer the question posed in the introduction clearly. Summarize your ideas and make sure that your last paragraph sounds interesting and relevant because when a teacher finishes reading the whole work, the conclusion will be most fresh in his mind when assessing the paper.

When finishing the basic paragraphs, carefully study the written material, analyze whether it reveals the main idea of your work, compare it to the draft to check if you have not wandered off the initial set outline, check if all the paragraphs are consistent, and remove the information that is being repeated.

How to write a bibliography for English coursework?

Although one should always strive to write a paper in his own words, citation of reliable sources will support your thoughts and arguments. Sometimes, quotes are essential for making your writing sound academic. The best way to write a bibliography is to keep track and take notes of each source you are going to use in your work. Each source of your bibliography should include the following: name of the author, date of publication, the title of the book/journal or any other source you took information from, place of publication, publisher, and a number of pages. Of course, sometimes, some of these items may be omitted or, vice versa, something can be added.

When writing an English coursework bibliography or reference list, mind that it can look differently depending mostly on the paper format you are following. One more important rule to abide by is to assemble a final reference list in alphabetical order. If you use Internet sources or any sources that might not have an author, list them in alphabetical order. Once you have completed the bibliography list, check the whole work carefully, primarily the word count, formatting style, citations, and the writing itself.

How to write English literature coursework?

We have already discussed some general rules on how to complete a top-notch English project. Yet, a coursework on literature is a bit different as it requires a thorough reading of the literature piece you need to write about.

• Firstly, choose the type of literature work (like drama, poetry, or prose) that you want to investigate.
• Secondly, gather information of the critical kind from the reviews.
• Analyze the collected reviews on a literature piece.
• Finally, write a paper in a simple and easy manner so that the reader could get your ideas.

Taking these points into consideration, you will not bother yourself with a question like “how to do English literature coursework?” anymore. Things are sometimes not that complicated as one may think at first.

What do we have in the end? It seems like you are pretty tired, aren’t you? We are sure that you did your best to write the paper yourself, without help from a coursework writing service . However, we might not always manage our time wisely or have enough knowledge on the subject to ensure a good content and immaculate English of the assigned project. That is why availing oneself of reliable writing services you can both improve your grades and writing skills and save a lot of precious time.

Get a professional English language coursework help!

Each of us is trying to solve all problems on one’s own, but sometimes, asking for someone’s help, we can get much better results than we initially expected, particularly when it comes to using online writing services for getting quality help with assigned papers. Plenty of students would like someone to offer them help with English coursework. Does it mean that they are lazy or not clever enough do it by themselves? Of course not. Sometimes, they are just overwhelmed with numerous assignments or have no time cope with everything. Or they just want to have a professional paper, without any defects and omissions.

Our company has numerous skilled and professional employees, and they are ready to help you write your papers. Buying a paper from Pro-Papers is the fastest and the easiest way to get the highest grades. In case you just need your work to be proofread or edited, our writers will do their best since they know how to improve your English coursework. After all, your teacher will enjoy your writing piece, and you will enjoy your excellent mark.

You do not have to bother your head with the question of how to write good English coursework anymore as our experienced writers are working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide each customer with fast and irreproachable services. We guarantee that ordering with us, you will be satisfied with a paper completed by our writers. Moreover, we are sure that your instructor will be amazed and surprised with the work you will submit.

Thus, if you want to get a professional IGCSE or GCSE English coursework help to ensure the high quality of your work and A grade that you deserve, click the “Order now” button on this page, provide all the instructions and details on your assignment and relax, as we will do the work for you!

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