Year 11 English - Extension

Course Overview

Term 1
Close Reading to Creative Writing: Engage critically and creatively with a range of anthologised and self-selected short texts.

Students will read, analyse and report back on an anthology of short thematically connected texts. Students will learn to read literature in, and as a reflection of, context – social, cultural and historical. This will allow for a deeper understanding of how writing can simultaneously shape, reflect and critique societies through time. They will then use these poems and artworks which share a similar theme as inspiration for their own creative writing in an ekphrastic style.

Term 2
Literary Analysis of Extended Written/Dramatic Text: literary analysis of an extended written or dramatic text.

Students will read and analyse a novel or play, exploring the socio-historical context of the text alongside author’s purpose and the ideas they raise. Students will be introduced to philosophical, psychological and/or socio-political theories and will learn to apply these to the interpretation of the text studied. They will communicate and personally reflect upon this knowledge through literary essay writing.

Term 3
Inter-Textual Investigation: Examine and articulate connections between four texts.

Students will explore how a variety of texts can speak to the shared human experience and how the societies we form function. Aspects of power and control can be considered here from a macro perspective, alongside more introspective notions such as isolation and alienation. The study of a Shakespeare play will be incorporated within this unit, as it is in each year of the extension pathway and will be considered alongside other texts. Alongside texts that have been studied earlier in the year, students will self-select texts and craft a report that examines the connections between all four. These connections could be centered on genre, character, setting or themes and ideas.

Term 4
Literary Analysis of Visual Text: Perform literary analysis of an extended visual text.

Students will view and analyse a film, exploring the socio-historical context of the text alongside director’s purpose and the ideas they raise. They will communicate and personally reflect upon this knowledge through literary essay writing.