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Specifications and Assessment Objectives
AQA English Literature A A2 Unit 3 Reading for Meaning: Love through the Ages Examination
Content

Candidates should read at least three texts in order to prepare for a paper which will contain unprepared passages for close study, comparison and critical commentary.
The topic for this unit is Love Through the Ages. ‘Love’ will include romantic love but will not be restricted to that single definition.
Candidates’ reading in the literature of love should include:
- prose, poetry and drama
- literature written by both men and women
- literature through time (from Chaucer to the present day)
- some non-fiction texts.
The Examination
The examination will take the form of a 2½ hour written examination. The paper will contain four unseen items. There will be two compulsory questions to answer. Each question will be marked out of 40.
Question 1 will require candidates to compare two items of the same genre. The genre may change with each examination series. This question will require the close reading of the texts as well as reference to wider reading on the theme of love within the same genre as the items.
Question 2 will invite candidates to compare two items (of the remaining two genres). Candidates will use their wider reading on the theme of love through literature to inform their interpretations
Assessment Objectives
AO1 Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression
AO2 Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts
AO3 Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers
AO4 Demonstrate understanding of the...