AQA A Level English Literature Specification A: 2008 onwards

World War One Literature

The First World War option for the new AQA Specification A AS Level English Literature (LTA1B and LITA2 Option B) covers the same topic as the A Level synoptic paper (LTA6) for the 'legacy' specification (which will be examined in 2008 and 2009, with a final re-sit in 2010).

The materials on the First World War literature pages should prove useful for either course. There are however some important differences between the two:

• The A Level Paper, LTA6, has no set texts: the examination is based on unseen extracts which candidates explore and compare to their wider reading
• The new AS Level is examined in two units (see the AQA specification for full details):
• Unit 1: set poetry texts and an unseen passage to compare with candidates' wider reading
• Unit 2: coursework on prose and drama

In due course the AS set and suggested text lists will be placed on this site. At present, please see these pages:

If you are teaching or studying the AQA course it is essential to refer to the AQA specification to ensure that you are reading the right texts and meeting all the requirements!

• First World War literature page for extensive lists of websites and reading suggestions
• Poems of the First World War: a small selection of poems and context notes
• Tracing the names on a war memorial: what can we find out about those named on a local memorial?
• Remembrance services: why are certain passages so often used?

Tom Rank's volume on Poetry of the First World War is now available in the York Notes Advanced Series, based on the First World War poems in The Oxford Book of War Poetry.