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Literature

OVERVIEW

Literature is designed to enable students to:

  • Develop an enjoyment  of literature  through reading widely, imaginatively, critically and independently;
  • Gain an understanding of the variety of human experience;
  • Develop a critical awareness of cultures past and present, as they are represented in literature;
  • Read closely and engage in detailed critical analysis of the key literary features;
  • Develop interpretive skills by hypothesising about and drawing inferences from texts;
  • Extend their understanding of the different ways literary texts are constructed;
  • Reflect on their interpretations and evaluate others' interpretations and measure these against biblical perspectives
  • Develop the capacity to write confident analytical and creative responses to texts.

CONTENT

UNIT 1

AREAS OF STUDY

Reading Practices

In this   Area of Study students consider how language, structure and stylistic choices are used in different literary forms and types of text. They consider both print and non-print texts, reflecting on the  contributions of form and style to meaning. Students reflect on the degree to which points of view, experiences and contexts shape responses to text. They engage with other views about texts and develop an awareness of how these views may influence and enhance their own reading of a text. They develop an awareness of initial readings of texts against more considered and complex  responses to texts.

Ideas and concerns in texts

In this  Area of Study students investigate the ideas and concerns raised in texts and the ways social and cultural contexts are represented. They consider how texts may reflect or comment on the interests of individuals and particular groups in society and how texts may support or question particular aspects of society. Students learn to select and discuss aspects of the texts that facilitate their interpretation and understanding of the  points of view being presented. They consider those facets of human experience that are seen as important within the texts and those that are ignored or disputed. They examine the ways texts explore different aspects of the human condition.

UNIT 2

AREAS OF STUDY

The text, the reader and their contexts

In this   Area of Study students focus on the interrelationships between the text, readers and their social and cultural contexts. Students reflect upon their own backgrounds and experience in developing responses to texts from a past era and/or another culture. Students explore the text to understand its point of view and what it reflects or comments on. They identify the language and the representations in the text that reflect the period or culture, its ideas and concepts. Students develop an understanding that contextual meaning is already implicitly or explicitly inscribed in a text and that textual details and structures can be scrutinised to illustrate its significance. They examine and reflect on how the reader’s interpretation is influenced by what they bring to the text. Students develop the ability to analyse language closely, recognising that words have historical and cultural import.

Exploring connections between texts

In this  Area of Study students focus on the ways that texts relate to and influence each other. Students learn that meanings of texts are evolving and open to a range of interpretations and change in relation to other texts. Students consider how the reading of a text can change according to the form of the text and its context. They investigate and analyse how different interpretations of texts are influenced by language features and structures.

UNIT 3

AREAS OF STUDY

Adaptations and Transformations

In this  Area of Study students focus on how the form of text contributes to the meaning of the text. Students develop an understanding of the typical features of a particular form of text and how the conventions associated with it are used, such as the use of imagery and rhythm in a poem or the use of setting, plot and narrative voice in a novel. Students use this understanding to reflect upon the extent to which changing the form of the text affects its meaning. By exploring adaptations, students also consider how creators of adaptations may emphasise or understate perspectives, assumptions and ideas in their presentation of a text.

Creative Responses to Texts

In this  Area of Study students focus on the imaginative techniques used for creating and recreating a literary work. Students use their knowledge of how the meaning of texts can change as form changes to construct their own creative transformations of texts. They learn how writers develop images of people and places, and they develop an understanding of language, voice, form and structure. Students draw inferences from the original text and speculate about the writer's purpose. In their adaptation of the tone and the style of the original text, students develop an understanding of the concerns and attitudes explored.

UNIT 4

AREAS OF STUDY

Literary Perspectives

In this  Area of Study students focus on how different readings of texts may reflect the views and values of both writer and reader. Students consider the ways in which various interpretations of texts can contribute to understanding. They compare and analyse  pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives, assumptions and ideas about the views and values of the text studied. Students identify the issues, ideas and contexts writers choose to explore, the way these are represented in the text/s and the cultural, social, historical and ideological contexts in which they were created. Students enquire into the ways readers may arrive at differing interpretations about a text and the  grounds on which they are developed. Through close attention to two pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives, students develop their own response to a text.

Close Analysis

In this  Area of Study students focus on detailed scrutiny of the language, style, concerns and construction of texts. Students attend closely to textual details to examine the ways specific features and/or passages in a text contributes to their overall interpretations. Students consider features of texts including structure, context, ideas, images, characters and situations, and the language in which these are expressed. They develop their interpretations using detailed reference to the text, logical sequencing of ideas and persuasive language.

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

Competence in language, both written and oral, is of vital importance if students are to become effective communicators of the Gospel. However, Christian students need to develop basic skills not only to communicate the truth, but also to discern truth. Students must be able to comprehend and analyse what they are reading and to be able to clearly explain and justify their responses.

Through the study of literature, various social values are examined from a Biblical perspective. Common issues which arise and are explored may include:

  • wealth and poverty
  • the family
  • relationships
  • suffering and adversity
  • race relations; discrimination
  • the spiritual aspect of man's personality
  • ambition and aspirations
  • sanity and insanity

In addition, Literature aims to extend the students' appreciation of the beauty and goodness which exists in God's world. Literature has an important role to play in the development of the students' understanding of themselves and the world, and is a valuable tool in discussions on the nature of man and our Christian responsibility to God and His  Creation.

ASSESSMENT

UNIT 1 and 2

Tasks for assessment in these unit are selected from:

  • Essay (comparative, interpretive, analytical or discursive)
  • Debate
  • Journal entries
  • Close analysis of selected passages
  • An original piece of writing responding to a text(s) studied
  • Oral or written review
  • Multimedia presentation
  • Participation in an online discussion
  • Performance and commentary

UNIT 3

Outcomes

Assessment tasks

Marks Allocated*

Outcome 1

Analyse the extent to which meaning changes when a text is adapted to a different form

An analysis of how the form of a text influences meaning. Students may:

  • compare a dramatised version of a scene or scenes from a text with the original text
  • compare a print text with the text's adaptation into another form
  • compare the performance of either a substantial individual text or group of texts with the original text

50

Outcome 2

Respond creatively to a text and comment on the connections between the text and the response

A creative response to a text. Students may:

  • submit an original piece of writing, presented in a manner
  • consistent with the style and context of the original text
  • re-create or rework an aspect of the text, such as adding to the text, recasting a part of the text in another setting or form, or presenting an episode in the text from another point of view.

AND

Students must submit:

  • A reflective commentary establishing connections with the original text.

40

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

TOTAL MARKS

100

*School-assessed coursework for Unit 3 contributes 25 % to the study score

UNIT 4

Outcomes

Assessment tasks

Marks Allocated*

Outcome 1

Produce an interpretation of a text using different literary perspectives to inform their view

A written interpretation of a text using two different perspectives to inform their response

50

Outcome 2

Analyse features of texts and develop and justify interpretations of texts

Task 1

A written interpretation of a text, upported by close textual analysis.

 

AND

 

Task 2

A written interpretation of a different text from Task 1, supported by close textual analysis.

 

Students may:

  • Select and discuss the role and significance of particular sections of a text in interpreting the text as a whole
  • Analyse how certain literary features contribute to an interpretation of a text
  • Analyse the linkages, parallels and contrasts between different passages from a text

40

10

 

TOTAL MARKS

100

*School-assessed coursework for Unit 4 contributes 25 % to the study score