English Language AS Level

English Language AS Level
This course allows you to develop your analytical skills by exploring how language is used in both writing and speech.

What does the course involve?
This course allows you to develop the sort of precise analytical skills that are invaluable, whatever course or work you ultimately do. In addition, though, it helps to improve your own powers of written expression. You will write creatively and learn what constitutes good writing in different contexts. You must be prepared to learn grammatical terms, even if you know none at the moment.

What will I study?
The AS course introduces you to a detailed analysis of the way we use language. Obviously, you will explore how people write but it will not just be short stories or novels. As a language student, you are just as interested in analysing an advertisement or a menu in a restaurant as you are in commenting on literature. To do this, you will need to learn a lot of grammatical terminology (we assume you do not know anything at the start!). Once you have mastered the terms, you can approach everything you read with impressive precision! In turn, this will help your own writing. You will write a great deal during the year, from play scripts to newspaper reports, but you also learn to analyse your own writing in the same way as you explore texts written by other people. The coursework in the first year allows you to write in whatever literary form that you choose (a short story, an extract from a horror novel, a radio play, for instance) as well as producing a commentary evaluating the success of your work. In addition, you will explore how people talk in the media, again choosing yourself whether you want to analyse a soap opera or a film or even a stand up comedy routine. The exam itself asks you to analyse unseen passages in detail, exploring the language used and examining how bias is conveyed.

How is the course assessed?

• Examination at the end of the course
• Coursework

What other costs are there?
Supplementary Costs
Band A (£0 - £50)

Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take this course alongside other English A Levels?
You may study English Literature A Level at the same time but you cannot choose English Language and Literature (the combined course).

Can I study English at University when I have done this course?
You can study English at University but you are only really equipped to do courses that are predominantly language-based, such as Linguistics. If you want to study literature at University, you should take English Literature A Level.

What essays will I have to write on this course and how often will I write them?
Your writing will either be production work (you write a review of a film, for instance, with a commentary on your own writing) or analysis (you analyse how language is used in an advertisement, for instance). You will do an assignment every two weeks.
Exam Board = WJEC

This information is believed to be correct. Cirencester College continually updates and reviews its provision to ensure that it meets the needs of the community. Therefore the right to amend, change or delete learning programmes, accreditation routes or terms and conditions relating to entitlement to study is reserved at all times. We aim to provide open access to a comprehensive range of high quality education and training for the whole community over the age of 16 regardless of race, class, belief, language, gender, sexual orientation, disability, previous educational attainment or particular circumstances.

Entry Requirements

You will need grade C in FIVE of the following (inc. short GCSEs) : English Language or Literature/Humanities (History,Geography,RS,Sociology,Psychology)/Business/Science (Core and Additional OR triple)/Maths/Foreign Language - If that does not include GCSE English Language, you must take this course at college and achieve a C to progress to A2.
You must achieve a grade C in any GCSE taken which is directly related to this AS level unless a higher grade is specified.