International AS and A-level English Literature (9675)

 International AS and A-level English Literature contains four units. 

• Unit 1, Section A: Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy 
• Unit 1, Section B: Later dramatic tragedies 
• Unit 2, Section A: Prose 
• Unit 2, Section B: Poetry 
• Unit 3,  Selection 
• Unit 4,  Unseen Texts or NEA 

Assessment Objectives: 

The exams and non-exam assessment (NEA) which make up OxfordAQA International AS/A-level English Literature measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives: 

• AO1: Demonstrate understanding of the ways in which readers find meanings in texts, showing an understanding of genre, the significance of contexts, and the ways in which different interpretations can be found. 
• AO2: Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts with close attention to authorial methods. 
• AO3: Express informed, personal and argued responses to literary texts, using appropriate concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate writing.

Please note that all three assessment objectives are weighted equally in all questions across both International AS and International A-level. We believe that this coherent approach to the study of the subject means that AOs support learning rather than dominate it. 

Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029). 

For current cohorts (final AS exams in January 2028, final A2 exams in October/November 2028), International AS & A-level English Literature students can select from the following options:

Unit 1, Section A: Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy – select one from: 

• William Shakespeare – Othello 
• William Shakespeare – King Lear 
• William Shakespeare – Hamlet 
• Christopher Marlowe – Doctor Faustus 
• John Webster – The Duchess of Malfi 
• Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029). 

Unit 1, Section B: Later dramatic tragedies – select one from: 

• Arthur Miller – Death of a Salesman 
• Tennessee Williams – A Streetcar Named Desire 
• Henrik Ibsen – Hedda Gabler 
• Samuel Beckett – Waiting for Godot 
• Brian Friel – Translations 
• Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029). 

Unit 2, Section A: Prose – select one from: 

• Joseph Conrad – Heart of Darkness 
• F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby 
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah 
• Andrea Levy – Small Island 
• Aravind Adiga – Last Man in Tower 
• Kazuo Ishiguro – Remains of the Day
• Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029).

Unit 2, Section B: Poetry – select one from: 

• William Wordsworth selection 
• Robert Frost selection 
• Thomas Hardy selection 
• Seamus Heaney selection
• Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029). 

Unit 3 – Select two from: 

• William Shakespeare – Macbeth 
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge – The Rime of Ancient Mariner 
• Robert Browning – Selected Poems 
• Charles Dickens – Oliver Twist 
• Edgar Allan Poe – Collected Stories 
• Robert Louis Stevenson – Collected Stories 
• Agatha Christie – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 
• Qiu Xiaolong – Death of a Red Heroine 
• Kate Atkinson – When Will There Be Good News? 
• Please see the summary of changes document for cohorts from 2027 (first AS exams in May/June 2028, first A2 exams in May/June 2029). 

Assessment – Unit 4 – select either: 

• 4a – An exam paper containing two questions on unseen texts, one prose and one poetry. 
• 4b – Non-exam assessment consisting of two essays, one on prose and one on poetry. 

OxfordAQA provides all the resources and advice you need to teach the revised International AS and A-level English Literature specification effectively. 

• Download the specification 
• View our training courses to help you deliver OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Literature 
• Fully matched 2nd edition Student Book and digital teaching resources from Oxford University Press – request a digital inspection copy 

This is a modular qualification, with four papers over the AS and A-level teaching period and two routes through the course.

AS Paper 1 – Aspects of Dramatic Tragedy:

• Section A – Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy
• Section B – Later Dramatic Tragedies
• Students answer one question from each section
• Closed-book exam
• 2 hours
• 50 marks
• 50% of AS-level, 20% of A-level

AS Paper 2 – Place in Literary Texts:

• Section A – Prose
• Section B – Poetry
• Students answer one question from each section
• Open-book exam
• 2 hours
• 50 marks
• 50% of AS-level, 20% of A-level

A-level Paper 1 – Elements of Crime and Mystery:

• Students answer two essay questions
• Closed-book exam
• 2 hours
• 50 marks
• 30% of A-level

Route A:

A-level Paper 2 – Literary Representations:

• Section A – Unseen Prose
• Section B – Unseen Poetry
• Students answer one question from each section
• 2 hours 30 minutes
• 50 marks
• 30% of A-level

Route B:

Non-Exam Assessment (NEA):

• Students study two texts, one poetry and one prose, and write two essays of 1,250-1,500 words.
• Assessed by teachers, moderated by AQA
• 50 marks
• 30% of A-level
• Find out more about non-exam assessment (NEA), including guidance, resources and information on how to access Teacher Online Standardisation (TOLS).
• Candidate record forms – We produce candidate record forms for all coursework and controlled assessment components. They are for students and teachers to authenticate the work, and teachers to record their assessments and supporting information.
  • International A-level English Literature (PDF)

Re-sits 

• Candidates may re-sit a unit any number of times.
• The best result for each unit will count towards the final qualification.
• Candidates who wish to repeat a qualification may do so by re-sitting one or more units.

Anthologies for exam use 

Anthologies required for exams will be provided as an insert with the question papers. Registered OxfordAQA teachers can download the International AS/A-level English Literature anthology from the Resources page.

Take a look at:

• The OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Literature switching guide
• Example specimen exam paper and mark scheme 
• Samples from the poetry anthology  

You must be an approved OxfordAQA centre to enter students for our exams. Make sure you become an OxfordAQA centre before you start teaching a course.