What is GCSE English Literature? Explained

Find out everything you need to know about the English Literature GCSE, including what texts are studied, how it’s assessed and what skills you will develop during the course.

What is GCSE English Literature? A quick summary

GCSE English Literature is a UK qualification commonly taken by secondary school students at the end of Key Stage 4 study (usually when they are 16 years of age). It is the fourth most popular GCSE, with just over 500,000 students taking the GCSE each year, most often in Year 11. 

The course covers a range of literature, from Shakespeare to modern texts to classic poetry, and develops a range of reading and writing skills, as well as critical thinking and the ability to analyse and evaluate a range of texts. 

Why study English literature at GCSE?

As an English tutor and teacher of more than ten years, I cannot recommend GCSE English Literature enough. The range of skills it develops in students is remarkable. Aside from helping to improve your vocabulary, critical thinking and essay writing skills, it also helps build your confidence and communication skills immeasurably. 

I have seen the shyest young people blossom into the best critics (and even debaters!) during their studies. These skills aren’t just useful if you want to study further or take A Level English Literature in the future; they are some of the most important and transferable skills for entering the world of work, too. 

Aside from the practical benefits of GCSE English Literature, you will also get the chance to engage with some of the finest works of art ever created: the genius of Shakespeare, the sublime beauty of the Romantic poets and the greatest novels and plays ever written in English. 

What does GCSE English Literature cover?

The types of text and topics covered are the same for all the exam boards (AQA, OCR, Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas) in GCSE English Literature. For every exam board, the texts that students study must include the following:

Shakespeare

All GCSE English Literature students must study at least one play by William Shakespeare. The most commonly studied plays are Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

19th-century literature

Students must study one novel written in the 1800s. Popular choices include Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations and Jane Eyre are also widely studied.

Poetry

You will study a selection of poetry (usually about 15 poems) for your GCSE. These poems can be from 1789 to the present day, are written by a wide range of poets, and must include at least some works by the Romantic poets.

Modern texts

You will also study a British novel or a play written from 1914 onwards, and these works often concern political or social issues. The most commonly chosen text is the play An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley.

You will also be assessed on texts you haven’t previously studied. These will be printed in the exam paper and are called “unseen texts”. They can be any type of text, but are usually poems.

How is GCSE English Literature assessed?

Again, all exam boards assess students in the same way based on the same criteria: 

For more details on how each exam board assesses its GCSE students, see our course overview pages:

AQA GCSE English Literature

OCR GCSE English Literature

Edexcel GCSE English Literature

WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature

What are the different assessment objectives?

The assessment objectives for GCSE English Literature are set by the government and are the same for all exam boards: 

What skills will students learn?

Although students develop a huge range of skills as part of their GCSE English Literature course of study, they can be usefully grouped into the following three categories:

Reading

Although students will become more fluent readers by taking GCSE English Literature, “reading” also means access to a wide range of texts that will enrich your cultural knowledge, helping you to make connections across texts and genres and developing your critical reading and evaluative skills. You may even develop the habit of reading for pleasure too!

Writing

The exam assesses your essay writing skills, so you will also learn how to create, sustain and defend an argument, while also developing a broad vocabulary and your confidence with spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Critical thinking

Because there is often no correct answer for any essay question, students in GCSE English Literature have to consider and scrutinise other perspectives and interpretations of a text. This can include interrogating the point of view of the writer of a text, or an audience or critic of that work.

GCSE English Literature exam boards

Although the general content and assessment objectives are set by the UK government for all English Literature GCSEs, there are some small differences between them. Here are the main differences to look out for:

AQA

Students write just one answer (an essay) for each of the Shakespeare, 19th-century novel and modern texts sections. The comparison element of the course comes in the poetry section of the exam: students are required to compare two studied poems (from the selection in their chosen anthology) and also compare two “unseen” poems.

OCR

For the Shakespeare and 19th-century novel sections, there are two shorter essays: one based on an extract, and one more open-ended. The comparison element of the course is covered in both the poetry and modern texts sections. The two exam papers are worth the same amount of marks, and have the same time limit.

Edexcel

The Shakespeare and 19th-century novel questions are in two parts: one part based on an extract and one on the play as a whole. The comparison element, like AQA, is on both “seen” and “unseen” poetry, and there is only one unseen poetry question on the exam paper.

WJEC Eduqas

The Shakespeare question is split into two parts: one on an extract and one an open-ended, longer essay. The comparison element is in the form of unseen poetry questions and the poems in the specified anthology. There are 18 poems in the anthology.

For more details on the differences between the exam boards, and what each specification contains, see our article on GCSE English Literature Exam Papers.

Top tips for success

• Know your set texts back-to-front: there is nothing examiners like to see more than a student who clearly knows their exam text really well

• Take a “whole-text approach” to analysis: move beyond analysis of individual words and phrases to explore a writer’s choices across the whole of their piece of writing

• Develop your own “critical voice”: examiners love to see a student’s own perspective and interpretations of a text, so be confident sharing them!

For more great tips written by our team of experts, see our article on How to Revise for Your English Literature GCSE Exam. 

Get a 9 with Save My Exams

Whichever GCSE exam board you are following, we have a range of revision guides, past papers and model answers to help you get that top grade, including specific tips on hitting a Grade 9:

GCSE English Literature Resources 

Sources 

The UK government’s Department for Education GCSE English Literature overview

FFT Education Data Lab statistics on GCSE English Literature