How to Revise for A Level English Literature: Tactics That Work

Revising for A Level English Literature can feel overwhelming. There are so many texts to learn, and the skills you’re required to show are a real step-up from GCSE.

However, with the right techniques, you’ll feel more than ready to tackle your exams. Over the past ten years, including several where I led a Sixth Form’s English department, I have supported hundreds of students to succeed. Over that time, I’ve learnt the best revision techniques that are backed by science and work for real students.

This guide will walk you through my 10 key revision strategies to help you prepare effectively for your exams.

1. Understand the exam structure

Before starting your revision, ensure you understand how the exam is assessed. There is quite a lot of variation between exam boards (so it is vital that you check out your own course in more detail), but it’s essential that, before you start revising, you know:

• How many questions you will have to answer on each paper

• How long you have to answer each question

• Whether you are allowed a copy of your set text(s) in the exam room with you

At Save My Exams, we’ve made sure that our revision notes are always aligned with the specific exam board (and the skills you’re required to display in each exam question) that students will be studying for. You can find the revision notes for our A Level English Literature courses here:

A Level English Literature Revision Resources

2. Learn what you will be assessed on

To perform well in A Level English Literature, it’s essential to understand the key areas on which you will be assessed. While specific assessment objectives vary slightly between exam boards, all students will need to demonstrate:

• Close textual analysis: showing understanding of how writers use language, structure, and form

• Contextual awareness: considering historical, social and literary influences on texts

• Comparative skills: making connections between different works, themes and ideas

• Critical perspectives: engaging with multiple interpretations and evaluating different viewpoints

Each of the skills listed above will typically relate to its own assessment objective (AO). Exam boards differ a little in what these are called, so do check out your own exam board’s specification for more details. 

However, the most important thing for you to learn is which assessment objectives you will be tested on for each exam question. Knowing this before you start revising will mean your revision is focused only on those areas that will boost your grade.

3. Create a revision schedule

Once you’ve mapped out everything in tips 1 and 2 above, it’s time to create a structured revision plan. This helps ensure you cover everything before the exam. Follow these key principles:

• Prioritise weaker areas: focus on challenging texts or themes, not those you find easiest

• Use short, focused sessions: avoid long, passive study periods where you just read over your notes

• Rotate between texts and skills: to keep revision varied and engaging, don’t study 10 poems in a row, or spend a whole day on a Shakespeare play

Research suggests that short, frequent study sessions improve long-term retention more than last-minute cramming. Using a schedule ensures a balanced approach to revision. My best students always started revising a long time in advance, even if it was only short sessions to consolidate what had been taught in class that week.

For more details on the benefits of creating a revision timetable, including a downloadable template, see our article on revision timetables here.

4. Find revision strategies that work for you

I am probably most passionate about this tip: in my experience, so many students waste time on revision techniques that have a low impact. With so much to cover at A Level, it’s vital to use science-backed study techniques to retain information effectively:

• Active recall: self-test using flashcards or past questions:

  • Research shows that retrieval practice significantly enhances memory retention

• Spaced repetition: review material over time rather than cramming:

  • Studies indicate that revisiting information at increasing intervals improves long-term memory

• Dual coding: use diagrams, timelines and colour-coded notes:

  • Combining visual and verbal information enhances learning.

• Elaborative interrogation: ask “why” and “how” questions to deepen understanding:

  • This method helps integrate new knowledge with prior understanding, and works really well if you team up with fellow students and create a study group

Combining different strategies is the most effective way to retain information — so don’t just rely on one or two of these strategies. It’s a great idea to include what specific revision techniques (active recall; dual coding) you’ll be using as part of any revision timetable too.

5. Organise your notes by theme and character

Instead of revising texts in order of plot, organise your notes thematically. At A Level, you are being assessed on your ability to analyse and interpret texts critically, and the best place to start is by identifying what ideas and themes a writer is exploring in their texts. This also makes it easier to compare texts in the exam.

While it is important to understand the order of events in any text, research suggests that organising information into meaningful categories improves recall and comprehension.

6. Use flashcards to memorise more than just key quotations

Flashcards aren’t just for quotations — use them to revise themes, characters and critical interpretations. Try:

• Writing a quotation on one side: character, theme, and key analysis can be on the other

• Using colour-coding: to distinguish different texts or themes — this is especially useful if you have to compare themes from different texts in an exam

• Self-testing regularly: to reinforce learning

Examiners don’t expect long quotes, but short, relevant ones can enhance your analysis. 

This is also true of quotes from critics — lots of students waste time learning long quotations from critics and scholars. What’s more important is that you understand the perspective or view of the critic, not memorise word-for-word excerpts of their work. Try learning these perspectives with flashcards too.

7. Practise writing exam answers in timed conditions

Writing a full essay answer is a daunting prospect at A Level. However, research suggests that simulating exam conditions and writing under time pressure is one of the most effective revision techniques. My advice is always to build up to writing a full essay in stages. This helps build confidence. Follow these steps:

1. Start with essay plans: before writing any exam questions, practise creating essay plans — use past paper questions for this

2. Write timed paragraphs: move on to writing single paragraphs (based on points in your essay plans)

3. Move on to full timed essays: as soon as you feel confident writing single paragraphs quickly, simulate real exam conditions and write full essays

8. Test yourself with past paper questions

Past papers are invaluable for understanding question styles and examiner expectations, as well as seeing what kinds of themes and characters are focused on in exam questions. Again, research suggests that regularly testing yourself with past questions improves exam readiness and reduces anxiety.

Try writing essay plans for these past paper questions (as outlined above), and slowly build yourself up to completing full essays in timed conditions. At Save My Exams we have past papers for A Level English Literature courses here:

A Level English Literature revision resources

9. Ask for help

Don’t revise in isolation — use your support network:

• Teachers: for feedback and essay marking

• Study groups: to test each other and maintain focus and morale

• Parents and siblings: they may not know the course, but they can always help test you

Seeking help is a strength, not a weakness. I always used to encourage students to form study groups to discuss the ideas in their texts, and to complete active recall revision techniques. Some of my best students even used to plan essays together on the whiteboards in our classrooms after school. I loved to see this!

10. Stay positive and balanced

Revision can be stressful, so maintain a healthy balance:

• Take breaks: The Pomodoro technique (25 min study, 5 min break) can help. Research indicates that frequent breaks improve focus and prevent burnout.

• Get enough sleep: Memory consolidation happens during sleep. Studies show that sleep strengthens recall and problem-solving skills.

• Stay active: Regular exercise can boost concentration. Physical activity has been linked to improved cognitive function.

As hard as it can seem, taking care of yourself and not spending every waking hour revising will actually improve your exam performance. For more information on staying stress-free during your revision, check out our Free Exam Anxiety Relief Kit.

By following these strategies, you’ll be well prepared to tackle your A Level English Literature exams with confidence — you got this!

Improve your grades with Save My Exams

Save My Exams offers a range of resources to help you excel in your exams. For A Level English Literature, we offer a large collection of revision notes (including question-by-question guides), past exam papers and mark schemes.

Our resources are aligned with the specific exam boards, providing targeted support for all students:

A Level English Literature Revision Resources

References

Department for Education GCE AS and A level subject content for English literature

EEF blog: “Building study habits and revision routines”