A-Level English Language and GCSE English Language
If a division can be made between those 'A' levels which, requiring the student to reproduce lengthy sections from his notes more or less verbatim, call above all for a good memory, and others which emphasise the cultivation of transferable skills, to be applied, in the exam, in new and unfamiliar contexts, then English Language may be seen as belonging squarely in the latter category. Typically, a Language exam at 'A' level calls upon the student to analyse various kinds of linguistic discourse (spoken or written, ancient or modern, literary or non-literary, informal or stylized) from an array of perspectives (phonological, morphological, syntactical, lexical, orthographic, stylistic, rhetorical), or to recast material from one format or style into another, and then supply a detailed commentary on the nature of the alterations he has made. The successful candidate is the one who exhibits a highly developed and multi-faceted linguistic sensitivity, equally attuned to fifteenth-century religious sermons and twenty-first-century advertisements.
English Language is not for the faint-hearted, then. If it is difficult and demanding, however, it is also enormously rewarding, in more than one sense. Anyone who completes the 'A'-level course successfully will, in the process, add cubits to his intellectual stature, and make himself an attractive proposition in the eyes of university teachers responsible for offering places at their institutions.
