A-Level English Literature: the independent comparative essay - question, texts, critics and referencing

Non-exam assessment makes up 20% of the A level in English Literature in England, and for most students it is the longest piece of independent critical writing they have attempted. Requirements differ by board - AQA's English Literature A, for example, asks for a comparative study of two texts, one written before 1900, in 2,500 words with a bibliography, while OCR asks for a close reading or re-creative piece and a comparative essay on post-1900 texts - so always check your own specification. What they share is a set of skills that can be practised in advance, and this material trains those skills. It is not a coursework task and does not set a title for you to submit.

The examples use a pair of public-domain novels that many students compare: Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. With them you practise choosing texts that have enough in common to connect and enough difference to argue about; turning a broad interest into an open, arguable comparative question; writing a thesis that makes a precise claim about both texts; planning an integrated structure instead of two half-essays; embedding quotations and analysing them; using critical views as arguments to test rather than authorities to quote; and deciding what to cut when a draft runs over the word limit.

The practical side matters as much as the literary one. Questions and flashcards cover in-text referencing and a consistent bibliography, what counts as plagiarism (including unacknowledged paraphrase), how authentication works, how to use drafting and general feedback independently, and how to write a conclusion that gives an earned judgement.

The material offers a quiz of twelve questions with one defensible answer each and an explanation after every answer, twelve flashcards on the essential skills and terms, and a printable written work of eight open questions - from framing a title and planning a comparison to rewriting a weak paragraph, using critics, referencing, academic honesty and drafting - each with a model answer and the key points a strong response should include.

• Choose two texts that support a productive comparison
• Turn a topic into an open, arguable comparative question and a precise thesis
• Plan an integrated comparative structure
• Use critical views as arguments to test against the text
• Embed quotations, reference sources and compile a consistent bibliography
• Keep to word limits and the rules of academic honesty for non-exam assessment

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE A level English Literature subject content (AO1-AO5) and the non-exam assessment requirements of exam boards, for example AQA English Literature A (7712) specification section 4.3 and OCR H472 Component 03. Example quotations from public-domain texts: Stevenson, 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' (Gutenberg #43); Wilde, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (#174).