Is A Level English Literature Hard? A Teacher’s Perspective

A Level English Literature has a reputation for being tough. But while it’s certainly challenging, I believe it’s a misconception that it’s one of the hardest A Levels. It’s an incredibly rewarding subject with transferable skills, many students get good grades, and it’s more manageable than you might think with the right mindset and strategy.

I’ve taught A Level English Literature to hundreds of students and, as Head of Key Stage 5 English, I’ve supported hundreds more. It’s true that many students begin the course feeling daunted. However, in my experience, the vast majority finish it with a deep appreciation for literature, and many of my former students have gone on to study it at university. One is now even an English teacher herself!

In this article, we’ll explore why some students consider A Level English Literature to be hard and explore some strategies to help make it easier to succeed.

So, is A Level English Literature hard?

Statistically, A Level English Literature has a moderate rate of top-grade success. In 2024, 10.0% of students achieved an A* in the subject — placing it around the middle of the table. 

While this is well below subjects like Further Maths (29.4%), it's much higher than many popular subjects such as English Language (2.3%), Sociology (5.3%), and Media Studies (2.3%). 

It is only very marginally more difficult to achieve top grades in English Literature than it is in other subjects: a total of 25.2% of pupils achieved A*--A grades in English Literature compared to 27.8% for all subjects.

You can see this in the chart below, where English Literature sits around mid-way in terms of A* difficulty:

However, when it comes to average performance, English Literature fares quite well. Over 57% of students achieved a B or above, which is stronger than Psychology, Sociology, and English Language, and in line with subjects like History and Chemistry:

These graphs show that while, like in many subjects, top grades are tough to achieve, English Literature is a fairly typical A Level subject in terms of overall grading.

What makes A Level English Literature difficult?

Lots of students assume that A Level English Literature is hard, and it’s true that the step up from GCSE is significant. 

The sheer number of set texts (including some from authors who’ve been dead for more than 400 years!), the coursework requirement, and the fact that you’re basically only assessed by essay questions mean that getting to grips with the A Level requirements can be tricky.

Essay-based assessments

Unlike many other subjects, English Literature is 100% essay-based. This means your ability to structure and sustain complex arguments is constantly tested. In a two-hour paper, you might only answer two or three questions, but they demand depth, clarity, and sharp literary insight.

Wide range of challenging texts

Depending on your exam board (AQA, OCR, Edexcel, Eduqas), you may study six or more types of text, covering drama, prose, and poetry — and often from different time periods. This includes pre-1900 literature, modern works, and at least one Shakespeare play. The volume and diversity of material can be overwhelming. Indeed, depending on your school’s set text selection, and including poems, you might have to study over 50 separate texts as part of your course!

Context and critical theory

Top marks require more than just reading the texts. You’ll also need to understand the social, political, and literary context, and engage with critical interpretations. It’s not enough to explain what a character does, or how a text develops — you’ll be expected to explain why it matters from multiple perspectives. This element isn’t assessed at GCSE, so it’s a new skill to learn.

Comparative analysis

Most A Level English Literature syllabuses involve comparing texts — sometimes across genres and eras. This adds another layer of challenge, requiring you to hold multiple interpretations in your mind and switch between them fluently in timed essays. My students always found this comparative element one of the most challenging aspects of the course — especially as, for one paper, they were comparing texts that were written nearly 200 years apart!

Coursework

Most GCSE English courses don’t include a non-exam assessment, or coursework, so this is a new and additional feature of English Literature study for many. As part of your coursework, examiners will assess you on multiple assessment objectives at the same time. You will also have to complete a huge amount of preparatory and critical reading, learn to use citations properly, create a bibliography, and write up to 3,000 words independently.

How to overcome the challenges of A Level English Literature

Clearly, A Level English Literature has its challenges. However, with a strategic approach, and dedication and hard work, any student can overcome these difficulties. Here are my top tips:

Know the mark schemes inside out

One of the very first things I’d do with any new class was walk them through exactly what their exam papers looked like. How many papers? How many essay questions? How are the marks split?

It might seem like an odd — even slightly overwhelming — way to kick off a course, but it’s actually a research-backed approach. The Education Endowment Fund highlights that one of the most effective ways to support learning is helping students understand how they’ll be assessed. 

That’s why I always made sure my students got to grips with their mark schemes early on — and even practised marking sample answers themselves. This is a process called “metacognition”: if you know exactly how you are assessed, you know exactly how to improve. This always helped my students become much more confident, much more quickly.

Use high-impact revision techniques

Avoid simply re-reading or highlighting. Instead, use research-backed methods such as:

• Regular retrieval practice (self-quizzing)

• Mind maps and flashcards for quotes/themes

• Essay plan drills to build structure skills

• Group discussions or debates to explore interpretations

It’s also really important to space your learning out (a technique called “distributed practice”), and switch topics when revising (called “interleaving”). 

Adopting these techniques at the same time as you’re learning your texts means that you won’t have to resort to cramming just before your exams are coming up (which has been scientifically shown to be ineffective).

Learn your quotes — smartly

Rather than memorising huge chunks of text, focus on short, flexible quotations that can be used across multiple themes or questions. Learn these via retrieval practice (flashcards are a brilliant way of testing yourself or others). Aim to master 15–20 per text, and practise weaving them seamlessly into essays.

Get to know your texts

I’m not going to sugar-coat this: some of the set texts at A Level are very difficult to understand at first. I always remember the faces of my first A Level class when they opened up their copies of Frankenstein for the first time: they were more scared of the vocabulary than any ungodly creature created in a lab! 

And some texts are even more challenging than Mary Shelley’s. Consider this quotation from Chaucer’s The Merchant’s Tale:

“Paraunter she may be you’re purgatorie! / She may be Goddes meene and Goddes whippe”

Is that even English?! The answer is yes (a type of English called Middle English; in the quote, a character is suggesting that marrying a younger woman is like torture). But I promise you, the more familiar you are with these texts, the easier it becomes to decode. And once you master these older texts, you really can do very well in your exams: my students always performed best on their 17th-century metaphysical poetry paper.

My tip: watch all and any stage or film versions of your texts that you can find. Explore podcasts or academic YouTube channels. Read alternative interpretations. While I always recommend this at GCSE too (it’s a great way to become familiar with what can be challenging texts), at A Level you get marks for considering alternative adaptations or perspectives of texts. If you can integrate discussion of these interpretations into your essays well, examiners love to see this: it’s something that marks you out as an exceptional student.

Ask for help

Possibly the most important piece of advice I can give is that if you’re struggling, reach out for support. Teachers like me love it when students want to get better, and are always happy to help. 

Some of my very best students weren’t the ones who “got it” straight away; they were the ones who found English Literature challenging at first and came to me for help. One of my students came to see me after school week after week before her exam because she just couldn’t work out how to write a comparative essay. After a lot of perseverance and dedication on her part, she finally cracked it; she managed to get full marks on that exam paper!

For more information on staying stress-free during your revision, check out our Free Exam Anxiety Relief Kit.

Frequently asked questions

How hard is it to get an A* in A Level English Literature?

10.0% of students achieved an A* in 2024 — which places English Literature as the eighth easiest major subject at A Level in which to achieve the top grade. However, it should be said that this represents only just under 3,500 students in the whole of England, so not that many students nationally are getting an A*.

Here at Save My Exams, we have a suite of exam-board specific revision resources, including full, annotated A* model answers to help you achieve that top grade!

Is A Level English Literature hard to pass?

While it is pretty difficult to achieve an A* in the subject, the good news is that English Literature is easier to pass than nearly all other subjects, making it one of the most secure choices at A Level. 

As you can see in the graph below, compared to other popular A Level courses, it is the second easiest subject in which to achieve a grade E or above:

Is English Literature a good option for A Level?

Yes, English Literature is an excellent option for A Level. Nearly all GCSE pupils in the country have studied the GCSE, and so will come with a solid foundation of the skills required. It is a very well-regarded subject by universities, develops excellent transferable skills such as critical thinking, evaluation and debate, and is incredibly culturally enriching: you will be studying some of the finest works of literature ever written, and you’ll have the opportunity to critique them from your own perspective. 

If you enjoy analysing texts, engaging with complex ideas, and expressing yourself through writing, English Literature at A Level is a fantastic choice.

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References

EEF metacognition guidance report – Education Endowment Foundation

“Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques”, 2013, Dunlosky et al. – Association for Psychological Science

JCQ A Level outcomes for 18-year-olds in England, Summer 2024 – JCQ

Ofqual interactive A Level outcomes tool – Gov.uk

Ofqual subject-level guidance for English Literature A Level – Gov.uk

FFT Education Data Lab: A Level English Literature results – FFT Education Datalab