OCR GCSE English Literature specification (J352)
Understanding the exam specification is key to doing well in your OCR GCSE English Literature exam. It lays out exactly what you need to learn, how you'll be assessed, and what skills the examiners seek. Whether you're working through the course for the first time or revising for your final exams, the specification helps you stay focused and confident in your preparation.
We've included helpful revision tools to support you in putting the specification into practice. Wherever you're starting from, you'll find everything you need to feel prepared, from the official specification to high-quality resources designed to help you succeed.
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In the next section, you'll find a simplified summary of the official OCR GCSE English Literature specification, along with a breakdown of key topics, assessment structure, and useful study resources. We've also included links to topic-level guides and revision tools to help you put the specification into practice.
Contents
Disclaimer
This page includes a summary of the official OCR GCSE English Literature (J352) specification, provided to support your revision. While we've made every effort to ensure accuracy, Save My Exams is not affiliated with the awarding body.
For the most complete and up-to-date information, we strongly recommend consulting the official OCR specification PDF.
Specification overview
The OCR GCSE (9–1) English Literature specification promotes a critical and personal engagement with a broad and diverse range of literary texts. It aims to develop learners’ fluency, comprehension, and enjoyment of literature through reading classic and modern works. The course builds confidence in expressing informed personal responses and supports transferable skills for further education and employment. The specification encourages learners to explore social, historical, and cultural contexts and to analyse how language, structure, and form shape meaning across poetry, prose, and drama, including unseen texts.
Subject content breakdown
Exploring modern and literary heritage texts (01)
Modern prose or drama (choice of one):
- An Inspector Calls, Animal Farm, DNA, Leave Taking, Never Let Me Go, Anita and Me
- Explore themes, characterisation, context, language, and structure
- Respond to a studied text and a thematically linked unseen extract
19th-century prose (choice of one):
- Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, A Christmas Carol, The War of the Worlds
- Analyse plot, theme, genre, character and historical/literary context
- Evaluate language and structure, and support views with textual evidence
Exploring poetry and Shakespeare (02)
Thematic poetry clusters (choice of one):
- Love and Relationships, Conflict, Youth and Age
- Each cluster includes 15 poems from 1789 to present
- Compare one anthology poem with a thematically linked unseen poem
Shakespeare (choice of one):
- Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing
- Analyse plot, themes, character, dramatic effects, and social/historical context
- Respond critically to an extract and the wider play
Assessment structure
Exploring modern and literary heritage texts (Component 01)
- 2 hours, 80 marks, 50% of GCSE
- Section A: Modern prose or drama
- One extended question split into:
- Comparison of extract with unseen modern same-genre extract
- Related question on the studied text
- One extended question split into:
- Section B: 19th-century prose
- One question from a choice of two (either extract-based or discursive)
- Assesses AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4
Exploring poetry and Shakespeare (Component 02)
- 2 hours, 80 marks, 50% of GCSE
- Section A: Themed poetry cluster
- One question split into:
- Comparison of named poem and unseen poem
- Related question on a different chosen anthology poem
- One question split into:
- Section B: Shakespeare
- One question from a choice of two (either extract-based or discursive)
- Assesses AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4
Assessment Objectives
- AO1: Personal response and interpretation – 40%
- AO2: Language, form and structure analysis – 40%
- AO3: Contextual understanding – 15%
- AO4: Spelling, punctuation and grammar – 5%
- 25% of total marks awarded for comparison tasks
Key tips for success
Doing well in your OCR GCSE English Literature isn't just about how much you study, but how you study. Here are a few proven tips to help you stay on track
- Start with a clear plan: Break the subject into topics and create a revision schedule that allows enough time for each. Start early to avoid last-minute stress.
- Focus on understanding, not memorising: Use our revision notes to build a strong foundation in each topic, making sure you actually understand the material.
- Practise regularly: Attempt past papers to familiarise yourself with the exam format and timing. Mark your answers to see how close you are to full marks.
- Be strategic with your revision: Use exam questions by topic to focus on weaker areas, and flashcards to reinforce important facts and terminology.
- Learn from mistakes: Whether it's from mock exams or practice questions, spend time reviewing what went wrong and why. This helps prevent repeat mistakes in the real exam.
- Stay balanced: Don't forget to take regular breaks, eat well, and get enough sleep, a healthy routine makes revision much more effective.
With the right approach and consistent practice, you'll build confidence and improve your chances of exam success.
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