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AQA · A Level

AQA A Level English Literature

English Literature for AQA A Level (syllabus 7712 / 7717) — what the qualification covers, and the study material Marlbridge publishes for it.

Syllabus
7712 / 7717
Board
AQA
Qualification
A Level

At a glance

Qualification
AQA A Level English Literature
Spec code
7712 / 7717
Does Marlbridge teach it?
Yes
Are resources available?
Yes — 9 published
Is enrolment open?
Enquire to join — no online enrolment yet
Where was this verified?
2026-08-19, official AQA specification

Compiled and maintained by the Marlbridge Academic Team, checked against the official AQA specification on 2026-08-19.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report an error — see the corrections policy.

The qualification

AQA A-level English Literature B (7716/7717)

AQA A-level English Literature B centres on different ways of reading and the connections that exist between texts within a literary genre, encouraging students to arrive at their own interpretations. — AQA, official syllabus page

AQA offers two A-level English Literature specifications: Literature A (7711 AS / 7712 A-level) and Literature B (7716 AS / 7717 A-level). This entry’s taxonomy verifies Literature B (7717): Paper 1 ‘Literary Genres’ (tragedy/comedy options), Paper 2 ‘Texts and Genres’ (crime/protest writing options), plus non-exam assessment ‘Theory and Independence’. The ‘7712’ half of the code refers to Literature A: Paper 1 ‘Love through the ages’, Paper 2 ‘Texts in shared contexts’, plus non-exam assessment ‘Independent critical study: texts across time’ -- independently verified against its own official specification-at-a-glance page (2026-08-28), but NOT recorded as its own separate assessment record because this dataset's single english-literature entry for this board+qualification can only represent one 'current' specification at a time; the verified 7712 facts are preserved for future work rather than re-researched.

Specifications change between examination series. Always confirm the current syllabus and assessment structure on the AQA syllabus page for your examination year.

Assessment structure

Linear qualification

Assessment components for AQA English Literature 7717
Component Duration Marks Weighting Type
7717/1: Paper 1: Literary genres 2h 30m 75 40% Written exam
7717/2: Paper 2: Texts and genres 3h 75 40% Written exam
7717/NEA: Non-exam assessment: Theory and independence — 50 20% Non-exam assessment

Source: official AQA specification, verified 2026-08-28. Directly confirmed against the official AQA specification-at-a-glance page. This is AQA's updated English Literature B specification for first teaching September 2025 (spec PDF dated 21 Oct 2025), first A-level exams 2027 per the page's own banner; firstAssessment is recorded as 2027. Linear. Paper 1 (Literary genres -- choice of Option 1A 'Aspects of tragedy' or Option 1B 'Aspects of comedy'; one Shakespeare text, a second drama text, and one further text, one of which pre-1900): 2h30, closed book, 75marks, 40% of A-level -- Section A Shakespeare passage-based question (25), Section B Shakespeare essay (25), Section C texts-linking essay (25). Paper 2 (Texts and genres -- choice of Option 2A 'Elements of crime writing' or Option 2B 'Elements of political and social protest writing'; one post-2000 prose text, one poetry text, one further text (one pre-1900), plus an unseen passage): 3h, open book, 75marks, 40% of A-level -- Section A unseen-passage question (25), Section B set-text essay (25), Section C texts-connecting essay (25). Non-exam assessment (two 1,250-1,500 word essays on two texts informed by the Critical Anthology, one of which may be re-creative with commentary): 50marks/20% of A-level, teacher-assessed and AQA-moderated. Total 200 marks. AQA's own title for this combination, as recorded on this site, is 'English Literature B (7716/7717)'; this record is specifically the A-level (7717), not the AS (7716).

Assessment FAQs

How is AQA English Literature (7717) assessed?

AQA English Literature (7717) is assessed through: 7717/1 (Paper 1: Literary genres) — 2h 30m, 75 marks, 40% of the qualification; 7717/2 (Paper 2: Texts and genres) — 3h, 75 marks, 40% of the qualification; 7717/NEA (Non-exam assessment: Theory and independence) — no fixed duration, 50 marks, 20% of the qualification. It is a linear qualification. Source: official AQA specification, verified 2026-08-28.

The subject

English Literature teaching and study resources, organised by level, board and topic.

All English Literature at Marlbridge

Syllabus topics

The 3 topics below are the official subject content of AQA A-level English Literature B (7716/7717), for the English Literature B, for first teaching 2025 (AS 7716; code matches this site's overview record) examination series, reproduced from the AQA syllabus document.

A topic listed here is part of the syllabus. It does not mean Marlbridge has published material for it — topics with resources are marked. Marlbridge currently has resources for 3 of 3 topics.

  1. 1 Paper 1 – Literary Genres

    3 Marlbridge resources

    Option 1A: Aspects of Tragedy · Option 1B: Aspects of Comedy

  2. 2 Paper 2 – Texts and Genres

    3 Marlbridge resources

    Option 2A: Elements of Crime Writing · Option 2B: Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing

  3. 3 Non-exam Assessment – Theory and Independence

    3 Marlbridge resources

Source: AQA — official specification pages at aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/a-level/english-7717/specification — English Literature B, for first teaching 2025 (AS 7716; code matches this site's overview record) series. Verified 2026-08-19. Always check the current syllabus for your examination year.

Study resources

Revision material

Exam preparation

English Literature at other qualifications

These are separate qualifications with different syllabuses and assessments — not different names for the same course. Check which one your school enters you for.

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