AQA A-Level English Literature B: Paper 1 Literary Genres (7717)

This guide covers Paper 1 Literary Genres, one of two exam papers in AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717), first teaching September 2015. English Literature B is distinctive among A-Level literature specifications for its genre-led approach: rather than studying set texts in isolation, candidates explore how texts work within and against the conventions of a literary genre.

Where this fits in 7717

Candidates study one genre option in depth for Paper 1, choosing between Aspects of Tragedy and Aspects of Comedy. This pairs with Paper 2 (Texts and Genres), which covers a different genre focus, and a Non-exam Assessment component on Theory and Independence.

Syllabus coverage

AQA A-LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE B (7717) — PAPER 1 LITERARY GENRES

• Option 1A: Aspects of Tragedy — a close study of tragedy as a literary genre across a prescribed set of texts (drama, prose and poetry), examining how writers use and adapt tragic conventions
• Option 1B: Aspects of Comedy — a close study of comedy as a literary genre across a prescribed set of texts (drama, prose and poetry), examining how writers use and adapt comic conventions

How to approach it

Because this is a genre-led specification, the strongest answers treat “tragedy” or “comedy” as a set of contested critical ideas rather than a fixed checklist – track how each of your set texts both follows and departs from typical genre conventions, since AQA’s assessment objectives explicitly reward debate about genre rather than simple identification of features. Comparing across the prescribed texts within your chosen option (rather than writing about them in isolation) is central to how Paper 1 is assessed, so practise drawing connections between texts as a routine part of revision, not just in the final weeks. Because contextual and critical interpretations are also credited, build a small bank of critical viewpoints on your genre and texts that you can draw on and challenge in your response. This is not “three separate texts studied in isolation” but one genre explored through several texts, and it is this genre-led approach that distinguishes English Literature B from more text-led A-Level literature specifications – a well-written essay that simply summarises a text’s plot and features, without connecting back to the genre question, underperforms even where the individual textual analysis is strong.

Assessment at a glance

Paper 1 (Literary Genres) is a 2 hour 30 minute closed-book exam worth 75 marks – 40% of the A-level – split across a passage-based Shakespeare question, a Shakespeare essay, and an essay linking two texts, 25 marks each. It sits alongside Paper 2 (Texts and Genres, also 75 marks / 40%, open book) and a teacher-assessed, AQA-moderated non-exam component – two 1,250-1,500 word essays worth 50 marks / 20% overall, one of which can be a re-creative response with an accompanying commentary.

AQA has published an updated 7717 specification for first exams from 2027, refreshing the set-text options within the same paper structure described above – confirm which version applies to your examination year before relying on any specific text list.

The three questions in more detail

All three questions in Paper 1 are compulsory once the genre option is chosen, and all three draw on the same genre option throughout the paper, so the genre-specific conventions and vocabulary built up revising for the first question carry directly into the others. Question 1 is a passage-based question on a set Shakespeare extract, requiring close analysis connected explicitly to the genre. Question 2 is a genre-focused essay on the Shakespeare play as a whole. Question 3 connects two further texts, drawn from drama, prose and poetry, within the chosen genre option. Unlike some other AQA English Literature specifications, there is no further choice of question within the paper once the genre option itself has been selected – that choice is normally made by the centre rather than by individual candidates, so confirming which genre option a course is actually studying is worth doing early.

Genre conventions worth knowing cold

For Aspects of Tragedy, the key conventions are the tragic hero, hamartia (the fatal flaw), hubris, catharsis, and the inevitability of downfall despite, or because of, the hero’s own choices. For Aspects of Comedy, the key conventions are comic resolution, misunderstanding or mistaken identity, social correction, and the restoration of order by the text’s end. Each of these should be treated as a genuine critical question about the specific texts studied – does the ending really achieve full catharsis, or does it complicate it – rather than a checklist to confirm is mechanically present, since AQA’s assessment objectives explicitly reward this kind of critical debate over simple feature-spotting.

Why Paper 1’s closed-book format matters for revision

Because Paper 1 is closed book while Paper 2 is open book, revision technique needs to differ meaningfully between the two: Paper 1 demands a memorised quotation bank in a way Paper 2 does not, so building that bank is a priority specific to this paper rather than something that transfers automatically from Paper 2 preparation. A common and avoidable mistake is under-investing in memorised quotations on the assumption that general familiarity with the texts, of the kind that suffices for an open-book paper, will be enough on the day – it is not, since there is no text available in the exam room to check a half-remembered quotation against.

Official syllabus

AQA A-Level English Literature B (7717) specification, for first teaching 2015 — aqa.org.uk.