ACESA Collaboration Space: English Literature

Attention: Cambridge English Literature (9695) Teachers When it comes to teaching AS and A Level 9695 Literature in English, assistance from Cambridge is limited. Although there are some textbooks out there, most are only partially useful, and their restricted positive impact is hardly worth the cost. Besides the direction from the syllabus and past papers, the most effective, tangible assistance comes in the form of sample responses – past-marked scripts to which teachers can refer and inform their teaching and marking. Unfortunately, new scripts are so infrequently shared by Cambridge, and even when they are, it is only a handful, perhaps one example per symbol. For 9695, the most recent scripts were shared in 2021. To further compound this issue, the texts expire in 3-year cycles, so there is hardly a text currently examinable for which a sample response has been shared. According to the community blog, a collection of more, newer samples, has been in the works for some time, but a publication date has not been announced. As English teachers, it is often a discussion with peers that is so beneficial – sharing opinions on what a script is worth, and why. We believe that a forum where teachers can send each other scripts, sometimes with marking annotations, and sometimes without, to see what others think about a student’s analysis, expression, etc. would be extremely helpful. It’s very interesting to compare writing styles and the feedback and different opinions are extremely useful. If you are interested in joining this forum, please email Mr Richard Randelhoff (rbr@hiltoncollege.com) and he will add you. We look forward to growing this community.