Introduction

• Introduction

  This section examines the expectations and guidance of your exam board, AQA.
• Independent responses

  • The NEA (Non-Exam Assessment) component of the AQA A2 & A-level courses requires you to write two independent responses to texts of your choice, informed by the ideas present in AQA’s Critical Anthology.
• The anthology

  • This anthology offers different ways of approaching literature. For example:
  • Marxist criticism examines the power relations within texts, considering economic and class factors.
  • Feminist criticism investigates how gender is represented within texts, focussing on power relations and cultural stereotypes.
  • Eco-criticism analyses the relationships between humans and nature.
• Preparation

  • While your study of Death of a Salesman is for an exam component of your AS/A2/A-level course, AQA strongly recommends that you use the ideas contained in the Critical Anthology throughout your studies of all of your chosen texts.
  • This approach will help you prepare more fully for each component of the AQA course.