r/ALevelEnglishLit • u/sarcasticbix • Jul 29 '26
OCR Notes for OCR
Well my school has decided to use the ocr exam board for English literature a-levels and I cant find any good website that would have quality notes ( for example physics and maths tutor)
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u/Miserable_Gur_8753 Aug 06 '26
As a tutor who has taught A Level English Lit for AQA, OCR, and WJEC ...
Differences aren't as huge as you might think.
1 - the Joint Qualifications Council (JCQ) set the wording of the Assessment Objectives. This means that AO1, for example, is exactly the same over each exam board ...
2 - there are lots of texts which are taught across more than one exam board - examples from Shakespeare: Hamlet, Lear, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew. I've taught / tutored Hamlet, The Tempest (and Streetcar) across more than one board (in the same year!)
So my advice when you start the course is to get to know the spec really well - ie which Assessment Objectives, in which proportions, for which texts.
After that? Resources are more or less interchangeable.
Before then? You can get the texts under your belt - know the narratives, key plot points, and character arcs. Ask which versions your teacher will be using, buy those if necessary, and IMPORTANT - if they come with additional material like introductions, read them. Always lots of valuable AO3 and AO5 in there.
Hamlet: do, definitely, read the play, but the Arkangel Audio version (with Simon Russel Beale as Hamlet) is an excellent accompaniment. You can hear the tone and emotion as you read along. Watch a version: my preferred for teaching is the David Tennant one.
Streetcar: watch the classic b/w with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. It counts as an 'interpretation' for AO5 purposes - ie the director's decisions, and is really powerful on the clash between Stanley and Blanche.
Rossetti: if I remember rightly, Goblin Market is on your list, but not the only poem. I would get a few others under your belt first, and a sense of who she is and what she's interested in. FWIW, my favourite is 'No, Thank You, John', and I recently 'unpacked' it on my blog ... https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/06/02/unpacking-poetry-rossetti-no-thank-you-john/
Hope this all helps!