Make reading pleasurable

If you are taking A Level Eng. Lit. this coming year you know that there is bound to be a lot of reading coming your way. What is the best way to approach this?

First reading

Read for fun to start with. By the time the ASs or A2s come round in 2011, you will need to have read your exam texts at least twice, and parts of them three times. It helps to make the first reading a pleasurable experience:

• Find somewhere comfortable (hammock anyone?)
• Allow yourself some l-o-n-g stretches of time: don't just pick up a novel for a few minutes during the commercial breaks of your favourite soaps
• Don't try to make notes - go for a straight through reading
• If there are parts that really stand out, just circle the page number so that you can come back to it later.

First impressions

When you have finished, take a piece of paper and write down your first impressions. They may turn out to be incomplete (or even misguided), but they will still be very helpful later when you want to remember the ‘big picture’ in the midst of literary detail.

Examiners look out for students who are engaged in what they have read and your emotional response will shape how you approach each character. Authors write in order to connect – let their words reach into your heart and mind.

For more detailed information about how to approach novels set for A Level, visit Crossref-it.info > Successful study > Engaging with prose.

Hard Times?

That may be what you feel about reading up for next year’s courses, but at least studying this compact Dickens novel has just got easier! At Crossref-it.info, you can find out everything you need to know about the author and the world he was describing by looking at one simple route-map – Hard Times: Context links puts all the relevant information at your fingertips.