3&4 Lit without 1&2?

[laurendenman]

Hey,

So I'm in year 10 at the moment, and I chose English 1&2, however I was thinking if I do well in that class in Year 11 I might do English Lit next year.

I just want to know if there is anybody who has done English Lit 3&4 without doing 1&2 and how they found it, and if you guys would recommend/not recommend it.

The only thing I'm really worried about is if they teach any skills/formatting in 1&2.

[charlotteyoung]

Hey! I'm currently a 3/4 Lit student however I did do the 1/2 so take my perspective w a grain of salt; but I would highly recommend if you are already even thinking of switching to doing lit - do Lit 1/2. It really helps with developing particular essay writing and vocab skills that are pretty niche (like you were saying).  If you're still on the fence, I would talk to your english/lit teachers, careers advisor or even other girls who have taken both subjects. hope this helps and feel free to reach out to message me if you wanna chat further!

[colline]

Hi Lauren!

I did Literature 3/4 without 1/2. Someone who has done 1/2 would give you a better idea of what you might miss out on, but from my perspective, I would recommend doing 1/2 if you can.

The main thing to realise is that English and Lit are two very different subjects - different criteria, different writing style, different approaches etc. In that sense, doing Lit 1/2 would be a huge advantage. English is essentially a continuation of all the English you've done at school from year 7 to year 10, but Lit is incredibly different and having one extra year of practising 'literature-style' writing would definitely help you feel more comfortable in the subject.

That said, we were taught all the necessary things around formatting, close analysis, essay structures etc in 3/4 so you definitely won't be miles behind if you jumped into 3/4 without 1/2! However I'd still recommend doing 1/2 because you would be getting that extra time needed to refine your writing.

The most important thing is - you should check with your school to see if they allow students to do 3/4 Lit without 1/2. A lot of schools don't (unless under exceptional circumstances) so if you haven't already, definitely get that confirmed.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask if you have any more questions!