A2 Edexcel English Literature:Examined Novels: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Ghost Road by Pat Barker

he choices for the prescribed examination texts for A2 (War theme) are the two novels below plus a selection of 32 poems from 101 Poems Against War (q.v. from the A2 Literature menu at the bottom of the page); untaught at the time of writing, but available on the syllabus, are Spies by Michael Frayn and the war poem section of Here to Eternity (ed. Andrew Morton). The exam consists of a Part A, which is the Unseen, and a Part B, which is a response to a reader's comment in which you have to demonstrate knowledge of at least two (read three) of the prescribed texts.

Here is what the examiners expect you to learn:

1. The importance of the relationship between texts, making comparisons between texts in the light of different interpretations by other readers. What this means is that the examiners expect you to quote various critical opinions about the texts, so learn these before the exam. I expect this is to make it easier for you, but it seems to me that it's harder to think of different interpretations yourself. This is AO3.
2. The significance of the cultural and contextual influences under which literary texts are written and received. This sounds a bit Marxist, reducing the author and their work to a "product" of their time, but for the War theme you have to know about the historical, social and cultural circumstances anyway, and there were few great writers who weren't reacting directly to these times of upheaval. This is AO4.
3. How to respond creatively, relevantly and in an informed way to texts using appropriate terminology and concepts as well as coherent and accurate written expression. This is AO1 - it simply means you have to write well and use all those technical terms you've been taught over the two years.
4. How to analyse texts from a critical perspective. This is AO2 and similar to the one above. You have at some point (and preferably throughout your writing) show close familiarity with the text. The key skill here is to offer more than one interpretation of words, phrases and situations. If you have any set-pieces which have met with your teacher's approval, brush them up for reuse in the exam.