English Literature ENL315114 Course Document (Version 5, current for 2026), read with the External Assessment Specifications and Independent Study Guidelines Version 4 (February 2025) and the Prescribed Text List from 2026 (Version 3, June 2026)
The written exam runs 15 minutes preparation time plus 2 hours working time (about 60 minutes per section) and is closed-book: there is no approved Information Sheet and no texts are permitted in the room. Section A offers four options — 1a) Loss poetry, 1b) Love poetry, 2) Module 2, 3) Module 3 — and asks for ONE analytical essay assessed against Criterion 2 (context) and Criterion 4 (composition and craft). Section B offers four options — 4) and 5) Module 2, 6) and 7) Module 3, never poetry — and asks for ONE analytical essay assessed against Criterion 1 (ideas) and Criterion 4. Students answer in two separate answer booklets, may not answer on the same module in both sections, and may not use their Independent Study text as the basis for any exam answer. TASC reports no marks or percentage for this exam: each criterion receives an extended rating from A+ down to z. ATARMAxxing's practice papers use an INDICATIVE 50 + 50 = 100 scheme (Section A: Criterion 2 = 25, Criterion 4 = 25; Section B: Criterion 1 = 25, Criterion 4 = 25) purely so students can track effort and completeness — this scheme is ours, not TASC's, and is labelled as such throughout.
Past papers on this subject span more than one course document. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the modules they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the course document it was set under.
Prescribed Text List from 2026 (Version 3, June 2026 — current) · 2026–2026Prescribed Text List 2020–25 (superseded) · 2021–2025
The modules, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the course document, what the TASC exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
- Module 1 — Texts in Context: Poetry (Love and Loss)
- Module 2 — Single Text Study
- Module 3 — Comparative Text Study
- Module 4 — Independent Study (folio) — not part of the written exam
Area 1 of 4
Module 1 — Texts in Context: Poetry (Love and Loss)
Students study ONE of two prescribed sets of six poems unified by a theme — Love or Loss — drawn from different historical and cultural contexts, and examine how literature reflects cultural change, how interpretations shift over time, and how period conventions (iambic pentameter, sonnet, ode, dramatic monologue, free verse) shape meaning. The 2026 Love set is Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 147' (1609), Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress' (1681), Byron's 'She Walks in Beauty' (1814), Barrett Browning's 'Sonnet 43: How Do I Love Thee?' (1850), Wright's 'Woman to Man' (1949) and Eckermann's 'Yankunytjatjara Love Poems' (2010). The 2026 Loss set is Donne's 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning' (1633), Keats's 'Ode to Autumn' (1820), Yeats's 'When You Are Old' (1893), Plath's 'Daddy' (1962), Harwood's 'Father and Child: Barn Owl' (1969) and Harkin's 'These Days I Think of Aunty Doreen' (2015). Module 1 is examined only in Section A.
What the course document lists under this area · 5 points
- 2026 Love set: Shakespeare 'Sonnet 147' (1609); Marvell 'To His Coy Mistress' (1681); Byron 'She Walks in Beauty' (1814); Barrett Browning 'Sonnet 43: How Do I Love Thee?' (1850); Wright 'Woman to Man' (1949); Eckermann 'Yankunytjatjara Love Poems' (2010)
- 2026 Loss set: Donne 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning' (1633); Keats 'Ode to Autumn' (1820); Yeats 'When You Are Old' (1893); Plath 'Daddy' (1962); Harwood 'Father and Child: Barn Owl' (1969); Harkin 'These Days I Think of Aunty Doreen' (2015)
- Linking historical and cultural context to a poem's imagery and stylistic choices
- Literary conventions: sonnet, ode, dramatic monologue, free verse, iambic pentameter, metaphysical conceit
- Comparing two poems from the same set with balanced treatment of both
What the exam asks
Question 1 asks students to choose Loss (1a) or Love (1b) and compare TWO poems from that set, explicitly weighing the poets' historical and cultural contexts alongside literary and stylistic features. Recent real papers have asked how two poets use natural imagery to reflect loss and renewal, or love and connection (2025), and how two poems represent a sense of absence, or a merging of identities (2023). Critical interpretations are not required in Section A — the 2023 TASC assessment report specifically advised against using them here.
Where marks go missing
Treating context as a bolt-on paragraph rather than something intrinsic to the poem's meaning, giving one poem far more attention than the other, or missing half of a compound question (e.g. answering 'loss' but ignoring 'renewal'). Because the text list changes, also check every poem against the CURRENT 2026 list before you commit to studying it: Donne's 'Holy Sonnet XVII', Shelley's 'Ozymandias' and Duffy's 'Rings' were all on the 2020–25 list that produced the real 2021–2025 papers, but none of them are on the list from 2026.
4 real TASC questions indexed on this area →
Area 2 of 4
Module 2 — Single Text Study
An in-depth study of ONE substantial pre-20th-century prescribed text, used in isolation from every other prescribed text. The 2026 list is Austen's Persuasion, Behn's The Rover, Brontë's Jane Eyre, Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life, Euripides' The Trojan Women, Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd, Ibsen's A Doll's House, Shakespeare's Othello, Stoker's Dracula and Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. The module examines how cultural perceptions are challenged or supported, how critical interpretations vary, and how medium, form, language and convention (verse drama, chorus, narrative voice) construct meaning. It is examined in Section A Question 2 (context: Criteria 2 and 4) and Section B Questions 4–5 (ideas and critical interpretations: Criteria 1 and 4).
What the course document lists under this area · 5 points
- 2026 list: Austen Persuasion; Behn The Rover; Brontë Jane Eyre; Clarke For the Term of His Natural Life; Euripides The Trojan Women; Hardy Far from the Madding Crowd; Ibsen A Doll's House; Shakespeare Othello; Stoker Dracula; Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Historical context and prevailing ideologies at the time of composition and/or setting
- Narrative features: structure, juxtaposition, characterisation, endings, conflict resolution, symbolism, voice
- Applying critical interpretations and a reading position (feminist, Marxist, postcolonial) to support a personal argument
- How medium, form, language and convention (verse drama, chorus, narrative voice) shape meaning
What the exam asks
Real papers set one open prompt that any Module 2 text must answer without the paper naming a text. Recent Section A prompts have asked how a text's conflict resolution reflects the author's perspective on social or cultural norms (2025), or how a character's identity brings them into conflict with society and how that conflict resolves (2023). Section B prompts have asked how successfully structure and juxtaposition, or compositional features, carry a text's key ideas (2025), and whether an ending reflects the beliefs explored in the text, or how courage and resilience are represented (2023) — Section B answers must cite the critical interpretations of others.
Where marks go missing
Confusing this module's list with Module 3's, or preparing a text that has moved: Othello sits in Module 2 for 2026, while The Tempest is now a Module 3 text only (paired with Hag-Seed) and can no longer be answered as a Module 2 Single Text. Four 2020–25 texts — Austen's Emma, Dickens's Little Dorrit, Eliot's Silas Marner and Gaskell's North and South — are not on the 2026 list at all. Also avoid using critical interpretations in a Section A answer on this module; save them for Section B, where every 2023–2025 question has explicitly asked for them.
6 real TASC questions indexed on this area →
Area 3 of 4
Module 3 — Comparative Text Study
A comparative study of TWO substantial texts (one prescribed pair; the course allows an optional third text) in different forms — novel, play or film — that cannot be used in isolation for a Single Text answer. The 2026 pairs are Hag-Seed / The Tempest, King Charles III / The King's Speech, A Month in the Country / The Dig, Boy Swallows Universe / Billy Elliot, James / Sweet Country, A Room with a View / The Piano, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk / Gallipoli, The Lieutenant / Arrival, Pygmalion / Muriel's Wedding, and Brooklyn / My Brilliant Career. The module examines how similar ideas are developed across forms, how texts represent Australian culture, place and identity, and how interpretations vary over time. It is examined in Section A Question 3 (contexts of composition: Criteria 2 and 4) and Section B Questions 6–7 (ideas and critical interpretations: Criteria 1 and 4).
What the course document lists under this area · 5 points
- 2026 pairs: Hag-Seed / The Tempest; King Charles III / The King's Speech; A Month in the Country / The Dig; Boy Swallows Universe / Billy Elliot; James / Sweet Country; A Room with a View / The Piano; Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk / Gallipoli; The Lieutenant / Arrival; Pygmalion / Muriel's Wedding; Brooklyn / My Brilliant Career
- Comparing contexts of composition across two eras within one pair
- Form-specific features: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and editing for film; stagecraft and dialogue for drama; narrative voice for prose
- Building an integrated comparative thesis rather than two parallel mini-essays
- How authors represent Australian culture, place and identity
What the exam asks
Section A prompts compare contexts of composition: recent real questions have asked how a pair's authors show that an individual's social standing can limit or enrich their experiences (2025), or how the representation of adversity reflects issues in each text's society of composition (2023). Section B prompts compare ideas and always require critical interpretations: recent questions have asked how convincingly a pair's titles reflect its spirit and ideas, or how communication and connection are explored through compositional features (2025), and how a pair represents shame or exclusion, or the relationship between character and setting (2023).
Where marks go missing
Writing two parallel mini-essays instead of one integrated comparative argument, or ignoring form-specific features — mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and editing for a film half of the pair, versus stagecraft and dialogue for its play or novel partner. Three 2020–25 pairs have been dropped for 2026 (Brick Lane / Sweet Country, Othello / New Boy, and The Color Purple / Belle), and Othello has moved into Module 2 — do not prepare a pairing the current list no longer sets.
6 real TASC questions indexed on this area →
Area 4 of 4
Module 4 — Independent Study (folio) — not part of the written exam
Module 4 is a folio on one text from the Module 4 list (or six poems by one listed poet) that was NOT taught in Modules 1–3: a reflective statement (450–600 words), a critical response (1,500–1,800 words) and an imaginative response (1,200–1,500 words, or 600–750 words of poetry), submitted electronically as a PDF and externally assessed against Criteria 5, 6 and 7.
What the exam asks
This module is assessed entirely through the externally marked folio, not the written examination, so it is OUT OF SCOPE for ATARMAxxing's practice exams and is not simulated here.
Where marks go missing
Using the Independent Study text (or, for a poetry folio, its poet) as evidence in a written-exam answer is not allowed and puts that exam answer at risk — choose your three exam texts (Modules 1–3) and your folio text from entirely separate works before the year's study plan is locked in.
Common questions
Which TASC course document and text list apply to English Literature (ENL315114) now?
The course document Version 5 took effect from 1 January 2026, read together with the External Assessment Specifications Version 4 (February 2025) and the Prescribed Text List from 2026 (Version 3, June 2026). The real 2021–2025 exam papers were all set against the older 2020–25 text list, which is now superseded: several poems and texts (Donne's 'Holy Sonnet XVII', Shelley's 'Ozymandias', Duffy's 'Rings', Emma, Little Dorrit, Silas Marner, North and South, Brick Lane, The Color Purple / Belle and the Othello / New Boy pairing) have been removed, and Othello and The Tempest have swapped modules.
How is English Literature graded if the written exam carries no marks?
TASC rates each criterion on an extended scale from A+ down to z rather than marking it out of a total. The written exam supplies external ratings for Criteria 1, 2 and 4; the Independent Study folio supplies external ratings for Criteria 5, 6 and 7; and all of Criteria 1–4 plus Criteria 3 and 8 are also rated internally by your teacher. TASC combines the full set of ratings into your overall award (Exceptional, High, Commendable, Satisfactory, Preliminary or Limited Achievement). ATARMAxxing's practice papers add an indicative 50 + 50 = 100 mark scheme purely so you can track your own progress — that number is ours, never TASC's, and it is not what will appear on your Statement of Results.
Is the Independent Study folio covered by ATARMAxxing's practice exams?
No. The Independent Study (Module 4) is a separate, externally assessed folio — a reflective statement, a critical response and an imaginative response — marked on Criteria 5, 6 and 7. It never appears on the written exam paper, so it is out of scope for these practice exams. Just remember the text or poet you use for your folio cannot also be the basis of a written-exam answer.
Can I still use pre-2026 English Literature exam papers to practise?
Yes, for structure and essay technique — the two-section, one-essay-per-section format, the 15-minute preparation plus 2-hour working time, and the Criteria 1/2/4 focus have all stayed the same. But the actual poems, Module 2 texts and Module 3 pairs printed on the 2021–2025 papers followed the 2020–25 list, which the 2026 list has substantially changed. Use those older papers to practise planning and writing an analytical essay, not to decide which texts or poems you should be studying this year.
What can I bring into the English Literature exam, and is it open-book?
It is closed-book. TASC sets no approved Information Sheet or materials for this course, and neither the External Assessment Specifications nor the 2023–2025 papers permit texts, notes or dictionaries in the room. You get 15 minutes preparation time to read the paper and highlight or take notes on the note paper provided (you cannot start writing answers yet), followed by 2 hours working time split across two separate answer booklets — one per section, each headed with the question number and the title(s) of the text(s) you use.