OCR A-Level English Language and Literature (EMC) (H474): complete guide to the components and the exams

OCR A-Level English Language and Literature (EMC) (specification H474) is a two-year linear course assessed by three written papers at the end of Year 13 plus a non-exam assessment. It is co-developed with the English and Media Centre (EMC) and built around one integrated linguistic-literary method: every text, whether a poem, a play, a prose narrative, a speech or a transcript, is read with the tools of both English Language and English Literature at once. This page is the index: below is a map of the four components, the five objectives, the integrated method, the exam structure, and how to study each part.

The four components of English Language and Literature

The specification is built around four components, all assessed on the five assessment objectives through the integrated method.

Component 01: Exploring non-fiction and spoken texts

A written paper worth 32 marks (16 percent), 1 hour. One comparative question links a printed text from the EMC Anthology of Non-fiction and Spoken Texts with an unseen non-fiction or spoken text. You analyse both together, reading language and literary method against context, mode, audience and purpose. The paper is closed text: you study the anthology in advance but write a fresh comparison in the exam.

Component 02: The language of poetry and plays

A written paper worth 64 marks (32 percent), 2 hours, in two equal sections. Section A is an essay on a set poetry collection (32 marks). Section B is an essay on a set play (32 marks). Both are read with the integrated method, analysing poetic and dramatic technique alongside language, form, structure and context.

Component 03: Reading as a writer, writing as a reader

A written paper worth 64 marks (32 percent), 2 hours. Section A is an essay on narrative method in a set prose text (32 marks). Section B is a recreative writing task that transforms or extends the prose text (18 marks) plus a commentary explaining the writing choices (14 marks). The title captures the component: you read prose as a writer (attending to craft) and write as a reader (informed by the set text).

Component 04: Independent study (analysing and producing texts)

The non-exam assessment, worth 40 marks (20 percent). Task 1 is an analytical and comparative essay of 1500 to 2000 words on one OCR-set non-fiction text and one free-choice text (at least one post-2000), with AO4 dominant. Task 2 is an original non-fiction piece of 1000 to 1200 words with a short introduction, with AO5 dominant. Marked by the school and moderated by OCR.

The five assessment objectives

Every component is assessed against the same five objectives, so mastering them as transferable, integrated skills matters more than memorising notes on a single text.

• AO1 - apply concepts and methods from integrated linguistic and literary study, using associated terminology and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 - analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in texts through language, form and structure.
• AO3 - demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which texts are produced and received.
• AO4 - explore connections across texts, informed by linguistic and literary concepts and methods.
• AO5 - demonstrate expertise and creativity in the use of English to communicate in different ways, and evaluate that writing.

AO1 and AO2 run through every analytical task and carry the most weight overall. AO3 is significant across the exam papers and the NEA. AO4 is rewarded wherever texts are compared (the Component 01 comparison and the NEA Task 1 essay). AO5 is tested in the Component 03 recreative writing and the NEA original piece, where you produce your own text.

The integrated linguistic-literary method

What distinguishes this qualification is that you do not switch between a "language hat" and a "literature hat": you wear both at once. A single analytical point can begin from a precise language observation and arrive at a literary and contextual effect.

• Language levels - lexis and semantics, grammar (morphology and syntax), phonetics, phonology and prosody, pragmatics, discourse, graphology.
• Literary methods - form, structure, voice and persona, imagery and figurative language, genre and convention, narrative technique, dramatic and poetic method.
• Context (AO3) - audience, purpose, mode, period, the conditions of production and reception.

The decisive habit across every component is to integrate these: name a feature with the precise term (AO1), read how it shapes meaning through language, form and structure (AO2), and explain it through context (AO3). An answer that keeps language analysis and literary analysis in separate paragraphs has not integrated; the marks reward fusion.

Exam structure

The qualification is assessed by three written papers and one non-exam assessment.

• Component 01, Exploring non-fiction and spoken texts (H474/01) - 32 marks, 1 hour, 16 percent. One comparative question on an anthology text and an unseen text (AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4; AO4 prominent because the task is comparative).
• Component 02, The language of poetry and plays (H474/02) - 64 marks, 2 hours, 32 percent. Section A: poetry essay on a set collection (32 marks, AO1, AO2, AO3). Section B: drama essay on a set play (32 marks, AO1, AO2, AO3).
• Component 03, Reading as a writer writing as a reader (H474/03) - 64 marks, 2 hours, 32 percent. Section A: prose narrative essay (32 marks, AO1, AO2, AO3). Section B: recreative writing (18 marks, AO5 and AO2) plus commentary (14 marks, AO1, AO2, AO3).
• Component 04, Independent study (H474/04) - 40 marks, 20 percent, non-exam assessment. Task 1: analytical and comparative essay, 1500 to 2000 words (AO4 dominant, with AO1, AO2, AO3). Task 2: original non-fiction, 1000 to 1200 words (AO5 dominant, with AO2). Marked by the school and moderated by OCR.

How to study English Language and Literature

This subject rewards one integrated analytical method, applied across very different text types.

1. Master the integrated move. Build fluency in naming a language-level or literary-method feature precisely and reading its meaning and context in one move (AO1, AO2, AO3). This is the engine of every analytical task.
2. Know your set texts from memory. The poetry collection, the play and the prose text are examined closed text, so command quotations, structure and method, tagged by theme.
3. Command the anthology and its contexts. For Component 01, study each anthology text's mode, audience, purpose and period, ready to compare it with an unseen text.
4. Drill idea-led comparison. Structure the Component 01 answer and the NEA essay around shared ideas with both texts live, weaving them together (AO4).
5. Write and evaluate your own texts. Rehearse the recreative task and the NEA original piece, crafting voice and form for a purpose (AO5), then explain the choices in a commentary.
6. Practise under timed, integrated conditions. The papers reward fluency: drill integrated essays and unseen analysis against the clock.
7. Plan the NEA early. Choose a focused comparison and a workable original brief, and build an independent, methodical folder.

The components, dot point by dot point

Each component has specification-level answer pages with practice questions and cross-links, plus deep-dive overview guides. Browse the full set at /a-level-ocr/english-language-and-literature/syllabus.

For the official specification

OCR publishes the full specification (H474), the EMC anthology, sample assessment materials, past papers, mark schemes and the NEA guidance at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because question styles, set texts and the NEA requirements are board-specific.