aqa english language coursework ideas

25+ A-Level English Language investigation NEA ideas

In A-Level by Think Student Editor May 1, 2024 Leave a Comment

When A-Level English Language students learn that they have to complete an investigation for their NEA, most students get excited! After all, you get to choose a topic of your own choosing. Consequently, you could be working on something that actually excites you! However, it may soon become apparent that choosing an investigation topic may not be the easiest task. This could be because you may not be sure of your interests or think there are actually too many choices! As a result, it can be useful to research for some useful ideas.

If you are in a bit of a pickle and feel a bit overwhelmed with choosing your investigation topic, check out the rest of this article to hopefully get some good ideas.

What is an A-Level English Language investigation?

To complete A-Level English Language for the AQA and OCR exam boards, students have to carry out an independent investigation. This is known as an ‘NEA’, which stands for ‘non-exam assessment’.

There are actually two pieces of NEA that have to be completed by students. However, the investigation can be seen as the main one. For the AQA exam board, it requires students to research a topic related to language, which they can choose themselves!

Students will have to collect linguistic data and analyse this, answering questions they have come up with themselves, related to the topic. All of their data is all brought together in a report, with a maximum word limit of 2,000 words.

You can find out more about the language investigation on the AQA website . The OCR requirements for this investigation is similar, with this exam board emphasising critical thinking and independent data collection.

You can learn more about the A-Level English Language investigation for OCR on the OCR website.

How much of A-Level English Language is the investigation worth?

For AQA, students have to complete a 2,000 word investigation and a piece of original writing and commentary for their NEA. Together, this coursework equates to 20% of the final A-Level English Language grade. However, this article only focuses on the investigation NEA. If you want to learn about the original writing NEA check out our other Think Student article.

You can find these percentages on the AQA website . For OCR, students have to complete a poster describing their investigation, as well as the investigation itself. Together, this coursework also equates to 20% of the final grade.

You can find these percentages on the OCR website . However, A-Level English Language involves much more than just this investigation! Check out this Think Student article  to discover what the full A-Level entails.

Alternatively, if you want to discover the best ways to revise for A-Level English Language, check out this Think Student article .

A-Level English Language Investigation ideas:

Thinking about what topic to research for your investigation can be difficult. After all, there are so many different topics to choose from! However, the purpose of this NEA is to give students a bit of freedom, as they are able to research aspects of language they find interesting themselves, instead of sticking rigidly to a curriculum.

This allows lots of room for creativity! Therefore, if you want to stand out and make the most of your academic freedom, check out this list of ideas:

1. An investigation into how different newspapers over time have represented migration.

Often, current issues or topics are received positively by the exam board. This is especially the case if the topic focuses on news stories or political upheaval, as this often provides students with a range of material.

If your question is too niche, there will not be enough material available! As migration is quite a hot topic, it requires students to think critically and really understand the changes across time.

This will also increase marks for context! Commentary on previous student’s ideas and some more feedback can be found on this examiner report from the AQA website for June 2022.

2. An investigation into how contestants on ‘Married at first sight’ use language to be viewed favourably by the audience.

AQA has stated that broader questions often do well because they enable students to explore a wide range of features. With this question, you could delve into how contestants use language to gain power over their partner. You could also explore gender differences.

Creating your own transcript may take time, however will be appreciated by examiners. If you want something fiction-like that isn’t actually from a novel, reality shows could be for you! After all, this examining report from OCR  emphasised that using fiction texts were problematic.

3. An investigation into how males and females use face-threatening acts on reality shows.

Gender is a big topic covered in A-Level English Language. Thus, this question enables you to use knowledge you already have! Face threatening acts is a very relevant feature to discuss in the reality show genre.

There is also a lot of context you could bring up here, such as how the genders want to present themselves when consciously thinking about the media audience. This will get you those AO3 marks!

4. An investigation into the use of linguistic strategies used by lawyers when questioning witnesses and addressing judges.

It may be difficult to get yourself into a court room! However, this question could tackle the major A-Level English Language theme of power. You could investigate how lawyers attempt to get power over witnesses but then let judges have power over them.

You may find the linguistic strategies they use very interesting. Your awareness of the different power dynamic at play will alert the examiner to your ability to see from different perspectives and critically think.

5. An investigation into how media articles have represented covid compared to other plagues throughout history.

This question allows you to view how perspectives to diseases have changed over time. It could be useful to see if scare-mongering language was used more in the past or now and which linguistic strategies are used to influence reader’s thoughts.

This also shows the examiner that you are engaged with real world problems.

6. An investigation into how news presenters use linguistic strategies to report positive and negative news.

This question will allow you to explore a range of different language features, even extending to the tone and prosody of presenters as they deliver news. You could also explore the different ways that male and female presenters use language.

However, when investigating gender, make sure to use up to date research! Examiners don’t want to just see evidence that was carried out from research years ago.

7. An investigation into how Formula one commentators use language when commenting on different drivers.

Formula one commentators often seem unbiased. However, after creating a transcript, you may find that this is not the case! You could investigate how context could have influenced this to get extra AO3 marks.

As A03 contributes the most amount of marks, you should be aiming for this! If your interest is cars, this may be the question for you!

8. An investigation into the changes uses of language to describe women’s bodies in UK magazines.

This is a very hot topic, as body positivity is definitely increasing. Therefore, you could compare how magazines have changed their approach from demonising women’s bodies and promoting thinness to now embracing natural women.

You could also explore how this could potentially be empowering women and how this language could lead to an even bigger movement. This will show your open-mindedness to the examiner.

9. An investigation into the linguistic strategies employed by teachers in the same subject area within different year groups.

This question will hopefully allow you to collect a large amount of data, due to the high likelihood that you are completing your A-Level at school! This question and others can be found on this guide from the AQA website.

You could investigate how teachers use their language to potentially control their students. Interestingly, this could change depending on the different year groups, allowing you to comment on context again.

10. An investigation into how radio show presenters use dialect to identify with their audiences.

Many students have been reported to use song lyrics for their NEA investigation. However, examining reports have commented on the difficulty with this idea. Students who choose to analyse song lyrics may not get the highest marks.

However, if you are interested in music, analysing radio show presenter’s language could be interesting, as you could focus on how their audiences influence their language. Perhaps you could compare different radio show hosts who present for different regions!

11. An investigation into the linguistic strategies used by judges of game shows to intimidate the contestants.

Again, this question focuses on one of the main themes explored in A-Level English Language – power. It could be interesting to compare different judges approaches and see how their use of language accomplishes certain motives.

Different judges may want to create different personas, leading to carefully selected language use. If you want to read a sample of a project which explored this idea, check out this document from the AQA website.

For some more ideas, check out the list below:

12.  An investigation into the linguistic strategies used to present climate change over time in online articles.

13.  An investigation into how language regarding mental health has changed over time in social media.

14.  An investigation into the ways in which contestants on Dragon’s Den use language to pitch their ideas to the Dragons.

15. An investigation into the changing amount of gender inclusive language across reality TV shows.

16. An investigation into the manipulative language used by criminal interviewees when discussing their crimes.

17. An investigation into how newspapers use language to create fear about certain mental health disorders.

18. An investigation into the different messages given to men and women on dealing with mental health across the media.

19. An investigation into the different linguistic strategies used to encourage men and women to exercise.

20. An investigation into politeness strategies used in interactions in a customer service centre for a supermarket.

21. An investigation into the linguistic strategies used to create power between males and females in the classroom.

22. An investigation into how language creates power dynamics between presenters and contestants on game shows.

23. An investigation into the ways in which different age groups use specific features in social media group chats.

24. An investigation into how a certain celebrity is presented across magazines.

25. An investigation exploring the representation of homosexuality in poems throughout time.

26. An investigation into the changing use of language to describe mental health disorders across news articles.

27. An investigation into how a family member may change their language use when speaking to different family members.

28. An investigation into the use of politeness strategies by cashiers at popular clothes shops.

29. An investigation into the linguistic strategies used by students to defy the teacher.

30. An investigation into representations of Multicultural London English on online discussion forums.

What makes a good question for your A-Level English Language NEA investigation?

All of the examining reports focus on the idea that your question needs to be focused on a bigger idea. This will allow you to investigate a range of different linguistic elements to create a comprehensive answer.

If your question is too specific, this could lead to not enough material to write about, or repetition. The best way to discover whether your question has enough potential is to carry out a literature review before you start.

This will enable you to see relevant research related to your question. Reading beyond the A-Level English Language specification will also enable you to get higher marks!

Choosing a question where you have to collect your own data yourself is also encouraged. After all, primary data is seen as more impressive than using secondary sources.

Resources you can trust

A-level English Language investigation guide

This comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the AQA A-level English Language investigation NEA carefully walks students through the whole investigation process.  

From idea generation to question formulation to analysis skills, each stage of the non-examined assessment (NEA) is covered with helpful advice and checklists for students to complete. There are also sentence starters to help them to get writing, and suggested reading and secondary sources to help them to develop their linguistic analysis and understanding of their chosen topic. 

Designed to share with students, it's a complete coursework handbook, covering the introduction, methodology and analysis, as well as guidance on how to reference other sources and data correctly and planning templates.

Just add some sample investigations from AQA, and you are ready to go! Recommended.

A sample from the investigation handbook: 

Formulating the question or title

• This should take the form of a question about the data, or a statement about the focus of the investigation.
• Keep the focus narrow, and the investigation will be manageable.
• Remember to not have preconceived ideas about what you will find.
• Choose three texts, 100 years apart.

Example questions/statements:

• Are there differences in the way men and women write across time?
• An investigation into the language of gravestones in a local churchyard.
• A comparison of the regional accents and dialects across time.
• How does the presentation of the news reflect the needs and interests of different audiences across time?
• How does the language of advertising change across time?

What type of investigation will you do?

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A* A-Level English Language Investigation Coursework

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

28 November 2019

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I wrote this piece for my 2019 English Language A-Level, for the language investigation part of the coursework on the AQA exam board. After grading and moderation it recieved 50/50 marks. I was also awarded my sixth forms Dylan-Thomas award for it. It is an investigation into the differences in language used by defence and prosecution lawyers within the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. I was advised to post it on here as an examplar for how to structure an investigation and what to potentially include to recieve a top grade.

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International GCSE English Language (9270)

The International GCSE English Language specification that offers optimal flexibility to both teachers and learners.

Thanks to its rigorous summative assessment of students’ skills and abilities, this International English GCSE specification offers excellent preparation for International AS and A-level English Language, as well as giving students a grounding in a wide variety of language that will stay with them for life.

• The different reading tasks in Paper 1 and Paper 2 enable students to develop specific skills in inference, exploration, language analysis and deduction, alongside the more general skills of selection, synthesis and organisation.
• The distinctive ‘stepped’ approach to reading in Paper 1 helps all students to engage with the texts. Students have the opportunity to produce planned, developed and sustained responses, with a choice of writing tasks in both exam papers.
• The alternative non-exam assessment (NEA)  option to Paper 2 will appeal to students of all abilities who wish to pursue an individual area of study. With its focus on independent research and learning and the development of study skills, it provides an invaluable preparation for higher level study.

Syllabus summary

OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language covers the following topics:

Literary Non-Fiction and Composition:

• Section A (reading): literary non-fiction e.g. autobiography, biography, letters, memoir and travel/adventure writing.
• Section B (writing): three tasks from which students choose one: discursive, descriptive, imaginative/creative.

Source-Based Reading and Directed Writing:

• Section A (reading): modern world themes and issues.
• Section B (writing): writing for audience and purpose.

Non-Exam Assessment (NEA):

• Incorporates reading, study, research and writing skills.

Speaking and Listening (optional endorsement):

• This optional endorsement carries a separate statement on the student’s certificate for English to show proficiency in spoken English.

Assessment Objectives:

The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives:

AO1: Reading R1: Read and understand texts, selecting and utilising material appropriate to purpose. R2: Collate and synthesise detail from one or more sources, making cross-references and comparisons as appropriate. R3: Develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives. R4: Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader.

AO2: Writing W1: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively; use and adapt forms and select vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader. W2: Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect. W3: Organise information and ideas into sentences, paragraphs and whole texts; use a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence. W4: Demonstrate technical accuracy in grammar, punctuation and spelling.

AO3: Speaking and Listening (Optional Endorsement) SL1: Communicate clearly and purposefully; structure and sustain talk, and use a variety of techniques as appropriate. SL2: Prepare and develop ideas and concepts; listen and respond to questions about these. SL3: Interact with others, shaping meanings through comments, responses to questions and drawing ideas together.

Teaching resources available

OxfordAQA provides all the resources and advice you need to teach the International GCSE English Language specification effectively.

• Download the specification
• View our training courses to help you deliver OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language
• Approved textbooks and resources  published by Oxford University Press

We have too many resources to list here, so please visit our  resources area for teachers  to see them all, including:

• Schemes of work to allow you to plan how to deliver the specification in a way that will best suit you and your students
• Teaching guidance to outline clearly the scope of teaching and learning
• Topic tests and mock exam analysers to allow you to track your students’ progress throughout the teaching year.

This is a linear qualification with two routes through the GCSE.

Paper 1 – Literary Non-Fiction and Composition:

• Section A – Literary Non-Fiction
• Section B – Composition
• Students answer all questions from Section A and one question from Section B
• 60% of GCSE

Paper 2 – Source-based Reading and Directed Writing:

• Section A – Reading
• Section B – Writing
• 40% of GCSE
• Students complete a written task and commentary.
• Teacher assessed and AQA moderated.

OPTIONAL ENDORSEMENT – Speaking and Listening:

• Students undertake either a presentation or an interview with extended turns speaking and responding.
• Linear specification; individual components may not be re-sat.
• Candidates can re-take the whole qualification as many times as they wish.

Thinking about switching to OxfordAQA?

Take a look at:

• Taster video
• Example specimen exam paper and mark scheme

You must be an approved OxfordAQA centre to enter students for our exams. Make sure you  become an OxfordAQA centre before you start teaching a course.

Questions about this qualification?

Let us know your information below, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

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Course specification

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AS and A-level English Literature A

• Specification
• Planning resources
• Teaching resources
• Assessment resources
• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• 3.1 Love through the ages
• 4.1 Love through the ages
• 4.2 Texts in shared contexts

4.3 Independent critical study: texts across time

• Scheme of assessment
• Non-exam assessment administration (A-level only)
• General administration

In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts.

This specification is committed to the notion of autonomous personal reading and Texts across time provides a challenging and wide-ranging opportunity for independent study. Possible themes for the comparison are indicated below, but this is not a set list and students are free to develop their own interests from their own wider and independent reading.

Texts chosen for study must maximise opportunities for writing about comparative similarity and difference and must allow access to a range of critical views and interpretations, including over time . Students should take an autonomous approach to the application and evaluation of a range of critical views.

The title 'Independent critical study' highlights the important idea that, within a literature course, students should have the opportunity to work independently. Although one common text could, if required, be taught to a whole cohort, at least one text should be studied independently by each student. Texts should always be chosen with your guidance and support. Students should also individually negotiate their own task.

In Texts across time, students write a comparative critical study of two texts on a theme of their choice. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• the struggle for identity
• crime and punishment
• minds under stress
• nostalgia and the past
• satire and dystopia
• war and conflict
• representations of race and ethnicity
• representations of sexuality
• representations of women
• representations of men
• representations of social class and culture.

The spirit of this component is for independent study, with schools and colleges submitting work on a range of texts and tasks. Schools and colleges are encouraged to check the appropriateness of texts and tasks with their non-exam assessment adviser, especially where there may be some uncertainty on the approach being taken, either by the school or college as a whole or by individual students.

• The word count is 2,500 words.
• Tasks should be designed to ensure that students address all assessment objectives in their essay response.
• An appropriate academic bibliography (not included within the 2,500 word count) must be included.
• An appropriately academic form of referencing must be used.

The following conditions apply to the texts chosen:

• one text must have been written pre-1900
• two different authors must be studied
• set texts listed for the A-level exam components cannot be used for non-exam assessment, even if they will not be used in the exam
• the essay is comparative and connective so equal attention must be paid to both texts
• a poetry text could be either one longer narrative poem or a single authored collection of shorter poems. If using a collection of poetry, students must have studied the whole text and select at least two poems to write about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• single authored collections of short stories are permissible. If using a collection of short stories, students must have studied the whole text and select at least two stories to write about in detail as examples of the wider collection
• texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that have been influential and significant in the development of literature in English. The translated text should be treated as the original writer's own words for assessment purposes. Therefore, schools and colleges should ensure that they use a version recognised by academia as being a high quality translation which supports the original author's writing appropriately.

Recommended texts

Texts listed in the A-level core set text and comparative set text lists in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 cannot be studied for non-exam assessment. Texts chosen for study may include texts in translation that have been influential and significant in the development of literature in English.

Possible pre-1900 texts include, but are not limited to:

NEA prohibited texts

Students cannot use the following texts for non-exam assessment as they appear on the exam set text lists.

Examples of choices of non-exam assessment texts and possible connections

Compare and contrast the presentation of British attitudes to race and ethnicity in The Moonstone and in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth in the light of this view.

In what ways do you think the Gothic settings of these texts help the writers to shape their presentation of heroines in peril?

Compare and contrast the presentation of Sue Trinder in Fingersmith with Marian Halcombe in The Woman in White in the light of this view.