Welcome to Your Independent Study (NEA)

The Component 04 Independent Study, often called the NEA (Non-Exam Assessment), is your chance to shine outside of the exam hall. It is worth 20% of your total A Level grade. Instead of answering a surprise question in a timed room, you get to choose your own path and research texts that truly interest you.

This chapter focuses on the "ground rules" for picking your texts and tasks. Getting these right at the start is vital—if your text choices don't follow the OCR rules, your work might not be able to be moderated! Don't worry, though; we will break down the rules step-by-step so you can choose with confidence.

Task 1: The Comparative Essay Rules

For Task 1 (Analytical and comparative writing), you need to write a 1500–2000 word essay comparing two texts. To make your essay "legal" in the eyes of the examiners, you must follow three main rules regarding your text selection.

Rule 1: The Prescribed Non-Fiction Text

At least one of your two texts must come from the OCR prescribed list. This list consists of high-quality non-fiction works. Depending on whether you are sitting your exams in 2027 or 2028, this list changes slightly.
Note: You can find the specific titles for each year in the next two chapters of these notes.

Rule 2: The Free-Choice Text

Your second text is your free choice. This is where you can follow your passions! Your free-choice text:
• Can be any genre (poetry, drama, prose fiction, or more non-fiction).
• Must be published in book form. This is a strict rule—you cannot use a standalone website, a single newspaper article, or a transcript unless it is part of a published book.

Rule 3: The Post-2000 Rule

At least one of your two texts (either the prescribed one or your free-choice one) must have been published after the year 2000.
• If you choose a prescribed text published in 1933 (like Down and Out in Paris and London), your free-choice text must be post-2000.
• If you choose a prescribed text from the 2028 list (where all texts are post-2000), you have already met the rule! Your free-choice text could then be from any time period.

Key Takeaway: Your pair of texts must include 1 official non-fiction book + 1 book of your choice + at least 1 book written in the 21st century.

It is important to check which year you will be taking your final assessments, as the "Post-2000" rule becomes much easier for students in 2028.

For Examination in 2027:

The prescribed list contains a mix of older and newer texts. For example, works by George Orwell or Truman Capote are pre-2000. If you pick one of these, you must pair it with a free-choice book published after 2000 to meet the syllabus requirements.

For Examination in 2028:

The entire prescribed list was updated for first teaching in 2026. Every single book on the new list (such as Educated or The Quiet Ear) was published after the year 2000. This means you have total freedom with your second text—it can be a modern masterpiece or a classic from the 1800s!

What Does "Book Form" Mean?

Students sometimes find the "book form" rule confusing. It is designed to ensure you have enough material to write a deep, 2000-word analysis.
• Accepted: A novel, a play script, a collection of poems, a biography, a published diary, or a travelogue.
• Not Accepted: A single poem (not in a book), a blog post, a YouTube transcript, or a single magazine feature.
• The Exception: You can use a specific essay or a short story, provided it is part of a published collection (a book).

Task 2: Original Non-Fiction Writing

While Task 1 is about comparing books, Task 2 is about your own creativity. You must produce a piece of original non-fiction (1000–1200 words).
• There are no prescribed texts for this task.
• You choose the genre (e.g., a piece of travel writing, a satirical article, or a memoir).
• You must include a 150-word introduction explaining your choices.
Note: For more on how to write this, see the chapter "Original non-fiction writing and introduction (Task 2)".

The Safety Net: The Text and Task Proposal Service

Don't worry if this seems like a lot of rules to remember! OCR provides a Text and Task Proposal Service.
1. You and your teacher will fill out a form listing your chosen texts and the essay question you have designed.
2. You submit this to OCR.
3. Expert moderators check it to make sure your texts follow the post-2000 and free-choice rules.
4. They give you the "green light" to start writing, or offer advice on how to fix your choice if it doesn't meet the rules.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Picking two "Free-Choice" texts: Remember, one MUST be from the official OCR non-fiction list.
• Forgetting the date: If you are aiming for the 2027 exam and pick two 20th-century books, you will fail the post-2000 requirement.
• Choosing a text that is too short: If your free-choice text is a very thin book of poetry, you might struggle to hit the 1500–2000 word count for the essay.
• Exceeding the word count: The overall maximum for the NEA is 3200 words (excluding quotations and bibliography). Try to stay within the limits for Task 1 and Task 2 combined!

Quick Review: The NEA "Checklist"

1. Text 1: Is it on the official OCR non-fiction list?
2. Text 2: Is it a book?
3. The Date: Is at least one of them published after the year 2000?
4. The Task: Does your question allow you to compare the two (AO4) and look at how meanings are shaped (AO2)?