What The Question Is Asking (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Your GCSE English Literature examination requires you to write about a poem from the Pearson Poetry Anthology collection and compare it to another poem from that collection. For the Poetry Anthology section you have a choice of four groupings of poetry, each one comprising 15 poems. You will study one of these clusters of 15 poems, and most likely it will be your school that will choose it for you. On the Edexcel specification, the clusters are:

• Relationships 

• Conflict 

• Time and Place 

• Belonging 

You will be assessed on your chosen poetry anthology in Paper 2 of your GCSE. The guide below will enable you to approach Section B part (a) of that exam paper with confidence. This is divided into:

• Overview

• Breaking down the question

• Top tips

Overview

The Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 2 examination consists of three sections and lasts for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Section A concerns your study of your chosen 19th-century novel, while Section B covers anthology and unseen poetry. All of the questions in Section B have two parts, (a) and (b), and you need to answer both parts of the question. Overall, you should aim to spend 35 minutes on part (a) and 45 minutes on part (b). A total of 40 marks are available for Section B: 20 marks are awarded for part (a) and 20 marks are awarded for part (b).

In part (a) of Section B you will be asked to compare a named poem from the Pearson Poetry Anthology collection to another poem from that collection. The named poem will be printed out in full on the question paper. This is a closed-book examination, meaning that you will not have access to a copy of the anthology in the exam. 

In your response you are expected to:

• Demonstrate your full understanding of the question being asked

• Demonstrate your knowledge of both poems through references and the use of accurate, relevant quotations 

• Show that you understand the main ideas and explicit meanings in the poems, as well as the implied or hidden meanings

• Analyse, in detail, the choices both poets have made in terms of their use of language, structure and form 

• Compare both poems throughout your response, commenting on their similarities and differences

• Comment on the contexts in which both poems were written and how this contributes to the meaning

You should aim to spend approximately 35 minutes on part (a) of Section B. The suggested timings are:  

It is important to read and check your work, rather than to try to write as much as you can in the time allowed. Answers that are shorter, but more focused and concise, are often more successful.

Breaking down the question

For this question, you will always be asked to write a response that explores how both poets convey their meanings and messages in their poems, focusing on their use of language, form and structure. You also need to comment on the context in which the poems were written. 

By paying close attention to the question and understanding it thoroughly, you can significantly enhance your exam performance.

Below is an example of this task from the Anthology section:

Top tips

• Ensure your introduction demonstrates that you have understood the task and the poem printed on the paper:

  • Try to define the key words of the question to get a better sense of what the question is asking you to explore

• The examiner is looking for a personal judgement which is informed and evidenced through explicit references:

  • Ensure all points are fully developed and, where possible, consider alternative interpretations

• Take a whole-text approach to each of the poems:

  • This could involve commenting on language: for example, have the poets used motifs or semantic fields throughout their poems?

  • This could involve commenting on structure: for example, “at the start”, “this changes when”, “in contrast”

  • This could involve commenting on a poet’s choice of form: for example, what deliberate choices have the poets made with their verse form?

• The given poem should serve as a springboard to your chosen second poem:

  • When you are thinking about what other poem to compare to the given poem, you should be led by the themes and ideas in the poem and not by the quotations you have memorised

• Do not select a second poem because you know it best, or because you have memorised lots of quotations from it if it doesn’t explore the idea or theme in the question:

  • This is a guaranteed way to lose marks because you will not be answering the question

• You you do not need to include both similarities and differences between your two poems:

  • Focus only on what is relevant to the question set

• References don’t need to be direct quotations:

  • They can be references to things that happen in the other poem from the anthology

• Integrate contextual comments throughout your response rather than having bolt-on paragraphs:

  • The integration of context within paragraphs (rather than a couple of “context sentences” at the end of a paragraph) will move your response to a higher level

• Your conclusion should be relevant and should summarise your personal response to the poems and the task:

  • The strongest answers provide evidence of an informed and sensitive personal response to the poems, which focuses directly on the key words of question