Mark Scheme & Model Answer (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)

Mark Scheme and Model Answer

The best way to improve any essay is to know how you are assessed, and what skills you are being assessed on. This page has been created to give you a sense of what examiners are looking for in a full-mark response. It contains:

• Overview

• Mark scheme

• Example task

• Model answer and commentary

Overview

Component 5: Coursework requires you to complete two assignments, each one 600–1200 words in length. You will be asked to explore, or analyse, how a writer has achieved particular meanings or ideas, or to write a piece as a character in a text at a specific moment. Your response must also be supported with direct quotations or close reference to the text.

Mark scheme

The mark scheme for any question in Literature in English is quite broad and can seem difficult to understand. This is because there is no “correct answer” for any essay: the exam board does not provide points that need to be included in any essay; instead, examiners use the mark scheme to place an answer into a level. 

The two assignments in the coursework portfolio are equally weighted, and each question tests all four assessment objectives.

In simple terms, to achieve the highest marks, this means:

Example task

The following task is an example of one submitted and approved by CIE for a coursework assignment. As we have covered critical responses in the previous revision notes for prose, poetry and drama, the following example is of an empathic task and response. The text chosen is A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams:

You are Blanche. It is a few weeks after you were taken to the asylum by the doctor and nurse. You are sitting in your room. Write your thoughts.

Model answer and commentary

Below you will find an example of the start of a top-mark empathic response for the above question: