IGCSE English
Language & Literature
Coursework
0500
0486
(for 2016)
LANGUAGE CiE IGCSE
Written coursework
50%
Three pieces of extended writing in different
forms/genres (approx 750 words)
Task 1: inform, analyse and/or argue
LITERATURE CIE IGCSE
Written coursework
25%
Two pieces
1.
Macbeth study
2.
View from the Bridge study
Task 2: describe and/or narrate
Examinations
Task 3: Non-fiction response to a text or texts
LANG PAPER:
PAPER 02
50%
(2 hours)
Other tasks will be set to ensure success
LIT PAPERS:
Unit 1: 1hr 30 / Unit 3: 45 mins
Unit 1
Read two texts. Answer three questions:
- Transformative writing - Writer’s effect - Summarise
Passage A will be 650–750 words long.
Passage B will be 550–650 words long.
50%
A: poetry – analysis of a poem from selection
B: prose - analysis of a short story from a selection
Unit 3
25%
Study of A View from the Bridge – Arthur Miller
STC
CIE English Literature – unit 1 text selection
POETRY
From Songs of Ourselves Volume 1, Part 5,
the following 15 poems:
PROSE
From Stories of Ourselves,
the following 10 stories:
Fleur Adcock, ‘For Heidi With Blue Hair’
James K Baxter, ‘Elegy For My Father’s Father’
Elizabeth Bishop, ‘One Art’
Boey Kim Cheng, ‘Reservist’
Emily Brontë, ‘Cold In The Earth’
Robert Browning, ‘Meeting At Night’
Emily Dickinson, ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death’
Philip Larkin, ‘The Trees’
Charlotte Mew, ‘The Trees Are Down’
Grace Nichols, ‘Praise Song For My Mother’
Wilfred Owen, ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’
Siegfried Sassoon, ‘Attack’
Stephen Spender, ‘My Parents’
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ‘Song: Tears, Idle Tears’
Hone Tuwhare, ‘Friend’
no. 10 Saki (Hector Hugo Munro), ‘Sredni Vashtar’
no. 17 Sylvia Townsend Warner, ‘The Phoenix’
no. 19 Bernard Malamud, ‘The Prison’
no. 22 J G Ballard, ‘Billennium’
no. 24 Maurice Shadbolt, ‘The People Before’
no. 30 Patricia Highsmith, ‘Ming’s Biggest Prey’
no. 34 Anita Desai, ‘Games at Twilight’
no. 39 Paule Marshall, ‘To Da-duh, in Memoriam’
no. 40 Rohinton Mistry, ‘Of White Hairs and Cricket’
no. 45 Adam Thorpe, ‘Tyres’
CiE IGCSE English Language
Understanding the course: extracts from the syllabus (0500)
PAPER 02 (extended)
2 hours, 50 marks
Candidates answer three questions on two passages which may be on a similar topic. Candidates write all their answers in the spaces provided on the question
paper. Passage A will be 650–750 words and Passage B will be 550–650 words in length. Candidates should spend approximately 15 minutes reading the
passages. These passages will be printed on the question paper insert. Dictionaries may not be used.
Candidates taking this component are eligible for grades A–E (and A* at syllabus level).
50% of the total marks available for syllabus 0500.
Question 1 Extended response (20 marks)
This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided. Candidates write about 250–350 words, responding in one of the following text
types: letter, report, journal, speech, interview, newspaper report or magazine article.
This question tests the following reading assessment objectives (15 marks):
R1 demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
R2 demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
R3 analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions.
The question also tests the following writing assessment objectives (5 marks):
W1 articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
W2 sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3 use a range of appropriate vocabulary
W4 use register appropriate to audience and context.
Question 2 Language question (10 marks)
This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided.
Candidates write about 200–300 words.
This question tests the following reading assessment objective (10 marks):
R4 demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve effects.
Question 3 Summary question (20 marks)
This question in response to Passage B may be sub-divided.
Candidates write their content points in note form and then their summary as continuous writing of 200–250 words.
This question tests the following reading assessment objectives (15 marks):
R1 demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
R2 demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
R5 select for specific purposes.
The question also tests the following writing assessment objectives (5 marks):
W1 articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
W2 sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3 use a range of appropriate vocabulary.
Coursework module 50 marks
Candidates are eligible for grades A–G on this component (and A* at syllabus level if the Extended route is followed).
50% of the total marks available for syllabus 0500.
Candidates submit a coursework portfolio of three assignments, each of about 500–800 words.
The assignments may be conducted in any order, and are:
Assignment 1: informative, analytical and/or argumentative
Assignment 2: descriptive and/or narrative
Assignment 3: a response to a text or texts of approximately two sides of A4 in total, chosen by the Centre.
The text(s) should contain facts, opinions and arguments. Candidates respond by selecting, analysing and evaluating
the content of the text(s). They may write in any appropriate form they wish. Different candidates in the same
teaching set may choose to respond to different text(s) and/or in different forms.
The coursework portfolio tests the following writing assessment objectives (40 marks):
W1 articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
W2 sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3 use a range of appropriate vocabulary
W4 use register appropriate to audience and context
W5 make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
For Assignment 3 only, the following reading assessment objectives are tested (10 marks):
R1 demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
R2 demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
R3 analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions.
Work may be handwritten or word-processed. Dictionaries may be used.
Candidates must include the first draft of one of the three assignments submitted. The first draft will not
contribute to the final internally assessed mark or to the externally moderated mark for the coursework portfolio.
The coursework portfolio must also include the text(s) used for Assignment 3.
CiE IGCSE English Literature
Understanding the course: extracts from the syllabus (0486)
Component 1: Poetry and Prose
Selected poems/short stories
1 hour 30 minutes, 50 marks
This is a compulsory written paper.
Candidates answer two questions: one from Section A (Poetry) and one from Section B (Prose).
All questions carry equal marks (25 marks each).
There is a choice of two questions on each text.
Relevant passages/poems are printed on the question paper.
Candidates may not take their set texts into the exam room.
All questions encourage an informed personal response and test all four assessment objectives. Candidates
will have to demonstrate the following:
• knowledge of the content of the text – through reference to detail and use of quotations from the text (AO1)
• understanding of characters, relationships, situations and themes (AO2)
• understanding of writer’s intentions and methods – response to the writer’s use of language (AO3)
• personal response – sometimes directly (answering questions such as ‘What do you think?’, ‘What are
your feelings about…?’) and sometimes by implication (answering questions such as ‘Explore the ways
in which…’) (AO4).
This written paper is an externally set assessment, marked by Cambridge.
Component 3: Drama (Open Text)
View From the Bridge
45 minutes, 25 marks
Candidates may take their set texts into the exam room, but these texts must not contain personal
annotations, highlighting or underlining.
Candidates answer one question on one text.
There is a choice of two questions on each text. All questions carry equal marks (25 marks each).
Relevant passages are printed on the question paper.
All questions encourage an informed personal response and test all four assessment objectives. Candidates
will have to demonstrate the following:
• knowledge of the content of the text – through reference to detail and use of quotations from the text (AO1)
• understanding of characters, relationships, situations and themes (AO2)
• understanding of writer’s intentions and methods – response to the writer’s use of language (AO3)
• personal response – sometimes directly (answering questions such as ‘What do you think?’, ‘What are
your feelings about…?’) and sometimes by implication (answering questions such as ‘Explore the ways
in which…’) (AO4).
The written paper is an externally set assessment, marked by Cambridge.
Component 5: Coursework
25 marks
Candidates submit a portfolio of two assignments (600–1200 words each). Each assignment should be
based on the study of one complete text. The text must be equivalent in scope and demand to the set texts
for Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3.
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•
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The assignments must be on different texts; They must be originally written in English.
One of the assignments (but not two) may be on a text set on Papers 1, 2 and 3.
Assignments must show that the candidate has studied the whole text.
If poetry or short stories are used for an assignment, candidates must cover a minimum of two poems or stories.
Candidates are not required to compare poems or stories within the assignment, as it is assumed that the
assignment is based on the study of a wider selection of poems or stories broadly equivalent to a poetry or short
stories set text.
The phrasing of each assignment’s title must allow for assessment in relation to all four assessment
objectives. One of the assignments may be an empathic response to a prose or drama text.
Format
• The coursework portfolio must contain two assignments, each on a different text.
• Assignments should be between 600 and 1200 words (including quotations, but excluding references/
• bibliography). Candidates must not confuse length with quality. Assignments that are significantly over or under
the word count guidance may be self-penalising.
• Candidates may use typewriters or word processors, or can write their assignments by hand.
• Candidates should undertake more than two assignments to provide a choice of assignments for their portfolio.
• Candidates should remember to proofread their work carefully.
This component is assessed and marked by the Centre, and a sample is submitted for external moderation
by Cambridge.
Assessment criteria
for English Literature