How to Annotate an Extract (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note

What does it mean to annotate an extract?

Annotating means picking out the most useful parts of a text and writing short notes beside them. In the exam, your annotations are the first stage of your plan: they show you which evidence you will use and what you will say about it.

Your English Literature exams are closed-book for poetry and modern prose (Paper 1), so the printed question paper is the only text in front of you. Annotating it carefully gives you evidence that is ready to use. Examiners advise that “a brief plan at the start” can help you “think about the range of points” you can make and “maintain focus”.

Paper 2 is open book, but no extract is printed. The rules on annotating a text English Literature students take into Paper 2 are strict, because the copy must be completely unmarked. Annotating key passages while you revise prepares you for this, because you’ll already know where your best evidence is.

How to annotate a text

Here is how to annotate an extract or a poem in five steps:

• Read the question first: underline its key words, so you know what you are looking for

• Read the extract once without writing on it: work out who is speaking and what is happening at this point in the text

• Underline the details that link to the question: choose four to six short quotations, often a single word or phrase

• Note what each detail shows: write a few words in the margin about how it links to the question and why the writer chose it

• Link to the rest of the text: note where else in the text the same idea appears, if the question asks about the whole text

Paper 2 questions ask about the whole text, so practise these steps on key passages from your set text while you revise. Annotating text in a revision copy is fine, but you’ll need to keep the copy you take into the exam clean. If you take the coursework route (Component 3), annotating key passages is also a useful first step when you plan each assignment.

Here’s how you might annotate part of a Macbeth extract for a real Paper 2 question. The key words in the question are underlined, as well as the textual details selected. The details are numbered, and the table below the extract shows the margin note for each one.

Question: In what ways does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s conscience in the play? (Paper 2, June 2025)

Notes 1 to 3 show what holds Macbeth back, and notes 4 and 5 show that ambition alone is not enough to make him act. Note 3 is starred because it answers the question about his conscience most directly.

How do you turn your annotations into a plan?

Your annotations are already most of your plan. When you have finished annotating:

• Star your best idea: the detail that answers the question most directly becomes the core of your thesis statement (your overall answer to the question)

• Group your notes into three or four main ideas

• Number the ideas in the order you will write about them

Here is the plan these Macbeth annotations give you:

How long should you spend annotating?

Annotate during your planning time, not as a separate task. A few minutes is usually enough for one extract or poem. Stop once you have enough evidence for your plan: annotation is only useful if it saves you time when you write. The table at the end of this page shows how this fits each question.

What should you look for when you annotate?

Look for details that help you answer the question, such as:

• Words and images linked to the focus: for example, anything about ambition, power or kindness, depending on the question

• Changes and turning points: words such as “But” or “Besides” often signal a change of thought or mood

• Contrasts: between characters, between ideas, or between how the extract begins and ends

• The ending: the last lines of an extract or poem often show the writer’s message most clearly

• Links to the rest of the text: what happens before or after this moment

What should you avoid?

• Technique labels on their own: examiners point out that “It isn’t just about using terminology: you have to explain the effect of the techniques used too”

• Highlighting everything: if you underline or highlight most of the extract, nothing stands out when you plan

• Writing full sentences in the margins: keep your notes to a few words. A note only needs to remind you of your idea, because you will explain it fully in your essay, and writing sentences uses up planning time

How to annotate a poem for a comparison question

Annotating a poem uses the same five steps as an extract. Poems pack a lot of meaning into a few words, so read slowly and look for who is speaking, repeated words, a shift in tone and the last line. In a comparison question, it’s a great idea to annotate with your second poem in mind. In your Edexcel International GCSE English Literature exam, the comparison question is in Section B of Paper 1.

How do you annotate for the anthology comparison?

In the anthology question, all of the Part 3 poems are printed in a Poetry Booklet, so both of your poems are in front of you. Some questions name both poems, and others name one poem and let you choose the second. Annotate the first poem for the question, then:

• Jot down your second poem: write two or three short quotations from it in the margin of the first poem, so all your evidence is in one place

• Link the two poems: use simple annotation symbols, such as “S” for similar and “D” for different, to show where the two poems are similar or different, and add a word or two to say how

For the second poem, two or three methods that are similar or different are enough.

The table below shows annotations of ‘Blessing’ for a comparison question, with ‘War Photographer’ as the second poem. The third column shows the link each note makes to ‘War Photographer’.

Question: Re-read Blessing and War Photographer. Compare the ways the writers present different types of experience in Blessing and War Photographer. (Paper 1, June 2025)

Jotted in the margin from ‘War Photographer’: “spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”, “as though this were a church”, “He has a job to do.”, “they do not care”

The starred note gives a thesis about experience, and the links give you the comparison: both poems use religious imagery, but in ‘Blessing’ it shows a shared moment of joy, while in ‘War Photographer’ it shows one man’s private grief.

How do you annotate the unseen poem?

In the unseen question, one poem is printed and you won’t have studied it. Annotate it in this order:

• Read the question first: it tells you what the poem is about, and its bullet points list what to look for, such as the writer’s “choice of language”

• Read the poem without writing on it: work out who is speaking and what the situation is

• Read it again and underline: pick out the details that answer the question

• Check each bullet point: find one or two details for each one, such as a repeated line or a change in the last stanza

Annotating in your Edexcel International GCSE English Literature exam

In Paper 1 of your Edexcel International GCSE English Literature exam, you cannot take your set texts in with you. You can only annotate what is printed on the question paper, and that is different for each question. The unseen poem and the anthology poems are printed for you. In Paper 2, you can take in a clean copy of each set text, but no extract is printed. Your plan goes in the lined spaces in the Answer Booklet, and the paper says that plans “will not be marked unless no other response is provided”.

This table shows how to approach each part of your two exam papers:

If you take the coursework route (Component 3) in place of Paper 2, you write two assignments on the same texts. Annotating key passages while you study helps you plan both of them.