Paper 1, Section A: Unseen Poetry Overview (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note

Paper 1, Section A: Unseen Poetry Overview

Edexcel International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) has a compulsory exam paper, Paper 1 (4ET1/01, or 4ET1/01R for the Regional paper), plus a choice of either Paper 2 (an exam) or Paper 3 (coursework). All of your exam papers must be taken at the end of your course of study.

In your Paper 1 exam, Section A requires you to write a 20-mark essay exploring the meaning and effects created in an unseen poem. The poem will be reproduced in the question paper.

You must complete Paper 1. There are three sections in this exam paper:

In Section A, you will be expected to apply your knowledge of poetic form, content and meaning to an unseen poem. You must:

• demonstrate understanding of how writers create literary effects using, for example, imagery, descriptive skills, language choice, tone and mood, structure and form

• understand and use appropriate literary terminology

• identify and use relevant examples from the poem

Find out more about how to answer the Unseen Poetry question here.