Cambridge IAL English Literature case studies
Cambridge IAL English Literature · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Cambridge International AS & A Level English – Literature (9695) is a Cambridge Advanced qualification in literary study, assessed through three question papers: Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3. Learners study a range of texts in the three main forms - prose, poetry and drama - with set texts offered from a wide range of different periods and cultures. The Cambridge IAL English Literature case studies are 5 cases and about 3,934 words.
1Prose passage: linking close reading to the whole text
During a timed prose practice, a candidate has 45 minutes to answer a passage-based question. The passage is a 38-line first-person account of a narrator returning to a demolished childhood street; the question asks her to discuss the passage's significance to the novel as a whole.
798 words, about 4 min2Unseen poetry: comparing form without feature-spotting
Two unseen poems are printed side by side in a 60-minute comparison practice. Poem A is a 14-line sonnet spoken by an adult remembering a grandmother's kitchen; its rhyme is regular and its sentences are complete.
775 words, about 4 min3Drama passage: testing a claim about dramatic irony and staging
A drama passage question gives a 32-line exchange in which a ruler and a servant discuss a rumour. The ruler repeats 'I have heard' three times; the servant answers in short lines and once falls silent.
787 words, about 4 min4Prose comparison: choosing three points that can actually be compared
Two prose texts are studied for a comparative essay. The question asks: 'Compare the ways two writers present innocence.' A candidate has memorised eight points, each with one quotation: three on childhood, two on religion, three on endings.
786 words, about 4 min5Drama whole text: minor character as dramatic function
A 45-minute drama essay asks: 'Discuss the importance of one minor character in the play.' A candidate chooses a servant who appears in three scenes. Her plan is a scene-by-scene summary: 'Act 1 - servant brings letter; Act 2 - servant overhears; Act 3 - servant is dismissed.' She has 11 quotations, but nine are plot facts, not lines.
788 words, about 4 min