LGCSE Literature in English (0185)

It is a written, closed-book examination: you write essay answers on set texts and on unseen material, choosing among alternative questions where these are offered. Assessment is by examination rather than portfolio. The awarding body publishes the exact paper structure, set-text list and current arrangements on its official website.

Those details change between series and specifications, so no fixed figure is reliable. The awarding body publishes the current duration, question count and section structure on its official site. Check the specification for your year of entry before you plan revision timings or practise full papers.

The difficulty comes from breadth and precision, not trick questions. You need working knowledge of several whole texts plus the confidence to analyse an unseen poem cold. Candidates who read widely, memorise a modest quotation bank and practise timed essays tend to cope well; those who cram plot summaries usually plateau.

Retake rules are set by the awarding body and by your exam centre, and they vary by series and region. The official body's website is the authoritative source, and your exams officer can tell you what your centre actually offers. Confirm before you assume a resit date exists.

Yes - the exam is closed-book, so the quotations have to be in your head. They need not be long: three to six words, exactly quoted and precisely analysed, beat a half-remembered paragraph. Build five to eight short quotations per text covering key characters, turning points and themes, and rehearse them until automatic.

Read every set text once early, purely for understanding. Then reread for craft, noting structure, voice and imagery. Move on to past-paper questions text by text, then to full timed essays. Keep unseen-poetry practice running weekly throughout, because it sharpens the set-text analysis too.

Retelling the story instead of analysing it; ignoring form and structure; quoting without commenting on the actual words; answering the question you prepared rather than the one printed; and mistiming so the final essay is thin. Examiners reward close attention to language and a clear line of argument, so plan briefly and keep returning to the question's key words.

Read it twice, once for sense and once with a pen. Note the situation, who is speaking, and any turn or shift in the poem. Then comment on two or three specific effects of language, imagery, form or rhythm, always tying them back to meaning. Do not hunt for a hidden correct reading; a well-supported one is what is wanted.

Less than most candidates assume. Brief context can sharpen a point, but marks come from analysis of the text itself. A paragraph on the writer's life usually earns nothing unless it explains a specific word or structural choice. Spend that time on the language instead.