LGCSE Literature in English (0185) case studies
LGCSE Literature in English (0185) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Literature in English (0185) is a written, closed-book qualification in literary study, assessed through extended essay responses rather than short-answer questions. It suits candidates who can read whole texts closely and write about them precisely, and it is often taken alongside a broader English curriculum in the mid-teens. The LGCSE Literature in English (0185) case studies are 5 cases and about 2,446 words.
1The Clock That Was Never Wound
A candidate is writing about a set novel in which a character, Mara, lives alone after her family leaves. The relevant passage is short and the candidate has noted four details: the house is 'a clean, well-lighted box'; there is 'one chair turned to the wall'; a clock 'has not been wound for years'; and the narrator is Mara's lodger, who says, 'I did not ask why.' The candidate's draft paragraph reads: 'The setting shows Mara is lonely.
527 words, about 3 min2Three Never's and a Broken Line
A candidate is comparing two set poems about grief. Poem A has a regular abab rhyme and repeats the phrase 'never again' at the start of lines 2, 4 and 6; its lines are mostly end-stopped.
509 words, about 3 min3The Letter She Does Not Sit For
In a set play, a confrontation scene begins with HELENA remaining standing though MARCUS invites her to sit. She speaks in three- to five-word sentences.
477 words, about 2 min4Twenty Minutes and a Migrant's Hands
In an unseen paper, a candidate receives a poem and a prose extract. The poem is 14 lines about a migrant worker's hands; it repeats 'hands' five times and has a turn at line 9.
474 words, about 2 min5The Thesis That Is Too Neat
A candidate's essay on a set novel opens: 'The author shows that ambition leads to downfall.' The essay uses three examples of ambitious characters who fail. The teacher says the thesis is true but not arguable, and the essay ignores a character who is ambitious and succeeds.
459 words, about 2 min