Cambridge IGCSE English Literature

Component-based qualification

This qualification offers alternative routes built from the components above — candidates complete one full route, not every component listed. See the source notes below for exactly which components make up each route.

Source: official Cambridge specification, verified 2026-08-28. Directly confirmed against the official PDF's "Assessment overview" (Syllabus overview): all candidates take Paper 1 Poetry and Prose (1h30/50 marks/50%, two questions on two texts, externally assessed) plus EXACTLY ONE of three routes, each worth the remaining 50%: Route A is Paper 2 Drama alone (1h30/50 marks/50%, two questions on two texts, externally assessed); Route B is Paper 3 Drama (Open Text) (45min/25 marks/25%, one question on one text) together with Paper 4 Unseen (1h15/25 marks/25%, one question requiring critical commentary), both externally assessed; Route C is Paper 3 again together with Component 5 Coursework (25 marks/25%, a portfolio of two assignments each on a different text, internally assessed and externally moderated). Paper 3 is genuinely shared between Route B and Route C – it is the same physical paper, not two different papers with the same name – so it is shown here as belonging to both routes. Grades A*-G. This is a single-year syllabus edition (2026 only).