Free flashcards · Pearson Edexcel A Level · YET01

English Literature flashcards

33 cards covering every topic of the YET01 syllabus (For first teaching 2015 (units WET01–WET04)). Study one topic or mix them all, turn each card, and mark yourself honestly.

Study mode needs JavaScript. Every card is listed below, so you can still cover the answers and test yourself.

All 33 cards

For a quick read-through or printing. Cover the right-hand side to test yourself.

AS Topic 1: Unit 1: Post-2000 Poetry and Prose

How is YET01 Unit 1 (WET01) set out?: 2 hours, open book, 50 marks: 50% of the IAS and 25% of the full IAL. Section A post-2000 poetry (25 marks) and Section B post-2000 prose (25 marks), each with a choice of two questions.
What are the five assessment objectives in YET01?: AO1 an informed, coherent personal response with accurate expression; AO2 analysis of how meanings are shaped; AO3 the significance of contexts; AO4 connections across texts; AO5 different interpretations of texts.
What does Unit 1 Section A require?: A comparative essay on a poem named by the board and a second poem of your choice from the 21 prescribed Poems of the Decade poems. Marked on AO1, AO2 and AO4; context (AO3) is not assessed here.
How should a Unit 1 poetry comparison be organised?: By point of comparison, moving between the two poems in each paragraph, so AO4 connections are visible throughout rather than only in the conclusion.
Why does an open-book exam change how you revise the anthology?: Memorised quotations matter less than fast, precise navigation: knowing the poems well enough to find strong evidence quickly.
Which prose texts are set for YET01 Unit 1 Section B?: One of Brooklyn, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, Purple Hibiscus and The White Tiger.
What does Unit 1 Section B require?: One essay from a choice of two on your post-2000 prose text, marked on AO1, AO2 and AO3 (context).
What kind of context matters for a post-2000 novel?: Contemporary social and cultural concerns the writer engages with, not period history.
Where do weaker Unit 1 prose answers lose marks?: They describe what the novel is "about" instead of analysing the techniques (structure, narrative voice, form) through which the writer explores it, which is what AO2 rewards.

AS Topic 2: Unit 2: Drama

How is YET01 Unit 2 (WET02) Drama set out?: 2 hours, open book (clean copies only), 50 marks, 50% of the IAS. Section A a pre-1900 play and Section B a post-1900 play, one essay from two in each, 25 marks each.
Which pre-1900 plays are set for YET01 Unit 2?: One of Doctor Faustus, Othello, The Rover, She Stoops to Conquer and Twelfth Night.
Which post-1900 plays are set for YET01 Unit 2?: One of A Raisin in the Sun, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Top Girls and Waiting for Godot.
Which assessment objectives does Unit 2 assess?: AO1, AO2, AO3 and AO5 in both sections. Each question gives a statement to respond to, which invites AO5, and asks you to consider context (AO3).
How do you show AO5 in a drama essay?: Name a range of readings or productions (for example Willy Loman as a victim of economic forces, or as complicit in his own downfall), then argue your own position within that range.
How does AO3 context differ between the pre-1900 and post-1900 plays?: Pre-1900: often the conventions of the original genre (morality-play structure for Doctor Faustus, Restoration comedy for The Rover). Post-1900: the play's immediate social and political moment.
What does "dramatic form" include?: Staging, stage directions, entrances and exits, and silence: the ways meaning is made in performance, distinct from prose.

A Level Topic 3: Unit 3: Poetry and Prose

How is YET01 Unit 3 (WET03) set out?: 2 hours, 50 marks: a 20-mark poetry section on a compulsory unseen post-1900 poem and a 30-mark prose section on two texts from a chosen theme. Roughly 48 and 72 minutes.
What is a five-step method for reading any poem?: Establish the situation (who speaks, to whom); note the form; look at language (imagery, diction, sound, tone); find the turn; explain the effect of each choice.
Why write about "the speaker" rather than "the poet"?: The voice of a poem is often a persona, not the poet, so treating them as identical can mislead the reading unless there is a reason to connect them.
Why should Unit 3 not be paced like the other units?: Its sections are unequal (20 and 30 marks). Splitting the time evenly gives the poetry section time it does not need and takes it from the prose section.
What does YET01 Unit 3's prose section require?: An essay on two prose texts studied from a chosen theme, so the comparison of the two texts is central. The theme lists include pre-1900 as well as later novels.
What should you analyse in a novel's narrative viewpoint?: Whether it is first or third person, omniscient or limited, and how trustworthy the narrator is, since this controls what the reader knows and how they judge.
How should a whole-novel essay select evidence?: Choose moments from the beginning, middle and end, so the answer shows how an idea develops rather than treating the text as a single block.
How should two prose texts be compared?: Build paragraphs around an idea (such as how each writer presents loss) and move between the texts within each paragraph, rather than writing about one then the other.

A Level Topic 4: Unit 4: Shakespeare and Pre-1900 Poetry

How is YET01 Unit 4 (WET04) set out?: 2 hours, 50 marks, completing the full IAL: a Shakespeare section and a pre-1900 poetry section of equal size.
What is blank verse, and why do departures from it matter?: Unrhymed iambic pentameter. A switch to prose often marks lower status, comedy or loss of control; rhyming couplets often close a scene with finality.
What is a foil?: A character who contrasts with the protagonist, throwing their qualities into sharper relief.
How should you write about a Shakespeare extract?: Say where it falls and what has just happened, make a claim about its dramatic purpose, analyse language, verse, stagecraft and imagery, then connect it to the play as a whole.
What does the balance of "To be, or not to be" set up in Hamlet's soliloquy?: An either-or structure that the rest of the speech complicates. The soliloquy lets the audience watch thought in progress rather than a conclusion.
What are the conventions of a ballad and an ode?: A ballad tells a story in a simple, regular rhythm, often with a refrain. An ode addresses and praises a subject in an elevated tone.
How do you approach the language of a pre-1900 poem?: Read slowly, aloud if possible, and paraphrase difficult lines (unfamiliar diction, inverted word order, classical references) before analysing them.
What does "charter'd" suggest in Blake's "I wander thro' each charter'd street"?: Ownership and control: with the heavy, repeated rhythm, it presents the city as restricted and oppressive.
What concerns are often linked with Romantic and Victorian poetry?: Romantic poets often respond to nature, imagination and social change; Victorian poets to doubt, industry and morality. Show how a specific feature reflects such a concern rather than forcing a label.

Flashcards by topic

Written for Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level English Literature (YET01), syllabus YET01 (For first teaching 2015 (units WET01–WET04)).

Cards by Marlbridge Academic Team. This deck has not yet been reviewed as a whole by a subject teacher. Report an error.

All YET01 notes, practice and topics