Edexcel International A-Level English Literature: Post-2000 Poetry and Prose (YET01)

This guide covers Unit 1 Post-2000 Poetry and Prose, the first of four units in Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level English Literature (YET01), first teaching September 2015. Units 1-2 form the International Advanced Subsidiary (IAS); the full International Advanced Level (IAL) adds Units 3-4.

Where this fits in YET01

Unit 1 gives candidates their first taste of contemporary literature, studying poetry and prose published since 2000. Unit 2 is drama: one pre-1900 play (the choices include two Shakespeare plays) and one post-1900 play. At the full A-Level stage, Unit 3 applies Unit 1’s poetry skills to a compulsory unseen post-1900 poem and adds two prose fiction texts from a chosen theme (the theme lists mix pre-1900 and post-1900 novels), and Unit 4 sets a Shakespeare play and pre-1900 poetry. Unit 4 is the only unit that assesses pre-1900 poetry.

Syllabus coverage

PEARSON EDEXCEL INTERNATIONAL ADVANCED LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE (YET01) — UNIT 1 POST-2000 POETRY AND PROSE

Unit 1 assesses a prescribed selection of 21 poems from Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002-2011 (ISBN 978-0571325405) for Section A, and a post-2000 prose fiction text chosen from a list of five for Section B: Brooklyn (Colm Toibin), The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini), Life of Pi (Yann Martel), Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) and The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga). Both lists are printed in the specification and revised by specification issue rather than rotated by series. Candidates study both texts and respond to questions testing close reading, interpretation and understanding of how contemporary writers shape meaning.

The 21 prescribed poems, as listed in Appendix 5 of the specification (page numbers refer to the anthology):

Poem	Poet	Page
Eat Me	Patience Agbabi	3
Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass	Simon Armitage	6
Material	Ros Barber	10
History	John Burnside	25
An Easy Passage	Julia Copus	37
The Deliverer	Tishani Doshi	43
The Map Woman	Carol Ann Duffy	47
The Lammas Hireling	Ian Duhig	51
To My Nine-Year-Old Self	Helen Dunmore	52
A Minor Role	U A Fanthorpe	57
The Gun	Vicki Feaver	62
The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled	Leontia Flynn	64
Giuseppe	Roderick Ford	66
Out of the Bag	Seamus Heaney	81
Effects	Alan Jenkins	92
Genetics	Sinéad Morrissey	125
From the Journal of a Disappointed Man	Andrew Motion	127
Look We Have Coming to Dover	Daljit Nagra	129
Please Hold	Ciaran O’Driscoll	132
On Her Blindness	Adam Thorpe	170
Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn	Tim Turnbull	172

How to approach it

Because both set texts postdate 2000, contextual analysis here tends to focus on contemporary social and cultural concerns rather than historical background – keep this focus in mind rather than defaulting to the kind of historical context work suited to the older texts elsewhere in the qualification (Unit 2’s pre-1900 drama, the pre-1900 novels in some Unit 3 prose themes, and Unit 4’s Shakespeare and pre-1900 poetry). Building precise, well-selected quotations for both the poetry and prose texts pays off directly in exam responses, since IAL literature papers reward close textual engagement over general plot summary. The anthology and prose list above are revised by specification issue, not rotated by series, so confirm which specification issue governs your own examination series before detailed revision, but do not expect a different list each series.

Assessment at a glance

Unit 1 (WET01/01) is a 2-hour, open-book written exam worth 50 marks – 50% of the International Advanced Subsidiary and 25% of the full International Advanced Level (YET01). It splits into two 25-mark sections: Section A requires one comparative essay, from a choice of two questions, linking a named poem from the prescribed Poems of the Decade selection with a second poem of the candidate’s own choosing from the same prescribed list, marked against AO1, AO2 and AO4; Section B requires one essay, from a choice of two, on the candidate’s chosen post-2000 prose fiction text, marked against AO1, AO2 and AO3.

Unit 1 sits alongside Unit 2 (Drama, also a 2-hour, 50-mark, open-book exam worth 25% of the IAL) to form the International Advanced Subsidiary, with Units 3 and 4 completing the full International Advanced Level. Pearson’s YET01 specification is currently Issue 7, first taught from September 2015, and this remains the version in force for current examination series.

Section A in more depth

Section A’s comparative poetry essay pairs one poem named by the exam board with a second poem the candidate chooses from the prescribed list of 21 Poems of the Decade poems above, and is marked against AO1 (a coherent, accurate argument), AO2 (analysing the ways in which meanings are shaped in the poems – through form, structure and language among other methods, not a fixed three-item checklist) and AO4 (making connections across texts) – notably, AO3, context, is not assessed in this section, unlike Section B. Because the exam is open book, the value of preparation lies less in memorising exact quotations and more in fast, precise navigation of the anthology, so that strong evidence can be located quickly under time pressure. Structuring a comparative answer by point of comparison rather than poem-by-poem is what makes AO4 visible throughout the response rather than only in a closing paragraph, and since Section A offers a choice of two questions, briefly reading both before committing to one is worth the time it costs, since one question may suit a candidate’s strongest poems far better than the other.

Section B in more depth

Section B’s essay on a candidate’s chosen post-2000 prose fiction text is marked against AO1, AO2 and AO3, with AO3’s contextual element focused on contemporary social and cultural concerns rather than historical background, since the set text postdates 2000. A common way marks are lost here is drifting into general commentary on what a novel is “about” rather than analysing the specific techniques – narrative structure, voice, form – through which the writer shapes meaning around that concern, which is what AO2 actually rewards (analysing how meaning is shaped, not spotting three named features); description of theme without analysis of technique caps how highly a response can score even when its understanding of the text’s content is accurate. As with Section A, Section B offers a choice of two questions, and since the prescribed prose text is revised by specification issue rather than rotated between series, confirming the current specification issue before beginning detailed revision avoids the wasted effort of preparing the wrong title.

Where Unit 1 sits for AS-only candidates

Candidates sitting only the International Advanced Subsidiary rather than continuing to the full International Advanced Level should note that Unit 1 carries double its full-IAL weighting in that context: 50% of the AS rather than 25% of the full A-Level. This makes Unit 1, and its companion Unit 2 on drama, disproportionately important for AS-only candidates compared with those planning to sit the full qualification, since Units 3 and 4 – Unit 3’s unseen post-1900 poetry and thematic prose, and Unit 4’s Shakespeare and pre-1900 poetry – do not factor into an AS-only result at all.

Why post-2000 texts often come first

Studying post-2000 poetry and prose before the older texts elsewhere in the course (Unit 2’s pre-1900 drama, the pre-1900 novels in some Unit 3 themes, and Unit 4’s Shakespeare and pre-1900 poetry) is a common and sensible teaching order rather than a sequence the qualification itself mandates: the specification allows centres to teach the four units as distinct modules at appropriate stages or as a linear course assessed at the end, with no prescribed order, and any unit may be resat regardless of when the qualification is cashed in. Where centres do choose this order, the reasoning is that post-2000 texts are generally more linguistically accessible than the older material studied later, so building core analytical skills – close reading, structuring an argument, comparing texts – on more approachable contemporary material first can give candidates a stronger foundation before they tackle the additional linguistic demands of Shakespearean and other pre-1900 language later in the course.

Official specification

Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level English Literature specification, first teaching 2015 — qualifications.pearson.com.