Cambridge IGCSE English Literature (0475): Component 5 Coursework – Study Guide

Coursework is the part of IGCSE English Literature in which you control the conditions: you have time to read, think, plan, draft and improve a piece of writing about texts you have studied in your school. That freedom is also a risk, because weak planning shows. This guide explains how to approach the written coursework in Cambridge IGCSE English Literature (0475), using skills that apply whatever texts and tasks your teacher selects. Always follow the exact requirements your teacher gives you for your exam series, since word limits, numbers of tasks and rules on text choice are set by the syllabus and the school’s entry details.

Where this fits in the course

The syllabus is made up of several components. Some are written examinations on set poetry, prose, drama and unseen material, and coursework is the component in which you submit written work on studied texts. Your teacher will confirm how the coursework fits with the written components for your entry and how the portfolio is organised. What marks the coursework out is that it is assessed on the same qualities as exam answers: knowledge and understanding of the text, analysis of the writer’s methods, awareness of context, and a personal, well-organised response. The difference is that you are expected to sustain these qualities in a considered, polished piece.

Choosing a text and a task

If you have a choice, pick a text that gives you plenty to say, and one that you actually find interesting. Enthusiasm shows in the quality of the argument.

A good task has three features.

• It is a question that invites an argument, not a topic. “Dreams in the novel” is a topic. “How does the writer use dreams to show the narrator’s loss of control?” is a question you can answer with a thesis.
• It focuses on the writer’s methods, such as language, structure, form and voice, not only on what happens.
• It is narrow enough to be explored in depth within the word limit. A question about one character’s development across the text is usually better than a question about “all the themes”.

Examples of workable stems, which you can adapt to any text: “How does the writer make the reader sympathise with …?”, “In what ways does the opening of … prepare the reader for what follows?”, “Explore how the writer presents the relationship between … and … .”, “How far is … a victim of circumstances?” Ask your teacher to check your wording before you start, because a task that is too broad, too narrow or purely descriptive will limit your marks.

Building an argument

The best coursework has a clear line of argument running through it. Work out your answer to the question in one sentence before you begin. This is your thesis. Every paragraph should then support, develop, qualify or complicate it.

A useful paragraph structure is:

1. Point: a claim that moves the argument on.
2. Evidence: a short, carefully chosen quotation or precise reference.
3. Analysis: how the writer’s choice of word, image, structure or voice creates meaning.
4. Link: how this connects to the thesis, or to another part of the text.

You do not need to follow this rigidly in every paragraph, and good writers vary it, but it helps to prevent narration.

A short worked illustration

Suppose your task is about how a writer creates a sense of unease at the start of a prose text. A weak paragraph says: “At the start, the writer describes a dark house and this makes the reader feel scared.” A stronger one says: “The opening withholds information about who is watching the house, so that the description of its shuttered windows feels threatening rather than merely gloomy. By placing the narrator’s reaction after the setting, the writer lets the unease build before the narrator can explain it.” The second version names a method (withholding, ordering), explains its effect and connects it to the task. The example is deliberately invented, to show the quality of thinking, not to quote any real text.

Using evidence and context

Choose evidence from across the text, not only from the first chapter or stanza. Quotation should be short and embedded in your own sentence, so that your analysis comes first and the quotation supports it. Always check quotations against the printed text for accuracy; a misquotation suggests careless reading.

Context should be used with care. Mention the time and place in which a text was written, or the circumstances it depicts, when this helps to explain a choice the writer made. A paragraph of biography or history that does not return to the text will not earn marks. Make sure that any fact you include is one you have checked in a reliable source.

If your task asks you to compare or connect texts, move between them within paragraphs, organised by idea, instead of writing about one text and then the other.

Planning, drafting and the teacher’s role

Treat coursework as a project with deadlines.

1. Read and annotate the text, noting patterns, key moments and your own reactions.
2. Plan: write the question, the thesis, four to six main points and the evidence for each.
3. Draft your response. Do not worry about perfection at first.
4. Revise for argument: is your thesis clear, and does each paragraph pull its weight?
5. Edit for expression: sentence control, spelling, punctuation and consistent tense. In literature, use the present tense for discussing a text.
6. Check the word count against the limit and cut repetition rather than evidence.

Your teacher may give general guidance, for example about task choice or how to approach the assessment criteria, but the work you submit must be your own. Ask your teacher what kind of feedback is permitted at the drafting stage, so you do not rely on help that is not allowed.

Authenticity and plagiarism

Submitting work that is not your own can lead to serious penalties. Do not copy from the internet, from study guides or from classmates, and do not paste in material generated by someone or something else. If you use a critic’s idea, say so clearly and put it in your own words, naming the source. Keep dated drafts and notes, because they show how your work developed and support the authenticity declaration you may be asked to sign.

Common mistakes

• Retelling the plot rather than analysing the writer’s methods.
• Choosing a task that is a topic, not a question.
• Writing a long background section before reaching the text.
• Using long, unanalysed quotations to fill up space.
• Leaving the conclusion as a repeat of the introduction.
• Starting too late and handing in a first draft.
• Treating the narrator or speaker as identical to the author.

Final checks before submission

Read your piece aloud to hear awkward sentences. Confirm that every quotation is accurate, that the title or question is written at the top as agreed with your teacher, that you have answered the whole question and not only part of it, and that you have kept to the word limit. Check that all quotations and ideas drawn from others are acknowledged.

Frequently asked questions

How long is each Component 5 assignment? Between 600 and 1200 words, including quotations but excluding references and bibliography. The syllabus warns that work significantly over or under this guidance may be disadvantaged.

How is Component 5 marked? Your teacher marks each assignment out of 25 against the syllabus criteria, and Cambridge moderates a sample. The component is worth 25 marks and 25% of the qualification.

Can both assignments be on set texts? No. The assignments must be on different texts, and only one of them may be on a text set for Papers 1, 2 and 3.

Check your understanding

1. Why is “How does the writer use dreams to show the narrator’s loss of control?” a better coursework task than “Dreams in the novel”? (It asks a question that invites an argument about methods; the second is only a topic.)
2. What is a thesis, and when should you decide it? (A one-sentence answer to the question, decided before you start writing.)
3. Name the four parts of a point-evidence-analysis-link paragraph. (Point, evidence, analysis, link.)
4. How should quotations be used? (Short, accurate, embedded in your own sentences, and followed by analysis.)
5. When is context useful? (When it helps explain a choice the writer made, and you return to the text.)
6. Which tense should you normally use when writing about a text? (The present tense.)
7. Why should you keep dated drafts? (They show your work developed independently and support authenticity.)
8. What should you do if you use an idea from a critic? (Put it in your own words and acknowledge the source.)