Poetry and Modern Prose (4ET1): Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Poetry and Modern Prose study guide.

Component 1 at a glance

Section	Focus	Marks	AOs
A	Unseen poem (printed on the paper)	20	AO2
B	Compare two anthology poems	30	AO2, AO3
C	Chosen modern prose text	40	AO1, AO4

Set texts (revised by specification issue, not by series): the 16-poem anthology — If, Prayer Before Birth, Blessing, Search For My Tongue, Half-past Two, Piano, Hide and Seek, Sonnet 116, La Belle Dame sans Merci, Poem at Thirty-Nine, War Photographer, The Tyger, My Last Duchess, Half-caste, Do not go gentle into that good night, and Remember — and the modern prose list of seven: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Whale Rider, The Joy Luck Club, Things Fall Apart, Klara and the Sun and Western Lane (see the study guide for full author credits).

2 hours, 90 marks total = 60% of the whole IGCSE. Only Section C (the modern prose text) is closed book — Sections A and B have the poems printed on the paper or supplied from the anthology.

Section A — unseen poem

• The poem is printed on the paper — no memorisation needed, just strong analytical skill.
• Pure AO2: focus entirely on how meaning and effects are created (language, form, structure), not what happens to be recalled about the poet.

Section B — comparing two poems

• You get a choice of two questions, each comparing two anthology poems — typically one names both poems and the other names one poem and asks you to choose the second from the anthology yourself (as in the November 2023 paper).
• AO2 (language/form/structure) and AO3 (comparison) — a response that analyses each poem well but never directly compares them is missing AO3 marks entirely.
• Build short comparative notes across pairs of poems by theme — don’t revise poems only in isolation.

Section C — modern prose

• A choice of two questions on each set text; answer one on your studied text.
• AO1 (informed, textually-supported response) and AO4 (understanding of context).
• Reward tracking how a theme or character develops across the whole novel, not just one memorable scene.
• Context (social, historical, cultural) must be integrated into the argument, not bolted on as a separate paragraph.

Timing and exam strategy

The question paper itself prints a recommended timing for each section: 35 minutes for Section A, 40 minutes for Section B, and 45 minutes for Section C — together the full two hours. That is not a strict proportional split of the marks (a pure 40/30/20 proportion would give Section A less time, not more, than its 35 minutes), so use the paper’s own timings rather than reworking them from the mark scheme, and leave a few minutes at the end to check all three responses.

Structural technique for Section A

Because Section A is pure AO2, a top-band response builds sustained analysis across three areas — language (imagery, word choice, sound), form (rhyme, meter, stanza shape), and structure (how the poem develops or shifts) — with every point rooted in a short, precisely selected quotation and a clear effect explained, not just named. Narrowing the focus onto structure specifically, when a question asks for it, means structural features such as where lines break or where a stanza ends should carry the analysis, rather than drifting into imagery or word choice as the main evidence.

Structural technique for Section B

The strongest Section B answers organise by point of comparison, not poem-by-poem — for instance, “both poets use natural imagery, but Poem A does X while Poem B does Y” — analysing language, form and structure in each poem with precision, and making the comparison explicit and sustained throughout rather than confined to a closing paragraph. Where a question specifies a shared feature such as imagery, both poems must be shown to use it in a genuinely comparable way, not merely both contain it.

Structural technique for Section C

Track the character or theme across at least three distinct points in the novel — beginning, a turning point, and the ending or a late development — using specific, well-chosen textual evidence at each point, and integrate relevant context (social, historical, cultural) that illuminates why the character or theme develops as it does, rather than adding context as a disconnected final paragraph. A frequently tested angle within this section is using a specific setting to reflect or influence a character’s state of mind at two different points in the novel — track the same setting, or a contrasting pair of settings, and use each to make an explicit claim about the character’s development, rather than describing the setting for its own sake.

Where marks are usually lost across all three sections

Beyond the section-specific traps below, three general patterns recur across the whole paper: Section B answers that analyse each poem in a separate half rather than comparing directly point by point; Section C answers that retell the plot instead of tracking character or theme development with a clear argument; and context in Section C treated as a bolt-on paragraph rather than woven into the analysis throughout.

Exam traps

• Writing about only one poem in Section B when comparison is explicitly credited.
• In Section C, summarising plot instead of building an argument about character/theme development.
• Forgetting that the set texts (poetry anthology and prose novel) are fixed by the specification and only change when Pearson issues a revised specification, not on a series-by-series rotation — see the study guide for the current anthology and prose list, and always confirm you’re revising the texts for your own specification issue.
• Spending equal time on all three sections when they are not equally weighted (40 > 30 > 20 marks).

Self-test

1. How many marks is Component 1 worth, and what percentage of the IGCSE is that?
2. Which AOs does Section B assess, and what does the second one specifically require you to do?
3. Why does a Section C answer that only summarises plot underperform?
4. How does the paper itself recommend you allocate your two hours across the three sections?

Answers: 1. 90 marks, 60% of the whole IGCSE. 2. AO2 and AO3 — AO3 specifically requires directly comparing the two poems, not just analysing them side by side. 3. Because Section C rewards AO1 (a supported, developing argument) and AO4 (context), neither of which a plot summary demonstrates. 4. Following the paper’s own printed timings: 35 minutes on Section A, 40 on Section B, and 45 on Section C, leaving a few minutes to check all three responses.