IGCSE English Literature: Paper 2 - Drama (Cambridge 0475)

This guide explains how Paper 2 Drama works in Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English 0475 for the 2026 series: its format and marks, the choice it forces between passage-based and essay questions, and what the assessment objectives actually reward when you write about a play rather than a poem or novel.

Where this fits in 0475

The 0475 syllabus is organised around papers rather than a topic list. Every candidate takes Paper 1 Poetry and Prose, and then completes the qualification through one of three routes: Paper 2 Drama, OR Paper 3 Drama (Open Text) together with Paper 4 Unseen, OR Paper 3 together with Component 5 Coursework. All routes lead to grades A* to G. Paper 2 is therefore the single-exam drama route — one written paper covering two plays, worth 50% of the whole qualification, mirroring Paper 1’s other 50%. Schools choose the route; if yours sits Paper 2, the drama texts carry as much weight as poetry and prose combined, which is worth letting sink in when dividing revision time.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH 0475 — PAPER 2 DRAMA (2026)

• Format — a written paper of 1 hour 30 minutes carrying 50 marks, externally set and marked by Cambridge International, worth 50% of the qualification for candidates on this route.
• Task structure — candidates answer two questions on two set texts, each carrying equal marks (25 each). For each text there is a choice of two questions: either (a) a passage-based question or (b) an essay question.
• The one-of-each rule — candidates must answer one passage-based question and one essay question across the paper. You cannot answer two essays or two passage questions, so both skills must be exam-ready for both plays.
• Closed book — set texts may not be taken into the exam room. The relevant passages for the (a) questions are printed on the question paper itself.
• Set texts — the plays for this component are listed in Section 3 of the syllabus and are specific to the examination year, so always confirm the list in the current syllabus rather than relying on a previous year’s.
• Assessment objectives — every question tests all four AOs, weighted equally at 25% each: AO1, detailed knowledge of the text supported by reference and quotation; AO2, understanding of meanings and contexts, going beyond surface meaning to deeper awareness of ideas and attitudes; AO3, recognising and appreciating how writers use language, structure and form to create and shape meanings and effects; and AO4, communicating a sensitive and informed personal response.
• What answers must show — the syllabus itemises this as knowledge of content through detail and quotation (AO1); understanding of characters, relationships, situations and themes (AO2); understanding of the writer’s intentions and methods, responding to the use of language (AO3); and a personal response, sometimes asked for directly through questions like “What do you think?” or “What are your feelings about…?” (AO4).

Paper 2 or the Paper 3 route?

It helps to understand what taking Paper 2 spares you and what it demands. The alternative routes both run through Paper 3, which the syllabus names Drama (Open Text) — so drama is examined with the text available — paired with either Paper 4 Unseen, an exam on material you have never studied, or Component 5 Coursework, which has its own assessment criteria set out in the syllabus. Choosing Paper 2 instead concentrates everything into one closed-book sitting: no unseen paper to prepare for and no coursework folder to assemble, but also no text open on the desk and two plays to hold securely in memory at once. That trade shapes revision priorities for the whole course. Candidates on this route should rehearse retrieving quotations under time pressure — something open-text candidates never need to do — and should practise both question types on both plays, since the one-of-each rule removes the option of leaning on a favourite format.

How to approach it

Because the marks split evenly across the four objectives, a technically observant answer with no personal engagement caps itself just as surely as an enthusiastic one with no quotation — build paragraphs that do all four jobs: a claim about the play, evidence from the text, a comment on the dramatic method behind the evidence, and your own evaluation of its effect. Plan the essay question for five minutes before writing: three or four points arranged so the argument develops, rather than a character description that happens to mention the question’s key word in each paragraph. Since Paper 2 is closed book, memorising a bank of short, flexible quotations for each play matters more here than on an open-text route; ten to fifteen lines per play, chosen to cover several characters and themes, will serve almost any essay title. Treat the passage-based option as a close-reading exercise — the extract is printed in front of you, so the examiner expects detailed work with its specific language and stagecraft, not a general character survey. And remember these are plays: writing about audience, staging, entrances, dramatic irony and what an audience sees and hears signals the genre awareness AO3 is looking for, in a way that treating the text like a novel never will. In timed practice, split the 90 minutes evenly and hold the discipline of finishing the first question at 45 minutes — two balanced 25-mark answers nearly always outscore one long and one rushed.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English 0475 syllabus for 2026 (Version 2, December 2025), Paper 2 details verified against the PDF on 24 August 2026 — cambridgeinternational.org.