Route B Poetry and Non-Exam Assessment (9275): Revision Notes

Route B of OxfordAQA International GCSE English Literature (9275) replaces Route A’s unseen-prose section with coursework. After Paper 1 (Prose and drama, 40%), Route B students sit Paper 2b: Poetry (1 hour 30 minutes, open book, 60 marks, 40%), with one 30-mark question on the People and Places anthology and one 30-mark question on an unseen poem, and complete a non-exam assessment (30 marks, 20%): one extended response to a whole prose fiction text that is not on the set-text list. For the full explanation, use the Route B study guide.

Route A and Route B compared

	Route A (entry 9275 A)	Route B (entry 9275 B)
Paper 1: Prose and drama	1 h 30, closed book, 60 marks, 40%	Same
Second exam	Paper 2a: Poetry and unseen texts, 2 h 15, open book, 90 marks, 60%	Paper 2b: Poetry, 1 h 30, open book, 60 marks, 40%
Unseen prose	Section C of Paper 2a (30 marks)	Not taken
Coursework	None	NEA, 30 marks, 20%
Total scaled mark	150	150

3.3.1 Poetry: Paper 2b Section A (30 marks)

• Study the OxfordAQA Exams poetry anthology People and Places: 20 poems, thematically linked, from different times and contexts.
• Answer one question from a choice of two.
• The paper is open book, so you can refer to the anthology, but you need to know the poems well enough to select evidence quickly.
• For the detailed anthology method, see the Poetry and Unseen Texts revision notes, which cover the same anthology for Route A.

3.3.2 Unseen poetry: Paper 2b Section B (30 marks)

• Answer one question on a previously unseen poem.
• The specification asks you to experience a wide range of poetry so you can “closely analyse poems” and “analyse and compare key features such as their content, theme, structure and use of language”.

Quick method: situation and speaker → shifts and structure → language and imagery → themes and ideas → your personal interpretation.

3.3.3 Non-exam assessment (30 marks)

Requirement	Detail
Task	One extended response to a prose fiction text of your choice
Text	A substantial whole prose fiction text
Exclusion	Must not come from any prescribed set text for 9275
Range	Any literary period, from the literary canon of the British Isles or seminal world literature
Standard	Similar in quality, scope and challenge to the Paper 1 set texts
Marking	Internally assessed, using the same assessment objectives

The Paper 1 prose set texts, which you cannot use for the NEA, are Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, Purple Hibiscus, Never Let Me Go, The Book Thief and the OxfordAQA Exams Short Stories Anthology.

Assessment objectives

AO	Wording	Paper 2b	NEA	Overall
AO1	Understanding of, and engagement with, themes, ideas and contexts	16%	8%	40%
AO2	Analysis of how writers create meanings and effects	16%	8%	40%
AO3	Informed, personal responses, using appropriate terminology and coherent, accurate writing	8%	4%	20%

NEA levels (30 marks)

Level	Marks	Descriptor	Key features
6	26–30	Convincing, critical analysis and exploration	Judicious, precise references; analysis of methods; “critical, exploratory, conceptualised response to task and whole text”
5	21–25	Thoughtful, developed consideration	Apt references integrated; examination of methods; possibly alternative interpretations
4	16–20	Clear understanding	Effective references; clear explanation of methods; focused response
3	11–15	Explained, structured comments	Relevant references; identification of effects
2	6–10	Supported, relevant comments	Some awareness of implicit ideas
1	1–5	Simple, explicit comments	Narrative or descriptive approach

The word “whole text” appears in every level from Level 3 upwards, so the essay must range across the novel, not one chapter.

Choosing an NEA text and task

Good choice	Why
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)	Substantial, canonical, rich in themes of independence, class and religion
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)	Layered narrative structure gives scope for AO2
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)	Seminal world literature, strong contextual links for AO1

A good task asks how the writer presents an idea across the whole text: “How does Charlotte Brontë present Jane’s search for independence in Jane Eyre?”

Worked example: a Level 5–6 NEA paragraph

“Brontë makes Jane’s independence a matter of speech before it is a matter of money. At Gateshead the child who has been silenced bursts out against Mrs Reed, and the novel’s first-person narration lets the reader feel that outburst as a victory. Later, at Thornfield, the same voice insists to Rochester that she is his equal in soul, so the novel’s structure repeats the pattern of a woman finding words before she finds freedom. Read in the context of a period in which a governess had little social status, this insistence becomes a challenge to the class and gender order.”

AO1 (theme and context), AO2 (narrative voice, structure) and AO3 (argued, personal response) work together, and the paragraph refers across the whole text.

Common mistakes / traps

• Choosing a set text for the NEA: it must not be on the prescribed list.
• Choosing a short or slight text: it must be substantial and similar in challenge to the set texts.
• Writing about part of the novel: the levels ask for a response to the “whole text”.
• Retelling: Level 1 is “narrative and/or descriptive in approach”.
• Treating open book as no revision: you still need to know the anthology poems.
• Comparing unprompted in the unseen: answer the question set on the one unseen poem.

Frequently asked questions

Does Route B include unseen prose? No. Route B replaces Route A’s unseen-prose section with the non-exam assessment. Route B students still answer an unseen poetry question on Paper 2b.

Can my NEA text be a translated novel? The specification allows “seminal world literature” as well as the literary canon of the British Isles, provided the text is similar in quality, scope and challenge to the Paper 1 set texts. Check with your teacher, who selects the text.

How much is the NEA worth? 30 marks and 20% of the International GCSE, with AO1 8%, AO2 8% and AO3 4%.

Is Paper 2b open book? Yes. Paper 2b: Poetry is an open-book exam lasting 1 hour 30 minutes.

Syllabus coverage

OxfordAQA International GCSE English Literature (9275), specification Version 5.2 (the current PDF on the OxfordAQA qualification page): 3.3 Route B — 3.3.1 Poetry, 3.3.2 Unseen poetry, 3.3.3 Non-exam assessment; 2.2 assessments; 4.2 assessment objectives and weightings; 4.4 NEA marking criteria.

Self-test

1. What does Route B replace from Route A? (The unseen-prose section of Paper 2a.)
2. How long is Paper 2b? (1 hour 30 minutes.)
3. What two rules apply to the NEA text? (Not a prescribed set text; substantial whole prose fiction of comparable challenge.)
4. What is the NEA worth? (30 marks, 20%.)
5. What is the Level 6 descriptor? (Convincing, critical analysis and exploration.)

Related pages

• Route B study guide
• Route B practice questions
• Poetry and Unseen Texts revision notes

Official specification

OxfordAQA International GCSE English Literature (9275) specification — oxfordaqa.com.