Cambridge O-Level First Language Urdu: Paper 2 Texts — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Paper 2 Texts study guide.

Three parts, one shared assessment objective

Part	Marks	Basis
1 Unseen Passage	20	Extract not seen before (poetry or prose)
2 Poetry	15	10 prescribed ghazals + 3 prescribed nazms — answer 1 of 2
3 Prose	15	8 prescribed prose articles — answer 1 of 2

All three parts test AO3 (Literature): first-hand textual knowledge, literal and deeper meaning, how writers create effect through language, and an informed personal response.

Part 1: Unseen Passage — a skill, not memorised content

Cannot be prepared by memorising a text. Practise reading unfamiliar extracts and identifying how the writer creates effect (word choice, imagery, structure) — not just summarising what the extract says. Use past-question prompts as a model for the kind of observation expected.

Part 2 Poetry — the prescribed list

• 10 ghazals: Khwaja Haider Ali Ahtish, Parveen Shakir, Momin Khan Momin, Allama Iqbal, Ahmed Faraz.
• 3 nazms: Hali’s Musadas Hali (17 selected stanzas), Zameer Jafree’s “Admee”, Mahmood Sarhadi’s “Qitaat”.

Choose 1 of 2 essay questions.

Part 3 Prose — the prescribed list

8 articles, including: Muhammad Hussain Azad, Mirza Farhatullah Baig, Ghulam Abbas, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed Yousafi, Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, and two of Ghalib’s letters (Khatoot-e-Ghalib). Choose 1 of 2.

What the mark schemes actually reward

Increasing depth of the same four qualities, across all three parts:

1. A personal, informed response to the text.
2. Understanding beyond literal meaning to deeper implications.
3. Explicit engagement with how the writer achieves effects (word choice, imagery, structure, tone).
4. Close, well-selected textual reference — not paraphrase alone.

The highest mark-scheme levels require sustained, perceptive engagement with the writer’s craft, not just accurate comprehension — this is the single biggest gap between a mid-band and top-band response.

Worked example: a strong Part 2 answer structure

A question asks how a named poet conveys a particular emotion in a prescribed ghazal.

Weak answer:    Summarises the ghazal's general subject matter
                without quoting specific lines.
Strong answer:  Identifies specific sher (couplets), explains the
                imagery/word choice used, and connects that
                language choice explicitly to the named emotion --
                using precise quotation, not paraphrase, as evidence.

This identify → explain → connect structure applies equally to Part 3 Prose essay answers.

Why this differs from 3248 Second Language Urdu

Cambridge O Level First Language Urdu (3247) is a distinct syllabus from Second Language Urdu (3248), even though both are offered by the same board for candidates studying the same language. 3247’s Paper 2 is built entirely around literature – an unseen extract plus prescribed poetry and prose – while 3248’s equivalent paper (Grammar, Writing and Translation) tests a different skill set altogether. Candidates and teachers should confirm which specific syllabus code their centre has entered them for before using any revision material, since the two Urdu syllabuses are not interchangeable despite the shared subject name.

Building depth on a manageable subset

Given the choice of 1 from 2 questions in both Part 2 and Part 3, it is more efficient to know roughly six of the ten prescribed ghazals, two of the three nazms, and five of the eight prose articles in close textual depth – with specific quotable lines ready – than to have a shallow, general familiarity with the entire prescribed list. This still leaves a genuine fallback option if one particular question doesn’t suit the texts you know best.

Time management across the three parts

Paper 2 combines a shorter comprehension-based part with two essay-based parts, and time pressure affects each differently. Because Part 1 has a fixed, bounded answer (responding to what is actually on the page), it can be completed efficiently once the underlying skill is secure. Parts 2 and 3, by contrast, reward depth of textual reference that only comes from a fuller, well-planned essay response — spending disproportionate time perfecting Part 1 at the expense of either essay is a common way strong preparation still produces a mid-band overall result.

Worked example: selecting between two essay options under time pressure

A Part 3 Prose question offers a choice between two questions on different prescribed articles. A candidate has strong textual knowledge of one article and only moderate knowledge of the other.

Weaker approach:  Choosing based on which question "sounds easier"
                   at a glance, without checking which article it
                   actually draws on.
Stronger approach: Quickly identifying which prescribed article each
                   question requires, then choosing the one matching
                   the article known in greater textual depth --
                   since depth of reference, not the phrasing of the
                   question itself, is what the mark scheme rewards.

This same selection logic applies equally to the Part 2 Poetry choice: the syllabus sets two essay questions on the prescribed poetry set texts and does not divide them into ghazal and nazm questions, so check which prescribed poems each question draws on before choosing.

Exam traps

• Answering the Unseen Passage as a comprehension exercise, without engaging with how the writer creates effect.
• Writing about a prescribed text from general memory of its “story” without quoting or closely referencing actual wording.
• Choosing a Part 2/3 question based on which text is easiest to summarise, rather than which you know in the most depth.
• Spending too long on Part 1, leaving insufficient time for the two essay-based parts.
• Preparing only enough prescribed texts to have exactly one usable option — leaving no fallback if that specific question doesn’t suit you on the day.

Self-test

1. What assessment objective do all three parts of Paper 2 test?
2. Why can’t Part 1 be prepared by memorising a specific text?
3. Name the four qualities the mark schemes reward with increasing depth across all three parts.
4. What distinguishes a top-band Part 2/3 response from a mid-band one?
5. How many ghazals, nazms and prose articles are prescribed, and how many questions must you answer from each in Parts 2 and 3?

Answers: 1. AO3, Literature (texts). 2. Because the passage is genuinely unseen — preparation must build the transferable skill of identifying how a writer creates effect, not memorise any specific text. 3. A personal/informed response; understanding beyond literal meaning; explicit engagement with how effects are created; close, well-selected textual reference. 4. Sustained, perceptive engagement with the writer’s craft, rather than merely accurate comprehension. 5. 10 ghazals and 3 nazms for Part 2, 8 prose articles for Part 3; answer 1 of 2 essay questions in each of Part 2 and Part 3.