Edexcel/Pearson IGCSE English

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in English Language (Specification A)

Specification
– Issue
2 – November
201

7 © Pearson
Education Limited 2017

11

4 English Language (Specification A) Cont

ent

Component
1: Non

-fiction Texts and
Transactional
Writing
(examined)

The focus of this component is:

Section
A: Non

-fiction
texts
– study and analyse selections from a range of
non

-fiction
texts.

Section B

: Transactional
Writing
– explore and develop
transactional
writing skills.

Content

Students should read a variety of high

-quality, challenging
non

-fiction
texts

, in preparation
to respond to
one
unseen non-

fiction
text
in the examination. They should be able to read
substantial pieces of writing,
inc

luding whole and extended texts
that make significant
demands in terms of
content, structure and the quality of the language. Throughout the
qualification,
students should develop the skills
of interpretation and analysis.

Text types studied should include a
range of non

-fiction forms, such as journalism
(for
example articles and reviews), speeches, journals and reference book extracts

.
Text types should also include literary non

-fiction
texts

, such as selections from

autobiography, letters, obituaries and tr

avel writing. These lists are not exhaustive

.
Texts that are essentially transient, such as instant news feeds and advertisements

, will not
form part of the assessment

.
The Pearson
Edexcel
International
GCSE
English
Anthology

is a resource that supports
teachers by providing examples of
different types of non

-fiction text.
Students should be
encouraged to read beyond the anthology to support their learning.

Students should use what they have learned about
different text types to
develop
their
transactional
writing. They should be
introduced to, and be given the opportunity to practise,
a range of non

-fiction
writing techniques

, planning and proofreading skills

.
Pearson Edexcel International
GCSE
English Anthology

Part 1:
Non

-fiction
Texts

From
The D

ange

r of
a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi

e

From
A Pass

age
to Africa

George Al

agiah
From
The Ex

plor

er’s Daughter

Kari Herbert

Explorers, or
boy

s messing about?
Either way, taxpayer
gets rescue bill

Steven Morris

From
127 Ho

urs

: Between a Rock and a Hard Pla

ce

Aron Ralston

Young and Dy

sle xic ? You've got it going on

Benjamin Zephaniah

From
A Ga

me
of Polo with a Headless Goat

Emma Levine

From
Beyond
the Sky and Earth

: A Journey into Bhutan

Jamie Zeppa

From
H is
for Hawk

Helen Macdonald

From
Chinese C

inderella

Adeline Yen Mah

Pearson Ed

excel International GCSE in English Language (Specification A)

Specification
– Issue
2 – November
201

7 © Pearson
Education Limited 2017

12

Assessment
overview

Component
1 assesses 6

0% of the total
English Language (Specification A)
qualification and
assesses
Reading (30

%) and Writing (3

0%).

There will be
two
sections
in the paper.
Section
A: Non

-fiction

•

Students are advised t

o allocate
1 hour and 30 minutes including
reading time
to
Section
A.
•

There will be a
mixture of short

- and long

-answer questions related to a non

-fiction text
from
Part 1 of
the
Pearson
Edexcel
International
GCSE
English Anthology
and
one
previously unsee

n extract.

•

Students will answer all questions in this section.
•

Total of
45
marks for this section.

Questions will test
the following
assessment
objectives:

AO1

read and understand a variety of texts, selecting and interpreting information, ideas
and perspe

ctives

AO2
understand and analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve
their effects

AO3
explore links and connections between writers’ ideas and perspectives, as we

ll as how
these are conveyed

.
Section
B: Transactional
Writing

•

Students are advised to allocate
45 minutes to Section B.

•

There will be
one
writing task, based on a choice of two
prompts
involving a given
audience, form or purpose.

•

Students will answer one question in this section.

•

Total of
45 marks for this section.

Quest

ions will test
the following
assessment
objectives:

AO4

communicate effectively and imaginatively, adapting form, tone and register of
writing for specific purposes and audiences

AO5

write clearly, using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, with
appropriate
paragraphing and accurate spe

lling, grammar and punctuation.

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in English Language (Specification A)

Specification
– Issue
2 – November
201

7 © Pearson
Education Limited 2017

13

Component
2: Poetry and
Prose
Texts and
Imaginative
Writing
(examined)

The focus of this component is:

Section A

: Poetry and
Prose
Texts
– study and analyse selections from a range
of fiction

al
poetry and prose texts

.
Section B

: Imaginative
Writing
– explore and develop
imaginative
writing skills.

Content

Students should
study the poetry and prose provided
in Part 2 of
The Pearson
Edexcel
International
GCSE
English Anthology
in prepa

ration for responding to
the given poetry or
prose text from the anthology
in the examination. They should be able to read substantial
pieces of writing (extended texts) that make significant demands on them in terms of
content, structure and the quality o

f language. Throughout the qualification, students should
develop the skills of inference
and
analysis.
The
Pearson
Edexcel
International
GCSE
English
Anthology

is a resource that supports
teachers by providing examples of prose fiction. Students should r

ead a variety of
additional
prose fiction from a range of genres and cultures.

Students should use what they have learned about the writer’s craft in their reading of
fiction to inspire and influence their own imaginative writing. They should develop a ran

ge of
creative writing techniques, planning and proofreading skills.

Pearson Edexcel International
GCSE
English Anthology

Part 2:
Poetry and Prose Texts

Disabled

Wilfred Owen
“Out

, O

ut –“
Robert Frost

An Unknown Girl

Moniza Alvi
The Bright Lights of Sara

jevo

Tony Harrison

Still I Rise

Maya Angelou

The
Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin

The Necklace

Guy de Maupassant

Significant Cigarettes
(from
The Road Home)

Rose Tremain

Whistle and I’ll Come to You
(from
The Woman in Black)

Susan Hill

Night

Alice Munro

Pearson Ed

excel International GCSE in English Language (Specification A)

Specification
– Issue
2 – November
201

7 © Pearson
Education Limited 2017

14

Asses

sment
overview

Component
2 assesses 4

0% of the total
English Language (Specification A)
qualification and
assesses
Reading (20%) and Writing (20

%).

Component
2 is available as an alternative to
coursework Paper 3.

There will be
two
sections
in the paper.
Section
A: Poetry and
Prose
Texts

•

Students are advised to allocate
45 minutes to Section A.

•

There will be
one
essay question on a
poetry or prose
text from
Part 2 of
the
Pearson

Edexcel
International
GCSE
English Anthology

, which will be made available in
the
examination

.
•

Students will answer
the
question in this section.
•

Total of
30
marks for this section.

Questions will test
the following
assessment
objectives:

AO1

read and understand a variety of texts, selecting and interpreting information, ideas
and
perspectives

AO2
understand and analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve
their effects.

Section
B: Imaginative
Writing

•

Students are advised to allocate 45 minutes to Section B.

•

There will
be
one
30-

mark imaginative writing task,
based on one of three given
prompts.

•

Students will answer
one
question
in this section.
•

Total of
30 marks for this section.

Questions will test
the following
assessment
objectives:

AO4

communicate effectively and imaginatively, adapting form, tone and reg

ister of
writing for specific purposes and audiences

AO5

write clearly, using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, with appropriate
paragraphing and accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation.