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Paper 3: the coursework option

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Some schools choose coursework (Paper 3) instead of the Paper 2 exam. It covers the same skills, with two assignments worth 60 marks and 40% of the qualification.

The two assignments

The rules

The word counts are advisory: there is no penalty for going over.
Teachers may suggest general improvements at a draft stage, but it is your responsibility to make corrections.
Work must not be rewritten after it has been marked.
The work is marked by your teacher and moderated by Pearson.

Making it count

Assignment A: choose three texts with a meaningful link (a shared theme, such as loss or freedom). Compare and analyse methods, not just plot.
Assignment B: draft, redraft and proofread. Coursework gives you time, so the standard of accuracy expected is high.
Worked example

Choose a sensible set of texts for Assignment A on the theme of freedom.

  1. Rule: three Part 2 texts, at least one poem and one prose text.
  2. Prose: 'The Story of an Hour' (Louise's sense of freedom).
  3. Poem: 'Still I Rise' (a defiant voice rising above oppression).
  4. A third text with a clear link to the theme.

Answer: For example 'The Story of an Hour', 'Still I Rise' and a third Part 2 text linked to freedom: at least one poem and one prose text.

Key idea

Paper 3 replaces Paper 2. Assignment A: essay on three Part 2 texts (at least one poem and one prose), about 1200 words, 30 marks. Assignment B: imaginative writing, about 700 words, 30 marks.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

Check you have got it

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