QCE English as an Additional Language Units 3&4 Notes

These are the 20 revision notes inside the QCE English as an Additional Language Mastery Pack. Open any note to see what it covers before you buy.

1. Decoding the unseen questionEssay craft · Exam technique — unseen questions, planning and timing

   Unseen question stems used 2021–2025 and what each one demands

2. Planning and timing the essayEssay craft · Exam technique — unseen questions, planning and timing

   Using 15 minutes of planning time and 120 minutes of working time; essay length without a word limit

3. Writing a discriminating thesisEssay craft · Organisation and development — thesis, evidence, sequencing and cohesion

   Credible versus discriminating thesis statements; responding to every part of the question

4. Body paragraphs and evidenceEssay craft · Organisation and development — thesis, evidence, sequencing and cohesion

   Selecting and synthesising memorised evidence; embedding short quotations; TEEL-style paragraphs that interpret rather than recount

5. Sequencing, cohesion and conclusionsEssay craft · Organisation and development — thesis, evidence, sequencing and cohesion

   Logical sequencing, cohesive devices, introductions and conclusions; adapting preparation without a prepared response

6. Perspectives and representationsAnalysis · Knowledge application — perspectives, values and the writer's choices

   Perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places

7. Values, contexts and reader positioningAnalysis · Knowledge application — perspectives, values and the writer's choices

   Cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs; contexts of production and reception; reader positioning

8. The writer's choices in novelsAnalysis · Knowledge application — perspectives, values and the writer's choices

   Narrative voice, structure, setting, symbolism, motif and imagery in prose fiction

9. The playwright's choices in ShakespeareAnalysis · Knowledge application — perspectives, values and the writer's choices

   Soliloquy, aside, dramatic irony, verse and prose, imagery and comic and tragic conventions

10. Significance and proposition questionsAnalysis · Knowledge application — significance questions and reader positioning

    Analysing the significance of a character, symbol, setting or event; handling statement-and-discuss questions

11. All the Light We Cannot SeeTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr: concepts, characters, structure and style

12. Never Let Me GoTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    Never Let Me Go — Kazuo Ishiguro: concepts, characters, narration and style

13. OthelloTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — Shakespeare

    Othello — William Shakespeare: concepts, characters, dramatic techniques

14. Pride and PrejudiceTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen: concepts, characters, irony and narration

15. The DryTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    The Dry — Jane Harper: concepts, characters, setting and dual timeline

16. The NamesakeTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    The Namesake — Jhumpa Lahiri: concepts, characters, structure and style

17. The YieldTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — prose

    The Yield — Tara June Winch: concepts, voices, language and structure

18. Twelfth NightTexts · The 2026 external assessment texts — Shakespeare

    Twelfth Night — William Shakespeare: concepts, characters, comic conventions

19. Vocabulary and register for analysisLanguage · Textual features — grammar, vocabulary, register, punctuation and spelling

    Analytical vocabulary, register, modality and the literary present tense

20. Grammar, punctuation and spellingLanguage · Textual features — grammar, vocabulary, register, punctuation and spelling

    Sentence structures, punctuation of titles, quotations and possessives, and spelling of names