QCE Literature past exams 2020–2025, by year and topic

The rest of the syllabus

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

• Unit 1: Introduction to literary studies — Ways literary texts are received and responded to by readers · How textual choices affect readers' engagement and interpretation · Reading practices and the concept of 'literary' reading · Introductory literary analysis of poetry, prose and drama
• Unit 2: Intertextuality — Connections between literary texts (genre, concept, context) · Style and structure across related texts · Comparative reading and intertextual reference · Influence of literary traditions and conventions on new texts
• Unit 3: Literature and identity — Relationship between language, culture and identity in literary texts · Stylistic and aesthetic features used to represent ideas, events and people · Impact of literary conventions and techniques on constructing cultural identity · Cultural context and its shaping of interpretation (values, attitudes, assumptions) · Representation of place and identity across poetry and short stories · International context texts (at least one studied in Unit 3)
• Unit 4: Independent explorations — Dynamic nature of literary interpretation over time · Close study of style, structure and subject matter · Reader-response shaped by individual context (background, beliefs, culture, gender, age) · Contemporaneous, historical and contemporary critical perspectives · Developing informed, complex and creative interpretations · Independent close reading and analytical essay writing
• External assessment: Examination — extended response — Responding to an unseen question on a prescribed text under exam conditions · Analytical essay structure (800–1000 words) · Applying literary analysis techniques within time constraints (120 min + 15 min planning) · Demonstrating the cognitions: comprehending, organising, analysing, evaluating, justifying, creating