2025 Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 2 and Mark Scheme Combined (1ET0/02: 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789)
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2025 Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 2 and Mark Scheme Combined (1ET0/02: 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789)
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2025 Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 2 and Mark Scheme Combined (1ET0/02: 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789)

Paper 2 is the Modern Texts and Poetry component of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature qualification (1ET0/02). This paper assesses students’ ability to analyse, interpret, and evaluate literature, focusing on modern prose or drama texts and poetry from the Edexcel anthology.

Paper 2 forms 50% of the total GCSE English Literature grade and combines close reading, analysis, and extended writing tasks.


What the Paper Covers

Paper 2 focuses on the following areas:

📚 Modern Texts

  • Reading and analysing one modern prose or drama text studied in class

  • Exploring themes, characterisation, plot, and context

  • Analysing the writer’s use of language, structure, and form

📜 Poetry

  • Analysing poetry from the Edexcel Anthology

  • Comparing two unseen or studied poems, focusing on language, structure, form, and thematic links

  • Evaluating how poets create effects and convey meaning

🧠 Critical Evaluation

  • Making inferences and interpretations supported by textual evidence

  • Analysing writers’ techniques and their impact on the reader

  • Comparing and contrasting texts and poems effectively


Structure of the Paper

  • Section A – Modern Texts:

    • Extended response questions based on a prose or drama text studied in class

    • Analytical and evaluative questions on themes, characters, and writer’s craft

  • Section B – Poetry:

    • Comparative analysis of poems from the anthology or unseen poetry

    • Focus on language, form, structure, and thematic links

The paper assesses the following skills:

  • AO1 – Read, understand, and respond to texts, using textual evidence

  • AO2 – Analyse the effects of writers’ choices of language, form, and structure

  • AO3 – Show understanding of the relationships between texts and their contexts

  • AO4 – Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures to convey informed, personal, and creative responses


Mark Scheme (Included in the Combined Document)

The combined question paper + mark scheme includes:

  • Model answers and guidance for extended response and comparative questions

  • Allocation of marks for AO1–AO4 skills

  • Examiner guidance for consistent and fair marking

  • Focus on analysis, evaluation, textual evidence, and comparison

The mark scheme emphasizes critical thinking, textual support, clear expression, and evaluation of writers’ techniques.