FAQs
- How will grade boundaries work?
- The syllabus will be graded using the numbers 9 to 1, where 9 is the highest grade. About the same proportion of candidates who currently gain a grade A and above will be awarded a grade 7. Grade 9 will be awarded to the top 20% of those candidates who get a grade 7 or above. Grade 4 will be set such that about the same proportion of candidates who currently gain a grade C will gain a grade 4. The bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of the current grade G. Further details can be found at www.gov.uk/government/news/setting-standards-for-new-gcses-in-2017
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- How much teaching time is needed?
- In general, it is expected that IGCSE qualifications require in the region of 130 guided hours. This figure is, however, provided as guidance only. In practice, the number of hours will vary from centre to centre.
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- What about text books?
- There are currently no endorsed text books specifically for the 0477 syllabus, but endorsed resources are available for the 0486 syllabus aimed at learners and teachers which will be useful for 0477. The focus is on developing skills relevant to the subject rather than covering set texts. There is no expectation that teachers follow any text book; the subject can be taught without reference to text books.
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- What are the similarities with 0486?
- As for 0486, IGCSE 0477 texts have been originally written in English and drawn from a range cultures as well as from different periods. There is a choice of two questions on each set text. For each Prose and Drama text there is choice of either a passage-based question or a more general essay question. The poems named in the Poetry questions will be printed on the question which leaves learners free to explore the writing rather than concentrate on memorising lines of verse. Set texts generally remain on the syllabus for three years; lists of set texts for the next three years are included in the current syllabus in order to assist centres' forward planning.
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- What are the differences from 0486?
- For 0477, there is only one route through the syllabus. There is, for example, no coursework option and the Unseen paper is compulsory. All learners take these papers:
Paper 1: Poetry and Prose
Paper 2: Drama (one play by Shakespeare and one modern drama text)
Paper 3: Unseen Comparison.
Set texts cannot be taken into the examination for Papers 1 and 2.
For Paper 2: Drama, learners must study both a play by Shakespeare and a modern drama text.
For Paper 3: Unseen Comparison, there are three new elements:
- learners must compare texts
- they must consider relevant contexts
- spelling, punctuation and grammar are assessed.
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- What are the paper rubrics?
- Candidates should:
- for Paper 1, answer one poetry and one prose question (either passage-based or essay)
- for Paper 2, answer one question on a Shakespeare play and one on a modern drama text; one question should be passage-based and the other a general essay question
- for Paper 3, answer either the Poetry or Prose question.
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- How does the 0477 Unseen Comparison differ from the 0486 Unseen?
- This is the paper in which you will find the greatest difference.
As with the 0486, there is a choice between poetry and prose questions. However, for 0477, learners have to compare either two poems or two prose extracts. A comparison of texts tests higher-order skills, and learners are supported by three bullet points which provide a degree of scaffolding for learners' responses.
The paper duration for 0477 is 90 minutes (compared with 75 minutes for the 0486 Unseen). This accounts for the additional time required for the reading of two poems or extracts.
Learners have to compare texts in order to meet the Ofqual subject content requirements, and comparison takes place exclusively within the Unseen Comparison paper - across two unseen texts.
A new and additional assessment objective, AO5, targets the following: 'use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation'. This is assessed exclusively in the Unseen Comparison paper, thereby leaving learners free to focus on the literary considerations of their set texts in Papers 1 and 2.
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- What about context?
- In Paper 3: Unseen Comparison, the poems and prose extracts are not attributed, thereby avoiding any requirement for extra information about historical or biographical contexts. Contextual issues of a kind familiar to all learners (e.g. gender, age, family, school) will arise from a close reading of the poems and extracts set. Since the paper requires the comparison of two texts linked though subject matter and/or style, there is an immediate context of juxtaposition.
In Papers 1 and 2, awareness of social, cultural and/or historical contexts will inform learners' understanding of their set texts. Any contextual comment in essays should be accurate, economical and integrated into an answer, and not simply added as a piece of extraneous information. Learners should address the question set in a relevant manner and should not use contextual commentary as an opportunity to digress from the task.
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