• Question A = the passage-based question. You get a printed extract and must analyse it closely, then link it out to the whole play.
• Question B = the essay question. No printed passage — you must range across the whole play from memory, choosing your own evidence.
• Both questions are worth 25 marks, take 45 minutes, and are marked against the same four Assessment Objectives (AO1–AO4) — none is worth more than another.
• The single biggest reason students lose marks: not sticking to the exact focus of the question. Every paragraph must answer it, not just "be about the play."
• Quotations are a tool, not a trophy — you must explain how and why a quotation creates its effect, not just drop it in.
• Because these are plays, not novels or poems, you must talk like someone watching a performance: use "audience," "act," "scene," "stage," "playwright" — and treat stage directions as seriously as dialogue, because they are literally the writer's own instructions for what happens on stage.
• A reliable structure works for both: Introduction (thesis using the question's wording) → 4–5 chronological, evidenced paragraphs → Conclusion (a fresh "So overall…" statement, not a repeat).
• Avoid the four classic essay-killers: retelling the story, feature-spotting (naming a technique with no analysis), generic topic sentences, and long historical context detours (context isn't separately assessed on this IGCSE).

What it actually is

Question A gives you a printed passage (an extract) from your chosen play, right there on the exam paper. You must pick the correct set of pages for the text you've studied — an easy but costly mistake is answering on the wrong play's passage by accident, so always double check the title at the top of the page.

It's worth 25 marks, tests all four Assessment Objectives, and you get 45 minutes. Crucially, the question will always ask you to explore how the writer achieves a particular effect — dramatic, revealing, entertaining, memorable, and so on. That focus word is the single most important thing on the page.

The suggested timing (don't skip this — it's a strategy, not a suggestion)

What skills you're actually being tested on (AO1–AO4)

The mark scheme doesn't hand out points for facts you know — it places your whole answer into a "band" based on how well you demonstrate four skills at once. Understanding what each one really means changes how you write every sentence.

Reading like a drama student, not a novel reader

This is the part students most often forget: a play is written to be performed, not read silently. Every choice the playwright makes is a choice about what an audience will see and hear on a stage — so your analysis has to keep that audience constantly in view.

Dramatic forms you might be studying

Structural devices worth naming and explaining

The questions to ask yourself about ANY passage

Before writing a word, interrogate the extract with these prompts — they force you into AO1–AO4 automatically.

How to structure the Question A response

1. Highlight the question first. Read it before the passage. Highlight the focus word(s).
2. Read the passage with that focus in mind. Annotate and highlight only what's relevant to the focus — not everything you notice.
3. Do a brief plan of 4–5 points, linking each to a quotation you'll use.
4. Start your answer using the wording of the question — this immediately proves to the examiner you've understood the task.
5. Go into detail, in chronological order through the passage. For each point: make it → support it with an embedded quotation/reference → explain how the quotation shows the idea → analyse the specific key words in it → comment on language, form, AND structure → link explicitly back to the question, using "because"/"as"/"since" → explore the writer's intention.
6. Sum up with a "So overall…" statement that zooms back out to the big ideas — without repeating points already made.

How it's different from Question A

Question B applies to the whole play, on a different set text from the one you used for Question A (you must answer on two separate plays total across both questions). There's no printed passage to lean on — you must select your own evidence from memory across the entire text, so strong quotation recall really matters here.

It is worth the same 25 marks, tests the same AO1–AO4, and gets the same 45 minutes. The timing is almost identical to Question A, except you don't need time to read a passage — instead, that time goes straight into planning which parts of the whole play you'll range across.

How to structure the Question B response

The overall shape mirrors Question A, but with one key adjustment: instead of "close analysis of the passage first, then zoom out to the whole play," you do the reverse.

1. Introduction using the wording of the question, forming a clear thesis statement.
   e.g. "Shakespeare's portrayal of Malvolio in Twelfth Night makes me sympathise with him to an extent because his character develops in the play through his treatment at the hands of other characters."
2. Body paragraphs, each starting with a topic sentence, ranging in chronological order through the whole play — always framing the author as making deliberate choices: "the author highlights X," "suggests Y," "challenges Z." Use "so" and "because" to push your own explanation further.
3. Conclusion that sums up your findings without repeating them.
   e.g. "So overall, Shakespeare's portrayal of Malvolio presents the audience with both a victim and a comic target."

What NOT to do when analysing the writer's methods (specific to Question B)

The mistakes that quietly cap your marks

These apply identically to Question A and Question B. Examiners repeatedly flag the same handful of habits — learn to spot them in your own drafts.

Here's how the theory plays out in practice, using the model task: "How does Priestley make this such a striking introduction to the Birling family and Gerald Croft?" (An Inspector Calls). Below is what separates a Band 8 (23–25 marks) response from an average one.

Introduction

Notice: it uses the exact focus word ("striking") from the question, names a structural device (in medias res) with confidence, and immediately signals that the analysis will focus on the WRITER'S METHODS (dialogue, stage directions) rather than just retelling what happens.

A body paragraph, dissected

This single passage is doing AO1 (accurate quotation), AO2 (linking to the play's wider themes and a touch of relevant context), AO3 (analysing the specific effect of a stage direction and the device of foreshadowing), and AO4 (an evaluative, personal reading of what the moment suggests) — all at once, in one flowing paragraph. That's the "seamless combination" examiners are looking for.

Conclusion

This is a genuine "So overall…" statement — it zooms back out to the big picture and offers a fresh, synthesised judgement, rather than just repeating "Sheila said this, Eric said that."

• I can explain the difference between Question A (passage-based) and Question B (essay), including timing and mark allocation.
• I know all four Assessment Objectives (AO1–AO4) and can explain what each one actually demands, in my own words.
• I always highlight the exact focus word(s) in the question before I start reading/planning.
• I can use drama-specific vocabulary correctly: audience, act, scene, stage, playwright.
• I treat stage directions as seriously as dialogue when analysing a writer's choices.
• I know at least 6–7 strong, relevant quotations per set text, ready to use in either question.
• I embed quotations naturally into my own sentences, rather than bolting them on with "this shows…".
• I always link every point explicitly back to the exact wording of the question, using "because"/"as"/"since".
• I can write an introduction that reuses the question's own wording to form a clear thesis.
• I structure my points in chronological order through the passage/play.
• My conclusion always offers a fresh, zoomed-out judgement — never a repeat of earlier points.
• I know NOT to retell the plot, feature-spot, or drift into lengthy historical context.
• For Question B, I check carefully whether the question bans use of the printed passage from Question A.
• I leave time at the end to re-read and check my response rather than writing right up to the bell.

Final pre-exam checklist