An introduction to the Edexcel IGCSE English Literature Unseen poetry task - how to plan and write an essay under timed conditions on a poem you've never seen before.

1. Tackling
Unseen Poetry
Edexcel IGCSE
English Literature Exam

2. The Exam Paper Overview – 2 Hours
• Section A – Unseen Poetry: one 20-mark essay question exploring the
meaning and effects created in an unseen poem.
• Section B - Anthology Poetry: one 30-mark essay question from a
choice of two, comparing two poems from Anthology.
• Section C – Modern Prose: one 40-mark essay question from a choice
of two on 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

3. The Exam Paper Overview – 2 Hours
• Section A – Unseen Poetry: one 20-mark essay question exploring the
meaning and effects created in an unseen poem.
• Section B - Anthology Poetry: one 30-mark essay question from a
choice of two, comparing two poems from Anthology.
• Section C – Modern Prose: one 40-mark essay question from a choice
of two on 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

4. Simple/limited
Descriptive/some
Understanding of effect/clear
Detailed/sustained analysis
Cohesive/discriminating

5. Question Format
Explore how the poem presents (theme or subject).
In your answer, consider the poet's:
• Descriptive skills
• Choice of language
• Use of structure and form .

6. Question Format
Explore how the poem presents (theme or subject).
In your answer, consider the poet's:
• Descriptive skills
• Choice of language
• Use of structure and form .
‘How’
(AO2 trigger)
Aim for a balance
in your essay

7. Planning - UNTWIST
U – Your response
N – Narrative perspective
T – Title
W – Word choice
I – Imagery
S – Structure & Form
T - Tone

8. Planning - UNTWIST
U – Your response
N – Narrative perspective
T – Title
W – Word choice
I – Imagery
S – Structure & Form
T - Tone
Description / Language

9. Planning - UNTWIST
U – Your response
N – Narrative perspective
T – Title
W – Word choice
I – Imagery
S – Structure & Form
T - Tone

10. Planning - UNTWIST
U – Your response
N – Narrative perspective
T – Title
W – Word choice
I – Imagery
S – Structure & Form
T - Tone
May be shaped by
both linguistic and
structural features

11. UNTWIST

12. U – Your Response
• Independent thought and
engagement
• ‘For me, this suggests…
• ‘In my opinion, the writer…’
• ‘I think that the use of imagery…’

14. N – Narrative Perspective
• Who is speaking?
• What do we know about them?
• How is the poem focalized?
• How does this shape the poem?

15. T – Title
• Why has the poet chosen this
title?
• How does it shape our reading?
• How would our reading
experience be different if the title
were missing?

16. W – Word Choice
• Language
• Vocabulary
• Aural effects

17. I – Imagery
• Sensory details
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Symbols

18. S – Structure & Form
• Form – the type of poem • Sonnet
• Ballad
• Dramatic Monologue
• Lyric
• Free verse• Structure – the
building blocks
that shape the
poem

19. S – Structure
• Stanzas
• Number of lines (couplet,
tercet, quatrain)
• Line length & meter
• Run-on/enjambement
• Rhythm
• Rhyme
• Caesura

20. T – Tone
• What is the poem’s mood or
atmosphere?
• How do you know?
• Does it change?
• Where and how?
• How does the tone shape the
treatment of the subject?

21. T – Tone
• What is the poem’s mood or
atmosphere?
• How do you know?
• Does it change?
• Where and how?
• How does the tone shape the
treatment of the subject?

22. Writing tips - HAMSTER
H – Handwriting
A – Argument
M – Modal Verbs
S – Signpost ’effect’
T – Terminology
E – Evidence
R – Return to topic focus

23. H – Handwriting
• Pen choice
• Legibility
• Size of script
• Insertions & crossing out
• Formatting

24. A – Argument
• Thesis statement to frame your
response
• Topic sentences
• Link paragraphs to build your case

25. M – Modal Verbs
• Be tentative in your claims
• Other readings are available
• ’This could suggest that…’
• ‘The writer might want to…’
• ‘An alternative reading could be
that…’

26. S - Signpost AO2
• Word/phrase
• Narrative framing
• Lexical field
• Image
• Metaphor
• Verb choice
• Etc.
This
• Suggests
• Implies
• Connotes
• Gives the impression that

28. T – Terminology
• It is efficient & reflects scholarship
• Build a glossary
• Spell correctly
(smilie/metafor/sentance)
• Don’t just feature spot!

29. E – Evidence
• Brief & precise
• Embedded
• / to indicate end of line
• [ ] to indicate purposeful changes
to allow argument to flow

31. R – Return to the topic
• Write precisely and concisely
• Avoid scattergun approach
• Use synonyms (tension – suspense, anticipation)