Cambridge &amp; Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions

You are Mr Matimba. You are driving the narrator home after attempting to sell the maize cobs. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Arun stumbles to a halt at the top of the road, and sinks down on a dusty bank. Co...

Explore the ways in which Desai makes Melanie Patton such a disturbing character. (Do not use the passage in Question 25 in your answer.)

You are Dr Dutt. You are on your bicycle, returning home after visiting Uma and suggesting that she might become a nurse. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: In the courtyard down below, Mr Chawla began his morning exercises. Content remove...

Explore the ways in which Desai suggests that Sampath has the character for the life of a guru.

You are Miss Jyotsna. Sampath has gone from his tree forever. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the dr...

In what ways does Fitzgerald vividly portray the shallow, materialistic world that Gatsby lives in? Support your ideas with details from the novel.

You are Gatsby just after the argument with Tom about who Daisy loves. You are about to leave with Daisy. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract from Her First Ball, and then answer the question that follows it. 'Floor's not bad,' said the new voice. Did one always begin wi...

Explore the ways in which the writer makes either The Custody of the Pumpkin (by P. G. Wodehouse) or My Greatest Ambition (by Morris Lurie) so ente...

You are the American in A Horse and Two Goats. You have just arrived back home in America with the statue. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Mother: And you? You [shakes her head negatively] go out much? [Slight pause.] Con...

What do you think Miller's portrayal of Jim Bayliss contributes to the power of the play? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Joe Keller. Chris has left after you have admitted your guilt. You are in your room. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Caesar: Mark Antony shall say I am not well; And for thy humour I will stay at hom...

To what extent does Shakespeare change your view of Brutus during the play? Support your ideas with details from the text.

You are Octavius. You have just left the meeting with Antony and Lepidus. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Stephano: Moon-calf, speak once in thy life, if thou beest a good moon-calf. Calib...

To what extent does Shakespeare make you admire Prospero? Support your ideas with details from the play.

You are Sebastian at the end of the play. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Cecily: May I offer you some tea, Miss Fairfax? Gwendolen: [With elaborate politen...

How do you think Wilde makes Dr. Chasuble such an amusing character in the play? Support your views with details from Wilde's writing.

You are Lady Bracknell. You are just about to arrive with Gwendolen to have tea with Algernon. Write your thoughts.

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: Nobody Comes Tree-leaves labour up and down, And through them the fainting light Succ...

How does Hardy make In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’so memorable for you?

Explore the ways in which Hardy writes vividly about the past in either On The Departure Platform or The Going.

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: A Different History Great Pan is not dead; he simply emigrated to India. Here, the go...

How does Ted Hughes powerfully convey his feelings about nature to you in Pike?

Explore one poem in this selection in which the poet communicates strong reactions to aspects of city life.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: I like to think Nyasha really believed that the confrontation had taken a concilia...

To what extent does Dangarembga present Tambu's father, Jeremiah, as a weak man? Support your ideas with details from the novel.

You are Babamukuru. Maiguru has just left your home following the quarrel over Tambu's punishment. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: She fumbles her way back to the veranda and the swing and sits with MamaPapa, star...

'A life full of disappointment'. Do you think this is a fair description of Uma's life? Support your answer with details from Desai's writing.

You are Arun. You are on your way back to the dorm at the end of the novel. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: At precisely this time in the army cantonment area, the lights were blazing from t...

Explore in detail two moments in the novel where for you Desai most effectively makes self- important people seem ridiculous. (Do not use the extra...

You are Sampath. You have just been thrown out of Mr. D.P.S.'s house after your striptease. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: The door opened, and a thick-set, heavy-looking young man entered, with the flushe...

Explore two moments in the novel which Eliot makes particularly amusing for you.

You are Nancy. You are preparing for bed after the party at the Red House. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: 'I'm going to swim,' he said later. They had eaten tomatoes and biscuits for break...

What does Hill make you feel about Mr Hooper's attitudes towards his son and towards Kingshaw? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Hooper. From your window you are watching Kingshaw early in the morning attempting to run away. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract from The Rain Horse (by Ted Hughes), and then answer the question that follows it: Over to his right a thin, black horse was runn...

How does the writer vividly convey what it is like for someone to live in a completely unfamiliar country in either At Hiruharama (by Penelope Fitz...