Cambridge &amp; Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Aruna scolded him, ‘Don't you ever get the house painted, Papa? Look how the walls...

How does Desai strikingly portray differences between family life in India and family life in the USA? Support your ideas by close reference to the...

You are Mrs Patton at the end of the novel. Arun has just left the house after giving you the gifts from his parents. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Now he traced the outline of his face and drew in the fantastic costume. He smiled...

To what extent do you think Desai makes fun of the way people behave towards gurus and holy men? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Pinky. You have just seen Hungry Hop caught in the army's net. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along ...

Nick says of himself that he is 'one of the few honest people' that he has ever known. Does Fitzgerald convince you of Nick's honesty? Support your...

You are Daisy. You are in the car with Gatsby just after the accident with Myrtle. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract from The Destructors, and then answer the question that follows it: On Sunday morning all were punctual except Blackie, even Mike...

Explore the ways in which Hardy makes you sympathise with the mother and Sam in The Son's Veto.

You are Leila (in Her First Ball). You are lying in bed and remembering your first ball. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Ann: You're not so dumb, Joe. Content removed due to copyright restrictions. Ke...

How far do you think Miller suggests that Kate Keller is a bad mother and a bad wife? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Chris. Ann Deever is coming to stay. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Cassius: Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark! The storm is up, and a...

Brutus says ‘Antony is but a limb of Caesar'. How does Shakespeare make it clear to you that there is more to Antony than Brutus thinks? Support yo...

You are Portia. You have just sent Lucius to the Capitol to find out what is happening. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Ferdinand: Where should this music be? I'th' air or th'earth? Ariel: It sounds no...

Do you feel that justice has been done by the end of the play? Support your ideas with details from Shakespeare's writing.

You are Trinculo. Caliban has been persuading you and Stephano to kill Prospero and take over the island. You hear some mysterious music, and set o...

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Merriman: The dog-cart is at the door, sir. [Algernon looks appealingly at Cecil...

How does Wilde make the way Jack Worthing has to live his life so comically complicated? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Gwendolen. You are being taken home by your mother after she has rejected Jack Worthing as a possible son-in-law. Write your thoughts.

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The Convergence of the Twain (Lines on the loss of the ‘Titanic') I In a solitude o...

Explore the ways in which Hardy portrays hopeless love in The Pine Planters.

How does Hardy make the situations of either Drummer Hodge in Drummer Hodge or the people in No Buyers: A Street Scene so moving?

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The City Planners Cruising these residential Sunday streets in dry August sunlight:...

How does Edwin Muir vividly convey memories of childhood in Horses?

Explore the ways in which the poets use words and phrases to create striking effects in Pied Beauty (by Gerard Manley Hopkins) and A Birthday (by C...

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Yes, I was very irritable on that occasion, the occasion of my uncle's return, wh...

How does Dangarembga vividly convey similarities between Tambu and Nyasha? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Jeremiah. Babamukuru has just praised you for mending the thatch over the kitchen. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Then Mother Agnes came round the corner and down the passage, walking in long, ru...

Explore the ways in which Desai makes any two moments in the novel particularly amusing for you. (Do not use the extract printed in Question 22 in ...

You are Mrs Patton. Arun has just left to go back to the dorm. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: At this everyone nodded their heads. Content removed due to copyright restrictio...

How do you think Desai makes Sampath so likeable even though he is so useless and lazy? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Pinky. You have just heard about Sampath's behaviour at the wedding party. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: When Marner's sensibility returned, he continued the action which had been arrest...

'I don't pretend to be a good fellow but I'm not a scoundrel.' How far does Eliot make you agree with Godfrey's opinion of himself? Support your i...

You are Dolly. You are on your way home after your first visit to Silas with Aaron and the lard-cakes. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Kingshaw stood on the gate for a long time, looking up the ploughed field ahead. ...

How do you think Warings contributes to the power of the novel? Support your ideas with details from Hill's writing.

You are Hooper after your first encounter with Kingshaw. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract from Sandpiper (by Ahdaf Soueif), and then answer the question that follows it: Yes, I am sick – but not just for home. I am sic...

Explore how the writers make the endings of Her First Ball (by Katherine Mansfield) and At Hiruhamara (by Penelope Fitzgerald) so effective for you.

You are Muni in A Horse and Two Goats. You are on your way home to tell your wife that you have sold your goats to the American. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Chris: I know all about the world. I know the whole crap story. Content removed ...