Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions
Browse 35,704 questions from Cambridge O-Level & A-Level and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE & IAL exams. Click any question to practice.
ALAN AYCKBOURN: A Small Family Business Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Jack watches the next in stunned amazement...
What does Anita contribute to your enjoyment of the play? Support your ideas with details from Ayckbourn's writing.
You are Poppy at the end of the play. The party is over. Write your thoughts.
CHARLOTTE KEATLEY: My Mother Said I Never Should Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Enter Doris in the 1920s print dr...
In what ways does Keatley make you feel sympathy for Margaret? Support your ideas with details from the play.
You are Jackie. You have just learned that Jack has left everything to you in his will. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Tituba: [already taking a step backward] My Betty be h...
Choose two moments in the play which you have found especially dramatic and explore in detail how Miller manages to make them so dramatic. (Do not ...
You are Danforth, just after Proctor has been executed. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Much Ado About Nothing Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Don Pedro: Good den, good den. Claudio...
How does Shakespeare make Dogberry and the Watch so entertaining? Support your answer by close reference to the play.
You are Beatrice at the end of the play. You are about to see Hero marry Claudio. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Richard III Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Gloucester: Now is the winter of our discontent M...
In what ways do you think Shakespeare makes Queen Margaret and Lady Anne memorable characters in the play? Support your ideas with details from the...
You are Richard, riding on your way to face Richmond at Bosworth Field. Write your thoughts.
R.C. SHERRIFF: Journey's End Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Osborne: He's a fine company commander. Raleigh: I be...
How does Sherriff memorably portray soldiers' attempts to cope with trench warfare? Support your ideas with details from the play.
You are Hibbert. You have refused to eat your supper and you are now lying on your bed in the dugout. Write your thoughts.
SECTION B: POETRY SONGS OF OURSELVES: from Part 3 Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: Dover Beach The sea is calm to-nigh...
Explore how either The Flower-Fed Buffaloes (by Vachel Lindsay) or Report to Wordsworth (by Boey Kim Cheng) powerfully conveys feelings about human...
What do you find particularly memorable about the poets' portrayal of night and moonlight in Amends (by Adrienne Rich) and Full Moon and Little Fri...
JOHN KEATS: Poems Read these three stanzas from Ode to a Nightingale, and then answer the question that follows: 1 My heart aches, and a drowsy num...
In what ways does Keats make The Eve of St Agnes such a dramatic poem for you? Support your ideas with details from the poem.
Explore the ways in which Keats appeals so powerfully to your senses in To Autumn. Refer in detail to the poem in your answer.
SECTION C: PROSE JANE AUSTEN: Pride and Prejudice Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: She had instinctively turned awa...
In this novel, what do you think Austen suggests are the features of a good marriage? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
You are Charlotte, awaiting the arrival of your friend Elizabeth Bennet at your new home, Hunsford. Write your thoughts.
IAN CROSS: The God Boy Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: 'She is friendly to me and her eyes are all right then. She...
Why do you think telling the story from Jimmy's point of view makes the novel so powerful? Support your answer with details from Cross's writing.
You are Father Gilligan just after having heard confessions, including Jimmy's. Write your thoughts.
ANITA DESAI: Games at Twilight and Other Stories Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: That evening he had tried to ques...
Desai frequently portrays people who live in a state of irritation and anger. Explore how she does this so memorably in Private Tuition by Mr Bose ...
You are Bina in The Farewell Party as the party finishes. Write your thoughts.
THOMAS HARDY: Far from the Madding Crowd Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Bathsheba said very little to her husband...
'Boldwood has only himself to blame.' How far do you agree? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
You are Gabriel shortly after Bathsheba has agreed to marry you. Write your thoughts.
BESSIE HEAD: When Rain Clouds Gather Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Matenge had not expected this. He stood in th...
How does Head make the love story of Makhaya and Paulina so compelling? Support your answer with details from the novel.
You are Gilbert. You have just informed Dinorego that you are going to marry Maria and he has sent her to Mma-Millipede to arrange the wedding. Wri...
EDITH WHARTON: Ethan Frome Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: When Ethan was called back to the farm by his father's ...
What do you find so memorable about Wharton's portrayal of life in Starkfield? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
You are Zeena on the train home after having hired the girl to take Mattie's place. Write your thoughts.
from STORIES OF OURSELVES Read this extract from The Taste of Watermelon (by Borden Deal), and then answer the question that follows it: Mr Wills w...
How does the writer make any one of the following characters particularly memorable? Aunt Mary in Secrets (by Bernard MacLaverty) Mrs Croft in The ...
You are John in The Yellow Wallpaper. Your lease on the house will expire in three weeks' time and your wife has asked you to take her away. Write ...
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it. JACK thunders up the stairs. GIORGIO, hearing this, dives for the near bedroom, l...
What do you think makes Harriet and Desmond such an amusing pair of characters? Support your ideas with details from Ayckbourn's writing.
You are Jack coming home at the beginning of the play. Write your thoughts.
Either *4 CHARLOTTE KEATLEY: My Mother Said I Never Should Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it. The Wasteground, a p...
Explore how Keatley presents the changes in the relationship between Jackie and Rosie as the play develops. Refer in detail to the play in your ans...