Appendix 1: Prescribed literary texts and films — Edexcel A-Level Arabic
Test yourself on Appendix 1: Prescribed literary texts and films with PEARSON EDEXCEL A-Level practice questions.
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Appendix 1: Prescribed literary texts and films explained
This row identifies قنديل أم هاشم by يحيى حقي, published 1944, as a novella on the prescribed list for the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Arabic (9AA0).
Read the full explanation
Learners should be able to name the author and the year, recognise the work as a novella rather than a full-length novel, and place it within the prescribed literary texts studied for the listening, reading and writing papers. Study should focus on the novella's central conflict between traditional Egyptian life and Western scientific medicine, its Cairene setting and its key characters, so that learners can answer multiple-choice questions on plot, character, theme and narrative technique accurately.
Your focus
- State the author, title, year and genre of قنديل أم هاشم accurately.
- Identify major characters and key plot events from the novella.
- Explain central themes such as the tension between traditional belief and modern medicine.
Appendix 1: Prescribed literary texts and films exam tips
Marking Points
- Correctly identifies يحيى حقي as the author of قنديل أم هاشم.
- Correctly identifies 1944 as the year of publication.
- Recognises the work as a novella, not a novel or a film.
- Places the text within the prescribed literary texts of the 9AA0 specification.
- Matches plot, character and theme details to the correct novella when several prescribed texts are offered as options.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Learn author, title, year and genre as a fixed set for every prescribed text.
- 💡Read each multiple-choice option fully before choosing, since distractors often name another prescribed author or work.
- 💡Revise plot and character detail in Arabic so that vocabulary in the question does not slow you down.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing يحيى حقي with another prescribed author such as نجيب محفوظ; the correction is to link each author firmly to their own work.
- Treating the novella as a novel; the correction is to note that the specification lists it as a novella.
- Misremembering the publication year; the correction is to learn 1944 as the stated date.
- Assuming the work is a film; the correction is to check whether the option is listed as a literary text or a film.