Appendix 5: Prescribed texts - Component 1: Drama and Component 2: Prose — Edexcel A-Level English Literature

Appendix 5 of the Pearson Edexcel A-Level English Literature specification lists the prescribed texts for Component 1 (Drama) and Component 2 (Prose). It specifies the exact editions, set texts, and assessment focus for these closed-book examinations, ensuring all students study the same canonical and contemporary works.

Appendix 5 of the Pearson Edexcel A-Level English Literature specification lists the prescribed texts for Component 1 (Drama) and Component 2 (Prose). For Component 1, students study one Shakespeare play (e.g., 'Hamlet') and one other drama text (e.g., 'A Streetcar Named Desire'), while Component 2 requires the study of two prose texts linked by theme (e.g., 'Frankenstein' and 'Never Let Me Go'). These texts are assessed in closed-book exams, meaning students must know them thoroughly.

This appendix is crucial because it defines the exact editions and texts that will appear in the exams, ensuring fairness and consistency across all centres. It also indicates the assessment objectives (AOs) that each component tests, such as AO1 (argument), AO2 (analysis of methods), AO3 (context), AO4 (connections), and AO5 (interpretations). Understanding this appendix helps students focus their revision on the correct material and avoid wasting time on non-prescribed texts.

• →Prescribed texts are mandatory and specific editions must be used to ensure accurate referencing and access to critical material.
• →Component 1 (Drama) assesses Shakespeare and another drama text, focusing on AO1, AO2, AO3, and AO5.
• →Component 2 (Prose) requires the comparative study of two prose texts, assessing AO1, AO2, AO3, and AO4.
• →Exams are closed-book, so students must memorise key quotations and be able to analyse them from memory.
• →The specification lists set texts that rotate over time, so students must check the current list for their exam year.

• 💡Familiarise yourself thoroughly with the layout of your chosen edition so you can navigate it quickly during open-book exams.
• 💡Use chapter or scene references rather than page numbers when creating shared revision resources with classmates who may own different editions.
• 💡Ensure your personal copy is a clean, unannotated text if it is to be taken into an open-book examination.
• 💡Check with your teacher well in advance of the exam to confirm which specific edition will be provided or permitted in the exam hall.
• 💡Practice writing essays using a clean, unannotated copy of the text to simulate the exact conditions of the open-book examination.
• 💡Avoid relying on study notes or glossaries printed in your classroom edition, as these may not be present in the exam-compliant copy.
• 💡Use paraphrased editions only as a temporary stepping stone during early revision, transitioning quickly to the original text.
• 💡Build a personal glossary of difficult archaic or complex words to memorise, as you will not have a translation to help you in the exam.
• 💡Ensure the copy you intend to use for the exam does not contain any facing-page translations or extensive paraphrasing in the margins.
• 💡Check the contents page of your Shakespeare exam copy carefully to ensure there are no critical essays or interpretive appendices included.
• 💡If your preferred study edition contains critical material, purchase a separate, plain text version well in advance to practice using it under exam conditions.
• 💡Read widely from various critical sources during your revision rather than relying solely on the introduction of one specific edition.
• 💡Buy a clean, note-free edition of your text at the start of the course to become familiar with its specific layout and pagination.
• 💡Check your exam copy thoroughly before entering the hall to ensure no accidental annotations or prohibited editorial notes are present.
• 💡Practice finding key quotations in your clean text during timed essays to build speed without relying on study notes.
• 💡Always use the exact edition your centre provides for mock exams to build spatial memory of where key scenes appear on the page.
• 💡Quote chapter or act and scene numbers alongside page numbers in your notes, as this remains consistent across all inexpensive editions.
• 💡Ensure the budget edition you use for open-book exams does not contain prohibited editorial study notes or critical introductions.
• 💡Always use the prescribed edition to ensure your quotations and references are accurate; examiners may penalise incorrect act/scene references.
• 💡For Component 2, integrate comparison throughout your essay rather than discussing one text and then the other; use comparative language to show connections.
• 💡Memorise short, key quotations from each text and practise analysing them in relation to different themes and characters to prepare for closed-book exams.

• Assuming a specific publisher's edition is required for the exam; correction: any standard edition is acceptable provided it meets the open-book exam rules.
• Relying on page numbers for revision notes; correction: use chapter, act, scene, or line numbers, as page numbers vary across different editions.
• Believing that different editions contain different core narratives; correction: while introductions or glossaries may differ, the primary text remains the same across standard editions.
• Assuming any edition used in class is automatically permitted in the exam hall; correction: exam copies must strictly adhere to the specific open-book guidelines set by the board.
• Bringing heavily annotated study editions into the exam; correction: open-book exams require clean copies that comply with the centre's and exam board's regulations.
• Believing the exam board will supply the texts on the day; correction: centres are responsible for selecting and providing the appropriate text editions for their students to use in the exam.
• Bringing a dual-text or translated edition into the exam hall; correction: only editions containing solely the original text are permitted in the examination.
• Relying entirely on modern paraphrases to understand the text during revision; correction: students must develop the skill to analyse the original language, as the paraphrase will not be available in the exam.
• Quoting from the modern translation in an essay; correction: all textual evidence and analysis must be drawn directly from the author's original words.
• Assuming that because a book is a published edition of Shakespeare, it is automatically allowed in the exam; correction: many standard student editions contain critical introductions which make them prohibited for exam use.
• Confusing a basic word glossary with critical material; correction: brief definitions of archaic words are usually fine, but interpretive essays or thematic analyses are strictly forbidden.
• Attempting to memorise the critical introduction of a specific edition to use as your own argument; correction: examiners reward original engagement and wider critical reading, not regurgitated editorial introductions.
• Assuming you can bring your annotated classroom copy into the exam; you must use a clean, unannotated copy provided by the centre or checked by invigilators.
• Purchasing a study edition (like a student guide) for exam use; these contain prohibited notes and will be confiscated.
• Relying heavily on printed footnotes during revision; you must learn to independently recall context and critical interpretations without these prompts.
• Believing that inexpensive editions contain abridged or inferior versions of the text; they contain the full, required literary work.
• Memorising page numbers from a different edition at home; pagination in Wordsworth Classics or Dover Thrift will differ from other publishers.
• Assuming all students nationally use the exact same published edition; examiners mark based on the text's content, not specific page references.
• Students think any edition of a text is fine, but the specification often prescribes specific editions (e.g., Oxford School Shakespeare) to standardise references and provide consistent supporting notes.
• Students believe that context (AO3) is only about biographical information, but it includes social, historical, and literary contexts that shape the text's production and reception.
• Students assume that comparison in Component 2 means simply listing similarities and differences, but it requires analysing connections and contrasts in authors' methods and intentions.

1. 1Week 1: Obtain the prescribed editions and read each text once for plot and character understanding, annotating key quotations and themes.
2. 2Week 1-2: Re-read texts, focusing on authorial methods (AO2) and contextual links (AO3); create revision cards for key quotations and critical perspectives.
3. 3Week 2: Practise comparative essay planning for Component 2, ensuring balanced coverage of both texts and integration of comparison.
4. 4Week 2: Complete timed practice questions under closed-book conditions, using mark schemes to self-assess and identify gaps.
5. 5Ongoing: Review feedback and refine essay structure, ensuring clear arguments and accurate use of terminology.

• 📋Component 1 Drama: Extract-based question on Shakespeare (e.g., 'Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents...'). Advice: Analyse the extract closely, then widen to the whole play, linking to context and interpretations.
• 📋Component 1 Drama: Essay question on the second drama text (e.g., 'How does Williams present...?'). Advice: Focus on authorial methods and contextual factors, and include alternative interpretations.
• 📋Component 2 Prose: Comparative essay question (e.g., 'Compare how Shelley and Ishiguro explore...'). Advice: Integrate comparison throughout, analyse methods, and link to contexts of both texts.
• 📋Component 2 Prose: Extract-based comparative question (e.g., 'Compare the ways in which the writers present... in these extracts'). Advice: Analyse both extracts in detail, then broaden to the whole texts, maintaining comparison.