Overview (Cambridge International IGCSE English Language)
This revision note is for exams in 2026. If you are sitting your exam from 2027, please switch to the 'First exams 2027' syllabus edition.
Coursework Overview
Component 3 of the English Language course is the coursework portfolio. The Paper 1 exam is compulsory, but you will then either be sitting a Paper 2 exam or completing the IGCSE by doing a coursework portfolio.
Component 3 overview
The coursework component allows you the freedom and scope to improve your writing skills over a period of time (rather than in timed exam conditions), choose topics of personal interest to you, and to edit, revise and correct your work independently so that you are able to submit something of the highest possible quality.
You will complete three written assignments and your portfolio as a whole is worth 80 marks. Each assignment should be about 500-800 words in length, and consist of:
- Assignment 1: Writing to discuss, argue or persuade in response to a text or texts
- Assignment 2: Writing to describe
- Assignment 3: Writing to narrate
The marks are broken down as follows:
- Total marks for writing = 65
- Total marks for reading = 15 (Assignment 1 only)
Your work can be handwritten or word-processed, and your portfolio must include the first draft of one of the three assignments submitted. The portfolio must also include the text(s) used for Assignment 1.
Component 3 breakdown
| Question | What you are asked to do |
|---|---|
| Assignment 1 | This is a piece of directed writing in response to a text or texts |
| Texts should be about two sides of A4 in total, and may consist of facts, opinions and/or arguments which can be selected, analysed and evaluated, and integrated into your own views | |
| You will be required to evaluate and develop the information in the text(s) - using some of the same skills as in Paper 1 Question 3 | |
| You will be asked to create a discursive/argumentative/persuasive response, using your own words, in one of the following formats: speech, letter or article | |
| Assignment 2 | This is a piece of descriptive writing |
| You are required to develop ideas and images which create a convincing, well-defined picture, with varieties of focus | |
| Assignment 3 | This is a piece of narrative writing |
| You are require to craft a well-defined plot and develop this with features of fiction writing, such as setting and characterisation |
What skills are being assessed
There are only two assessment objectives for this IGCSE, each worth 50% of your overall grade. These are then divided into sub-objectives. Because the majority of marks in the coursework portfolio come from writing, the table below starts with AO2:
| AO2: write accurately and effectively, using Standard English appropriately | Sub-objective | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| W1: articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined | - Write convincingly to convey real and imagined experiences, thoughts and feelings | |
| W2: organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effect | - Sequence and connect the ideas and opinions effectively within your written response to interest and influence your reader | |
| W3: use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to context | - Use a range of appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures deliberately within each written response to achieve certain effects | |
| W4: use register appropriate to context | - Vary your writing to suit the purpose, audience and form of the task | |
| W5: make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar | - Write accurately, avoiding spelling, punctuation and grammar errors |
| AO1: read and respond in different ways to different types of text | Sub-objective | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| R1: demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings | - Show that you understand the obvious meanings communicated in a text | |
| R2: demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes | - Show that you can recognise hints and suggestions in a text to understand the more hidden meanings and attitudes of the writer | |
| R3: analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions, using appropriate support from the text | - Evaluate and analyse the facts, ideas and opinions you read by using, explaining and developing them - Refer to supporting evidence from the text where appropriate, such as using quotations or references to the text | |
| R4: demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve effects and influence readers | - Show that you understand how a writer has influenced their reader through their use of language - Consider the deliberate choices a writer has made and why they have made those choices | |
| R5: select and use information for specific purposes | - Select and use relevant and appropriate information from a text to answer the different questions |
You can find detailed notes on how to answer each question on this paper in the following revision guides:
- Assignment 1: Writing to discuss, argue or persuade
- Assignment 2: Descriptive writing
- Assignment 3: Narrative writing
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