Poems of the Decade Revision

Poems of the Decade Revision is an important use of time for students studying the English Literature A Level or AS Level provided by Edexcel; a selection from the anthology are part of the prescribed texts meaning that they may be part of the final exam. For A Level, poetry is part of the third exam and in total accounts for 30% of the qualification. One half of that exam made up of the Post-2000 poetry that is part of the Poems of the Decade Anthology, and the other half a selection of Pre-1900 poetry, such as English Romantic Verse. In the AS qualification, poetry is included in the poetry and drama exam. Teaching Resources for the Poems of the Decade Anthology can also be found by clicking here.

Poems of the Decade

Poems of the Decade Revision

This is a relatively new course, with the first A Level assessment thaven taken place in June 2017. There are a total of 20 poems that are prescribed, of which two will be selected in the exam paper. You will have to pick one of two specified questions, each of which will have one poem that is part of this collection and one unseen poem.

For AS Level students, you will be given two questions to pick from, and each will specify a poem to be used. It is then up to you to decide on another poem to use from the prescribed anthology, meaning that it is important to be confident on all the set poems and the different ways they can link to each other.

Poems of the Decade Revision

Currently Prescribed Poems

Poems of the Decade Example Questions

Previously Prescribed Poems

A number of poems were removed from the prescribed list in 2017 for AS and A Level, meaning that you will not be examined on these poems. However, they act as a great option to use for practice essays and general Poems of the Decade revision, with analysis available to support your learning. International exams may still use these poems – confirm with your teacher.

Sample Paper Unseen Poems

Past Exam Paper Unseen Poems

  • ‘When Six O’Clock Comes and Another Day Has Passed’ by Kathryn Simmonds (2017)

27 Comments

Hey there! Could you tell from where you got to know about the removal of those eight poems?

Thank you so much! This is applicable for IAL English Literature unit code WET01, right?

Sorry I didn’t realise you were talking about the international exams. 8ET0 and 9ET0 are the AS and A Level exams studied in the UK and have had the 8 poems removed. As far as I can see, the international exam WET01 still has all the original poems. You can find the full information on the Edexcel website here including the prescribed texts.

We recommend talking to your teacher / educational establishment to confirm the specific details of the exact course you are studying.

‘Inheritance‘ and ‘Look We Have Coming to Dover!‘, ‘Out of the Bag‘ and ‘The Deliverer’

Do you have any predictions of which poem may come up in the exam for Edexcel AS level for international students? “The Gun” came in Jan 2018.

We don’t have any specific predictions for the AS exam however we made some predictions here for last years A Level exam and this seem strong contenders for potential inclusion in this AS exam. It’s still quite difficult to predict as there isn’t much history to base them on yet though.

Genetics and Effects were the two named poems in the 2018 A Level exam.

I love this site so much. Y’all are life savors honestly <3 Do you have any predictions for May 2019? Or just simple tips and tricks, haha
Much love from Bangladesh <3

Thank you so much for the feedback! We’ll be releasing more content related to exam tips and technique starting from January and will be putting together predictions and suggestions around April.

You are really awesome. So grateful to you. By the way, do you have any predictions for the poetry parts in the January 2019 exam ?

Hello, do you have any predictions for the Summer 2020 eng lit exam of edexcel IAL

hello! i would like to ask if there are any predictions for the poetry questions in this year’s international AS levels . thanks a lot!

hello! i would like to ask if there are any predictions for summer 2021 international AS levels poems, such as which prescribed poems do you think will come up. thanks a lot!

Hi so are the Currently Prescribed poems the only poems in the book that we need to learn? e.g. we don’t need to know every single poem in the poems of the decade book?

Many thanks,Josh

That’s correct, just the prescribed poems – make sure to check with your teacher if you’re still unsure.

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