Choose drama coursework under the 2028–2030 rules
Use drama for both essays · Recognise that one or two plays are permitted · Distinguish required text quality from advised breadth
Exam scope and assessment notes
0408 preparation for exam year(s) 2028, 2029, 2030. The assessment changes in 2028; follow the component and selected texts for your year. Original StudyForA teaching and practice, with fictional examples labelled. Other well-supported literary readings can be valid. Model answers are for self-checking and do not award Cambridge marks or grades. Full set-text reading and text-specific teaching, complete timed papers and qualified literature-teacher assessment remain unfinished. Coursework must be the candidate’s own work, assessed through the centre and moderated by Cambridge.
Before you begin
- Confirm your exam year and centre-selected full texts. Coursework and both papers are compulsory; private candidates cannot enter 0408.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should support a claim about a literary text?
What you will learn
- Use drama for both essays
- Recognise that one or two plays are permitted
- Distinguish required text quality from advised breadth
Drama for both tasks
The revised portfolio has one critical essay and one empathic essay, both based on drama. A student may use the same complete play for both, or use different plays. The approximate length guidance is 1000 words for the critical essay and 800 for empathy. Do not carry the old prose-plus-drama requirement or old different-text prohibition into this cycle.
Centre-approved demand and breadth
Texts must be suitable in scope and demand and cannot be simplified or abridged. The syllabus advises choosing texts from different parts of the world from the Paper 3 list to broaden study; this advice is not the same as the old portfolio’s mandatory two-text cultural distinction. Coursework essays must demonstrate understanding of the complete play and be written electronically with the full title. The small fictional scenes here are insufficient as coursework source works.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
In 2029, must the critical and empathic essays use different plays?
Worked example
For 2029, a student proposes the same approved complete play for a critical essay and an empathic essay. Does the old different-text rule forbid it?
Show the worked solution
- The revised syllabus allows the same or different drama texts.
- The distinct critical and empathic tasks still have to be appropriate and show whole-play understanding.
Answer It is permitted under the revised text rule, subject to centre approval and all remaining requirements.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A 2028 portfolio proposes a critical essay on a novel and empathy on a play. What needs changing?
Give me a hint
Both essays now use drama.
Compare my reasoning
- The novel is the wrong form for the critical task.
- Choose a suitable complete play, which may be the same play as the empathic task.
Replace the critical novel with an approved drama text.
Look for these in your work
- Use the revised form
- Allow the same-play option
A 2030 learner studies one complete approved play for both essays. Is the number of plays itself a gap?
Give me a hint
The syllabus permits one or two.
Compare my reasoning
- One play is allowed for both tasks.
- The essays must still address different task types and the complete text appropriately.
No; one play can be sufficient under the stated text rule, with the other requirements still applying.
Look for these in your work
- Do not invent a two-play minimum
- Check the actual tasks
A class proposes a short scene from this site as the whole coursework text. Explain why it does not meet the preparation requirement.
Give me a hint
Compare a scene exercise with a complete demanding work.
Compare my reasoning
- The syllabus requires whole-drama understanding at suitable scope and demand.
- A short fictional exercise has too little material and is not a centre-approved substitute.
Use a suitable complete play; the site scene is only a practice exercise.
Look for these in your work
- Respect full-work demand
- Keep model practice separate
Common mistakes
- Use drama, not a novel, for both tasks.
- Treat advice and compulsory rules distinctly.
What can you explain now?
In 2029, must the critical and empathic essays use different plays?
Compare with the explanation
No; the revised syllabus permits the same or different drama texts.
The old different-text rule should not be imposed on the new cycle.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
In 2029, must the critical and empathic essays use different plays?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.