Prepare all 15 prescribed poems for the 2028–2030 poetry paper
Use the complete compulsory selection from Volume 3 · Build a separate evidence map for each poem · Answer on the printed poem rather than repeat a memorised essay
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 the complete compulsory selection from Volume 3
- Build a separate evidence map for each poem
- Answer on the printed poem rather than repeat a memorised essay
Prepare the whole selection
The revised Paper 2 requires all 15 listed poems from Songs of Ourselves, Volume 3. These are compulsory preparation alongside unseen poetry; they are not an optional Paper 3 poetry collection. Use the exact selection and translation identified in the official exam-year list. This route’s bibliographic guide identifies the poems, while individual poem teaching is still unfinished.
Known poem, fresh question
For each poem, record its situation, voice, central tensions, language, structural movement and a few accurate details. When the poem is printed in the exam, reread it for the particular task and adjust the evidence selection. Familiarity is useful, but a memorised response may answer a different question. Candidates do not bring their set texts into the exam room.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
For 2029, can three of the 15 prescribed poems be omitted as optional?
Worked example
A 2029 learner prepares twelve prescribed poems and treats the remaining three as optional. Identify the gap.
Show the worked solution
- The compulsory selection contains fifteen poems.
- Three remain unprepared; knowing the titles does not close the teaching or reading gap.
Answer Prepare the remaining three prescribed poems in the correct anthology selection.
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 tracker includes 10 of the 15 prescribed poems. How many remain, and what source should control their selection?
Give me a hint
Use the year’s official list.
Compare my reasoning
- Five poems remain.
- Verify them against the 2028 Volume 3 selection and your centre’s edition.
Five; use the official 2028 list, not an unrelated collection.
Look for these in your work
- Count the gap
- Use the correct selection
Give six useful headings for each prescribed-poem evidence map.
Give me a hint
Cover content, meaning and presentation.
Compare my reasoning
- Record situation, voice and central tensions.
- Add language choices, structural development and accurate evidence.
Situation, voice, tensions, language, structure and textual evidence.
Look for these in your work
- Map the whole poem
- Go beyond title and biography
A learner knows a poem but their prepared essay discusses nature while the new question asks about separation. Explain the next step.
Give me a hint
Re-read the printed poem in relation to the task.
Compare my reasoning
- Select details relevant to separation.
- Rebuild the argument rather than submitting an incompatible remembered essay.
Use knowledge flexibly to answer separation with fresh, relevant evidence.
Look for these in your work
- Answer the task
- Adapt the interpretation
Common mistakes
- Do not confuse the revised Paper 2 with old Paper 3 choices.
- A printed poem still requires prior study and a task-focused response.
What can you explain now?
For 2029, can three of the 15 prescribed poems be omitted as optional?
Compare with the explanation
No; the revised paper requires the complete listed selection.
Candidates prepare all fifteen prescribed poems for the set-poem question.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
For 2029, can three of the 15 prescribed poems be omitted as optional?
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.