Select and plan the exam-year set texts
Turn the official 2028, 2029 or 2030 set-text list and your centre's route into a practical, complete study plan.
Section SET-TEXTS · Year-specific set texts
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English 0475, exams 2028–2030. The set-text lists change by examination year: choose the correct poetry, prose and drama texts from the official syllabus before studying. These original lessons teach transferable analysis and essay skills; they do not reproduce or replace any set text, give a Cambridge grade, or provide externally moderated coursework marking. Cambridge states that 0992 has the same 2028–2030 subject content as 0475 and is graded 9–1. This 9–1 graded qualification is available only in a limited number of administrative zones. Confirm entry availability with Cambridge International and your centre. Cambridge has published a separate 2027 syllabus. StudyForA has not reconciled that version yet; this page supports exams in 2028, 2029 and 2030 only.
Before you begin
- Use the set-text list for your exam year and the texts selected by your school. Paper 1 is compulsory; candidates take either Paper 2 or Component 3 coursework.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should you verify before making a text-study plan?
What you will learn
- Show accurate understanding with relevant textual evidence
- Explore ideas and context without unsupported assumptions
- Analyse how form, language and structure shape meaning
- Communicate an informed personal response
Start with the exam year and route
Use the syllabus for the calendar year in which you will sit the examination. The set-text options change between 2028, 2029 and 2030, so do not carry a previous year's choices forward without checking the current list and your centre's selection.
For Paper 1, study one selected poetry set text (all 15 poems) and one selected prose text (the whole work). For Paper 2, study one selected drama text; the unseen section has no prescribed set text. The compulsory Paper 1 is taken with either Paper 2 or Component 3.
Make a study record for each chosen work
Record the examination year, route, form, assigned edition and selection confirmed by your centre. For the poetry text, account for all 15 listed poems; for prose and drama, plan evidence from the whole work rather than only a familiar opening.
Build a private evidence index using locations that work in your assigned edition, such as poem, act, scene or chapter. Track changing ideas, relationships and writer's choices. The guide does not supply your centre's selected works or replace reading them.
Prepare for an open-text paper
The 2028–2030 syllabus makes both examined papers open text. Cambridge guidance permits highlighting, underlining and brief handwritten notes in these texts for this syllabus cycle; check the exact current rules and your centre's instructions before the exam.
Open text still requires a clear interpretation, accurate evidence and analysis. Practise finding a small number of relevant moments quickly instead of relying on the book to create an argument for you.
Check the official options for 2028
Poetry: choose one of Songs of Ourselves, Volume 1; Songs of Ourselves, Volume 3; or Kayo Chingonyi's Kumukanda. Study all 15 poems in the chosen text. Prose: choose one whole work from Lesley Nneka Arimah's What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo's When We Were Birds, Kiran Desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, Susan Hill's I'm the King of the Castle, Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn, or the ten-story selection in Stories of Ourselves, Volume 3.
Drama for Paper 2: choose one whole play from Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, Chinonyerem Odimba's Princess & The Hustler, J B Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Shakespeare's The Tempest, or Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Confirm your school-selected works and exact edition before planning. These are official choices, not StudyForA text-specific annotations.
Check the official options for 2029
Poetry: choose one of Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 2; Songs of Ourselves, Volume 3; or Liz Lochhead's A Handsel. Study all 15 poems in the chosen text. Prose: choose one whole work from Lesley Nneka Arimah's What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo's When We Were Birds, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn, Gail Tsukiyama's A Hundred Flowers, or the ten-story selection in Stories of Ourselves, Volume 3.
Drama for Paper 2: choose one whole play from Chinonyerem Odimba's Princess & The Hustler, J B Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Shakespeare's The Tempest, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, or August Wilson's Fences. The syllabus list is the same for 0475 and 0992; exam-year set texts are not interchangeable with 2028 choices.
Check the official options for 2030
Poetry choices are Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 2; Songs of Ourselves, Volume 3; and Liz Lochhead's A Handsel. Choose one text and study all 15 poems. Prose choices are Ayanna Lloyd Banwo's When We Were Birds, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, Richard Powers's Playground, Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn, Gail Tsukiyama's A Hundred Flowers, or the ten-story selection in Stories of Ourselves, Volume 3.
Drama for Paper 2: choose one whole play from Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics, J B Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Shakespeare's The Tempest, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, or August Wilson's Fences. Your centre confirms which options it teaches. Read the selected full work; this guide lists the choice but does not substitute for the text or a text-specific study guide.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
A candidate takes Paper 1 plus Component 3. What replaces Paper 2?
Worked example
A learner sitting Paper 1 plus Paper 2 in 2029 records the selected poetry text, all 15 poems, the selected prose work, the selected drama work and the exam-year syllabus. What does this checklist prevent?
Show the worked solution
- It checks the four content requirements against the correct year and route.
- It distinguishes the selected literature from the unseen part, which has no prescribed text.
- It supports full-work preparation without reproducing any set-text material.
Answer The checklist prevents a learner from using a stale text list, omitting poems or preparing the wrong route. It also keeps the unseen response separate from the selected set texts.
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 learner has chosen Paper 1 plus Paper 2 for 2029. They have selected the right prose and drama works but prepared only six poems from the selected poetry text. Identify the gap and give the next step.
Give me a hint
Compare the checklist with the syllabus requirement for the selected poetry text.
Compare my reasoning
- The 2029 syllabus requires study of all 15 poems in the chosen text.
- Keep the selected collection and add the remaining listed poems to the study plan.
- Use the correct year's official list and the centre's confirmed choice.
The plan is incomplete: it needs all 15 poems from the selected 2029 poetry text. Add the omitted poems after verifying the centre's choice against the official list.
Look for these in your work
- Missing requirement identified
- Correct number and unit stated
- Year and centre choice checked
Create a four-row study tracker for your chosen Paper 1 and Paper 2 route. Show the poetry, prose, drama and unseen components, and explain which rows use selected set texts.
Give me a hint
Separate selected works from the unseen response before deciding what evidence to prepare.
Compare my reasoning
- Record the selected poetry text and check all 15 poems.
- Record the whole selected prose work and whole selected drama work.
- Mark unseen as an unprepared passage response, then add a study date and evidence-review checkpoint to each selected work.
A complete tracker covers the selected poetry text and its 15 poems, the whole selected prose and drama texts, and an unseen-response practice row with no prescribed work. Dates and centre-confirmed choices should be visible.
Look for these in your work
- All route components represented
- Selected and unseen material distinguished
- Study checkpoints included
Your centre switches from Paper 1 plus Paper 2 to Paper 1 plus Component 3. Explain what stays compulsory, what changes and what must be checked for the coursework comparison.
Give me a hint
Start with the common Paper 1 requirement, then apply Component 3's two distinct comparison tasks.
Compare my reasoning
- Paper 1 stays compulsory, including the selected poetry and prose texts.
- Component 3 replaces Paper 2 and asks for a comparison of two complete texts, at least one drama, plus a comparison of two poems.
- Check the current syllabus, the texts approved by your centre and the coursework instructions; do not prepare a Paper 2 drama answer as if it were part of this route.
Paper 1 remains. Component 3 replaces Paper 2: compare two complete texts, at least one drama, and compare two poems. Confirm the choices and centre's coursework requirements for the correct exam year.
Look for these in your work
- Compulsory paper preserved
- Coursework tasks distinguished
- Centre and year checks named
Common mistakes
- Studying only a familiar extract
- Using last year's set-text list without checking
- Treating open text as a substitute for preparation
- Assuming the unseen section has a prescribed work
What can you explain now?
For a 2029 Paper 1 plus Paper 2 route, which poetry preparation is required?
Compare with the explanation
Study all 15 poems from the one poetry text selected for the examination year
The correct choice answers the question; alternatives such as “Study one poem only” or “Study every poetry option listed by Cambridge” do not provide the same evidence-based analysis.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
For your exam year, list the route, each selected work, the full-work or poem requirement and the source you used to confirm it.
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.