Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in English Language (Specification A)
Mapped from the board's own specification and signed off on 23 August 2026 by Lee Woods. June and November. Graded 9 to 1.
- Full scheme of work, lesson by lesson
- Lesson decks in the house template
- Knowledge organiser
- Retrieval grids
- Assessment pack with mark schemes
This specification offers alternative routes, marked route above, and a candidate is entered for one of them. The full curriculum price follows the route you pick: 5 topics on this one. Change the route and the price changes with it.
Structure
| Component | Time | Marks | Weighting | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component 1: Non-fiction Texts and Transactional Writing4EA1/01 | 2h 15 | 90 | 60% | Externally assessed |
| Component 2: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing | 1h 30 | 60 | 40% | Externally assessed |
| Component 3: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing, non-examined | coursework | 60 | 40% | Internally assessed and externally moderated |
| Spoken Language Endorsement, optional4EA1/E | 0h 10 | not marked | endorsement | Internally assessed under controlled conditions |
150 raw marks, no scaling: every component is exactly proportional to its weighting. Alternative routes are shown indented; a candidate takes one of them, not both.
Assessment objectives
| Objective | Component 1 | Component 2 or Component 3 | Spoken Language Endorsement, optional | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AO1 Reading and understandingRead and understand a variety of texts, selecting and interpreting information, ideas and perspectives | 7.3333 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| AO2 Analysis of devicesUnderstand and analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve their effects | 8 | 12 | 0 | 20 |
| AO3 Links and connectionsExplore links and connections between writers' ideas and perspectives, and how these are conveyed | 14.6667 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| AO4 Effective and imaginative writingCommunicate effectively and imaginatively, adapting form, tone and register for specific purposes and audiences | 18 | 12 | 0 | 30 |
| AO5 Technical accuracyWrite clearly, with a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, paragraphing and accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation | 12 | 8 | 0 | 20 |
| AO6 Spoken languagePresent in a formal setting, listen and respond to spoken language, and use spoken Standard English effectively | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The board's own tables disagree. AO1 and AO3 are printed as 15 per cent each. The raw marks give 15.33 and 14.67. Both are recorded. Neither is adjusted to agree with the other, and the difference is declared as a grid residual
Component by component
Component 1: Non-fiction Texts and Transactional Writing
Section A: Reading, non-fiction45 marks
Short and long answer questions on one anthology non-fiction text and one unseen extract
Board stated mark split: AO1 11, AO2 12, AO3 22
- From The Danger of a Single Story
- From A Passage to Africa
- From The Explorer's Daughter
- Explorers, or boys messing about?
- From 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
- Young and dyslexic? You've got it going on
- From A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat
- From Beyond the Sky and Earth: A Journey into Bhutan
- From H is for Hawk
- From Chinese Cinderella
Section B: Transactional Writing45 marks
One writing task from two prompts, each giving an audience, form or purpose
Board stated mark split: AO4 27, AO5 18
No set texts. Two unseen prompts in the paper. A single teachable unit
Component 2 or Component 3: the candidate's second component
Every candidate takes Component 1 and then one of Component 2 or Component 3
Component 2: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing1h 30 · 60 marks · Externally assessed
Section A: Poetry and Prose Texts30 marks
One essay on a poetry or prose text from Part 2 of the anthology, supplied in the examination
Board stated mark split: AO1 12, AO2 18
- Disabledpublic domain
- Out, Out
- An Unknown Girl
- The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
- Still I Rise
- The Story of an Hourpublic domain
- The Necklacepublic domain
- Significant Cigarettes, from The Road Home
- Whistle and I'll Come to You, from The Woman in Black
- Night
Section B: Imaginative Writing30 marks
One imaginative writing task from three given prompts
Board stated mark split: AO4 18, AO5 12
No set texts. Three unseen prompts in the paper. A single teachable unit
Component 3: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing, non-examined60 marks · Internally assessed and externally moderated
Assignment A: Poetry and prose texts30 marks
One essay on three or more Part 2 anthology texts, including at least one poem and one prose text
Board stated mark split: AO1 12, AO2 18
- Disabledpublic domain
- Out, Out
- An Unknown Girl
- The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
- Still I Rise
- The Story of an Hourpublic domain
- The Necklacepublic domain
- Significant Cigarettes, from The Road Home
- Whistle and I'll Come to You, from The Woman in Black
- Night
Assignment B: Imaginative writing30 marks
One piece of imaginative writing on a selected topic, set by the teacher
Board stated mark split: AO4 18, AO5 12
Teacher devised task. A single commissionable unit
Spoken Language Endorsement, optional
Presentation and questions
A prepared presentation of no more than 10 minutes, followed by questions from the audience
Optional endorsement. A single commissionable unit sold as an add on
NOT BOARD STATED. The endorsement is graded on a four point scale, not marked
What this specification changes about the package
- The anthology text is supplied in the examination room for both Component 1 and Component 2. Open text for the set material and closed for the unseen extract. Revision teaches navigation, not memorisation
- Component 3 offers a 40 per cent non-examined route in place of Component 2. A coursework product category, with the same anthology and the same objectives as the examined route
- Students in a cohort may write on the same texts, and tasks may be teacher devised or self generated. Coursework packages can be sold as whole class schemes, not only as individual task frames
- Assignment A requires three or more anthology texts, at least one poetry and one prose. The coursework unit is a text grouping, never a single text, and the grouping must be legal
- Spoken language is optional, separately endorsed and adds nothing to the grade. Speaking products are sold as an add on and never inside the grade bearing package
- Components 1 and 2 are available as onscreen assessments as well as on paper. Exam technique material must cover onscreen response, which no domestic GCSE product does
- Board stated: the qualification is not accredited or regulated by any UK regulatory body. No Ofqual framing anywhere in the material, and no claim of domestic equivalence
How we know
- Specification read
- Issue 7, August 2025, read from the cover of the board's own PDF. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- Sign-off
- Lee Woods, 23 August 2026. Map pearson-4ea1-v1.
- Currency
- Current at retrieval. Pearson replaces this file in place, so the issue must be re-read from the cover at sign-off
- Set texts held
- 20 texts, each with a rights status derived from the author's death date. The board states none of them.
What this map does not hold
- copyright statuses. DERIVED BY PLATFORM, NOT BOARD STATED
- spoken language marks. NOT BOARD STATED. The endorsement is graded Not Classified to Distinction rather than marked
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