What 4ET1/02 (Component 2) assesses
Section A, Modern Drama (30 marks) and Section B, Literary Heritage Texts (30 marks): one essay on each, from a choice of two questions per set text. It is an open-book exam: candidates may take prescribed editions of the set texts, which must be completely unmarked. It runs in the June and November series.
- Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Marks: 60
- Weight: 40% of Pearson Edexcel 4ET1 (Specification, Issue 3 (August 2025))
- How it is assessed: External (written examination)
- Who takes it: Exam route (instead of Component 3)
4ET1/02 (Component 2) is worth 40% of the 4ET1 grade and carries 60 marks. Each mark moves the qualification by about 0.67%. The qualification is graded 9–1.
What the examiners reward in 4ET1/02 (Component 2)
Reading
- AO1: Demonstrate a close knowledge and understanding of texts, maintaining a critical style and presenting an informed personal engagement
This is one of the objectives. The 4ET1 overview lists the full set.
The drama essay rewards the same core skills as the prose one, read through the lens of theatre. You need a clear argument that answers the precise question, grounded in the whole play. You need to analyse how the playwright makes meaning.
This happens through what characters say, but also through stage directions, structure, dramatic irony and the timing of entrances and exits. Think about the effect all this has on an audience. You need short embedded quotations, including from stage directions, each chosen to prove a point.
Where the play invites it, you show how its context shapes its meaning. Strong work treats the text as something performed. It keeps asking what an audience would see, hear and feel, and why the playwright arranged it so.
For more detail, see 4ET1 drama in the syllabus.
The trial lesson can work on Pearson Edexcel 4ET1/02 (Component 2) directly, with timings, mark scheme and your child's own answers.
Question types we practise for 4ET1/02 (Component 2)
- Prose essay: Writing about character, theme and narrative in prose. Skills guide · annotated model response · practice
- Character analysis: Tracing how a character is built and changes. Skills guide · annotated model response · practice
- Theme analysis: Following a theme across a whole text. Skills guide · annotated model response · practice
A timing plan for 4ET1/02 (Component 2)
The syllabus gives 60 marks and 1 hour 30 minutes for 4ET1/02 (Component 2). That is about 1.5 minutes per mark. A 10-mark answer therefore earns about 15 minutes.
At the halfway point of 45 minutes, check that you have covered about 30 marks' worth of the paper. This is a practice guide built from the stated totals. The paper's own instructions come first.
Where marks are lost on 4ET1/02 (Component 2)
Writing about a character: Treating the character as real. The student guesses at feelings the text does not support. Read the full guide.
Analysing sentence structure for effect: The most common fault is naming without effect. "The writer uses a short sentence" tells the marker nothing. Read the full guide.
Preparing for 4ET1/02 (Component 2) with us
A teacher works through 4ET1/02 (Component 2) question types with your child under timed conditions, against the criteria in the mark scheme. See Literature in English tuition for how a session runs.
4ET1/02 (Component 2) is one component of Pearson Edexcel 4ET1, graded on the 9–1 scale. Check the current arrangement for your exam year with your school or the board.