Every lesson builds the close reading and comparison the papers reward.
What OxfordAQA 9275 assesses in poetry
In OxfordAQA 9275, poetry is assessed on the poetry paper. This is the longer Paper 2a for candidates on the exam-only route. Candidates whose school follows the coursework route sit the shorter Paper 2b.
Both are sat open book, so students work with the anthology in front of them rather than from memory. The task asks them to analyse the prescribed poems and compare them by theme and method. On the exam-only route it also sets unseen poems to read closely with no notes.
Marks, timings and the exact task wording differ by route and by specification year. We teach the current requirements from the board's syllabus. Please see our qualification page for the sourced figures.
The skills that earn the marks
Three assessment objectives share the marks. The first rewards understanding of and genuine engagement with the poems. This includes their themes and ideas, and the contexts in which they were written and are read.
The second, where much of the analysis sits, rewards close reading of the methods poets use to make meaning. These include imagery, word choice, sound, line and stanza, with subject terminology used only where it helps. The third rewards a clear, informed personal response written in accurate, coherent English.
Good work reads poems rather than paraphrasing them. It compares method with method rather than listing features, and keeps returning to the question's theme. Our teachers train students to argue from short, well-chosen evidence and to say what each choice achieves.
A teacher can turn Poetry in OxfordAQA 9275 Literature in English into clear, practised skills. The trial hour shows how.
How we teach it
Your child works one-to-one with an experienced English teacher who teaches to this board's papers. We start from your child's own work and practise under exam conditions. See Literature in English tuition for how a lesson runs.
Question types & skills in this section
Each has its own method page with an original annotated model:
- Anthology poetry: Writing about the OxfordAQA poetry anthology: analysing and comparing prescribed poems by theme and method.
- Unseen poetry: The unseen poetry task: a close reading of an unfamiliar poem, structured around language, form and effect.
Papers, marks and word guidance can change between syllabus versions. Confirm the structure for your child's exam year with the school or the board's official syllabus, linked below.