Pearson Edexcel Level 3 GCE

Mark Scheme (Results) Summer 2025 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 GCE In English Literature (9ET0) Paper 3: Poetry Edexcel and BTEC Qualifications Edexcel and BTEC qualifications are awarded by Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body. We provide a wide range of qualifications including academic, vocational, occupational and specific programmes for employers. For further information visit our qualifications websites at or . Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at Pearson: helping people progress, everywhere Pearson aspires to be the world’s leading learning company. Our aim is to help everyone progress in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international reputation for our commitment to high standards and raising achievement through innovation in education. Find out more about how we can help you and your students at: Summer 2025 Question Paper Log Number P77998A Publications Code 9ET0_03_2506_MS All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Ltd 2025 General Marking Guidance • All candidates must receive the same treatment. Examiners must mark the last candidate in exactly the same way as they mark the first. • Mark schemes should be applied positively. Candidates must be rewarded for what they have shown they can do rather than penalised for omissions. • Examiners should mark according to the mark scheme - not according to their perception of where the grade boundaries may lie. • All the marks on the mark scheme are designed to be awarded. Examiners should always award full marks if deserved, i.e. if the answer matches the mark scheme. Examiners should also be prepared to award zero marks if the candidate’s response is not worthy of credit according to the mark scheme. • Where some judgement is required, mark schemes will provide the principles by which marks will be awarded and exemplification/indicative content will not be exhaustive. • When examiners are in doubt regarding the application of the mark scheme to a candidate’s response, a senior examiner must be consulted before a mark is given. • Crossed out work should be marked unless the candidate has replaced it with an alternative response. Marking guidance - specific The marking grids have been designed to assess student work holistically. The grids identify which Assessment Objective is being targeted by each bullet point within the level descriptors. One bullet point is linked to one Assessment Objective, however please note that the number of bullet points in the level descriptor does not directly correlate to the number of marks in the level descriptor. When deciding how to reward an answer, examiners should consult both the indicative content and the associated marking grid(s). When using a levels-based mark scheme, the ‘best fit’ approach should be used: Examiners should first decide which descriptor most closely matches the answer and place it in that level. • examiners should first decide which descriptor most closely matches the answer and place it in that level • the mark awarded within the level will be decided based on the quality of the answer and will be modified according to how securely all bullet points are displayed at that level • in cases of uneven performance, the points above will still apply. Candidates will be placed in the level that best describes their answer according to each of the Assessment Objectives described in the level. Marks will be awarded towards the top or bottom of that level depending on how they have evidenced each of the descriptor bullet points • examiners of Advanced GCE English should remember that all Assessment Objectives within a level are equally weighted. They must consider this when making their judgements • the mark grid identifies which Assessment Objective is being targeted by each bullet point within the level descriptors • indicative content is exactly that – they are factual points that candidates are likely to use to construct their answer. It is possible for an answer to be constructed without mentioning some or all of these points, as long as they provide alternative responses to the indicative content that fulfils the requirements of the question. It is the examiner’s responsibility to apply their professional judgement to the candidate’s response in determining if the answer fulfils the requirements of the question. Paper 3 Mark scheme Question number Indicative content 1 Candidates may refer to the following in their answers: • comparison of the settings of the significant events, e.g. contrast between events in the day and night-time in the poems • comparison of the first-person narrative voice to describe the events, e.g. change from first-person plural to singular in Cows; the confessional setting of The Lammas Hireling • ways in which sensory description is used to tell the story of the event, e.g. the ‘torn voice’ in the Duhig poem; the ‘sound…from the cow’s throat’ in Cows • ways in which imagery is used to describe the events, e.g. Scott’s use of water imagery ‘sea of fields’, ‘like something washed up by the tide’; Duhig’s use of similes ‘fur over like a stone mossing’, ‘His eyes rose like bread’ • comparison of diction of the poems, e.g. regulated world of Cows with ‘folds of our map’ and ‘tin of Caran D’Ache pencils’; primitive and less rational world suggested by the vernacular archaisms of The Lammas Hireling • ways in which animals are significant in the events, e.g. Scott’s description of cows as ‘great’, ‘huge’, ‘a gang’; supernatural imagery of ‘cow with leather horns’ and the hare in The Lammas Hireling. These are suggestions only. Reward any valid alternative response. 2 Candidates may refer to the following in their answers: • comparison of ways in which the speakers feel helpless to protect their loved ones, e.g. ‘I tried to undo the knot’; ‘pretend all’s well’ • ways in which animals provide comfort and protection, e.g. ‘reassuring’ cat; the bullock’s heart ‘beating’ for the daughter • ways in which imagery is used to convey feelings of love and protection, e.g. spear carrier and ‘servant’ imagery of the speaker in A Minor Role; imagery of the young calf leaning his weight into his mother in Cows • comparison of form and structure and its effects, e.g. long sentences and enjambement in Cows; shorter sentences and lack of regular structure in A Minor Role • ways in which protection is approached in the poems, e.g. extended metaphor of the actor in A Minor Role; symbolism of the cow and calf in Cows • comparison of the points of view of the speakers, e.g. resignation of speaker in Cows that she won’t always be able to protect her daughter; exhortation of speaker in A Minor Role to ‘believe in life’. These are suggestions only. Reward any valid alternative response. Please refer to the Specific Marking Guidance when applying this marking grid. AO1 = bullet point 1 AO2 = bullet point 2 AO4 = bullet point 3 Level Mark Descriptor (AO1, AO2, AO4) 0 No rewardable material. Level 1 1–6 Descriptive • Makes little reference to texts with limited organisation of ideas. Limited use of appropriate concepts and terminology with frequent errors and lapses of expression. • Uses a narrative or descriptive approach that shows limited knowledge of texts and how meanings are shaped in texts. Shows a lack of understanding of the writer’s craft. • Demonstrates limited awareness of connections between texts. Describes the texts as separate entities. Level 2 7–12 General understanding/exploration • Makes general points, identifying some literary techniques with general explanation of effects. Aware of some appropriate concepts and terminology. Organises and expresses ideas with clarity, although still has errors and lapses. • Gives surface readings of texts relating to how meanings are shaped in texts. Shows general understanding by commenting on straightforward elements of the writer’s craft. • Identifies general connections between texts. Makes general cross- references between texts. Level 3 13–18 Clear relevant application/exploration • Offers a clear response using relevant textual examples. Relevant use of terminology and concepts. Creates a logical, clear structure with few errors and lapses in expression. • Demonstrates knowledge of how meanings are shaped in texts with consistent analysis. Shows clear understanding of the writer’s craft. • Makes relevant connections between texts. Develops an integrated approach with clear examples. Level 4 19-24 Discriminating controlled application/exploration • Constructs a controlled argument with fluently embedded examples. Discriminating use of concepts and terminology. Controls structures with precise cohesive transitions and carefully chosen language. • Demonstrates discriminating understanding of how meanings are shaped in texts. Analyses, in a controlled way, the nuances and subtleties of the writer’s craft. • Analyses connections between texts. Takes a controlled discriminating approach to integration with detailed examples. Level 5 25–30 Critical and evaluative • Presents a critical evaluative argument with sustained textual examples. Evaluates the effects of literary features with sophisticated use of concepts and terminology. Uses sophisticated structure and expression. • Exhibits a critical evaluation of the ways meanings are shaped in texts. Displays a sophisticated understanding of the writer’s craft. • Evaluates connections between texts. Exhibits a fully integrated approach with sophisticated use of examples.