English – First Language 0500 · Cambridge O Level / IGCSE
Paper 3: Coursework Portfolio
Not applicable (coursework) · 80 marks · 50%
- Duration
- Not applicable (coursework)
- Marks
- 80
- Practice here
- 140
What is on this paper
- Three extended writing assignments
- Internally assessed and externally moderated
How it is weighted
- 50%
Which papers you sit
All candidates take two components: Paper 1, and one of Paper 2 or Component 3. Candidates will be eligible for grades A* to G.
Component 4 is optional and assesses speaking and listening skills. It is separately endorsed and its marks do not contribute to the overall grade.
Assessment details are taken from the official Cambridge English – First Language 0500 syllabus for 2027-2029. Read the syllabus ↗
Practise the topics on Paper 3
All English – First Language topics →140 original questions, each with a full worked solution. Free to read, no account needed.
Comprehension: Explicit and Implicit Meaning
Locate and state information and ideas that a text says directly, and work out meanings, attitudes and feelings that…
Summary Writing
Identify the key points relevant to a given focus across a text, then rewrite them concisely and in your own words as…
Directed Writing: Transforming Texts
Take ideas and information from one or two reading texts and reshape them into a new text type (e.g. speech, letter…
Narrative Composition
Tell an engaging, well-paced story built around a clear structure (setup, complication, resolution) with convincing…
Descriptive Composition
Create a vivid, sensory picture of a person, place or moment using carefully chosen detail and figurative language…
Analysing Writers' Effects and Language Choices
Explain how word choice, imagery, figurative language and sentence structure are used deliberately to create effects…
Selecting and Using Evidence for a Purpose
Search a text efficiently and pick out only the details relevant to a specific question or task, filtering out…
Register and Tone for Audience and Purpose
Match vocabulary, tone and level of formality to who is being addressed and why, adjusting register consistently…
Structuring an Extended Written Response
Plan and organise facts, ideas and opinions into a coherent sequence of paragraphs with clear openings, logical…
Evaluating Viewpoint, Argument and Bias
Weigh up the facts, ideas and opinions a writer presents, judge how persuasive or one-sided the argument is, and…
Crafting Vocabulary and Sentence Variety
Build a wider, more precise vocabulary and vary sentence length and structure deliberately for emphasis, pace and…
Coursework: Discursive and Argumentative Writing
Respond to a reading text or texts by building a discursive, argumentative or persuasive piece that develops a clear…
Coursework: Planning, Drafting and Redrafting
Use the untimed nature of a coursework portfolio to plan, draft, review and improve extended writing assignments…
Presentation and Conversation Skills
Deliver a planned individual talk with clear structure and register, then listen closely and respond appropriately and…