Make Your Own Ted Hughes Cambridge IGCSE Poetry Exam Questions!
Studying Ted Hughes’ poetry for the Cambridge IGCSE can be both fascinating and challenging. His intense imagery, deep connections to nature, and powerful themes offer a lot to explore. To prepare effectively for the exam, creating your own practice questions is a fantastic way to test comprehension and analytical skills. Here’s a guide to crafting high-quality exam questions based on Hughes’ poetry.
If you’re looking for more support, click the ‘Learn More’ button below to view our complete Ted Hughes IGCSE Poetry teaching and revision pack:
Understanding the Exam Format
The Cambridge IGCSE Literature exam typically includes two types of poetry questions:
Unseen Poetry Analysis – where students analyse a poem they haven’t studied before.
Set Text Poetry Questions – where students answer questions on poems they have studied in class.
When creating your own questions, focus on the second type, making sure they align with the format of past papers.
Key Aspects to Consider
Before writing a question, think about the following aspects of Hughes’ poetry:
Themes – Nature, violence, survival, power, the animal kingdom, human struggle, etc.
Imagery & Language – Vivid descriptions, metaphors, similes, alliteration, etc.
Structure & Form – Free verse, enjambment, stanza structure, punctuation use.
Tone & Mood – Dark, intense, foreboding, contemplative.
Poetic Voice – Who is speaking? What perspective is used?
Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Exam Question
STEP 1: Take old Ted Hughes questions from past papers or specimen papers.
STEP 2: Break down the phrases and replace specific keywords with alternatives that relate to specific poems and themes.
The questions below are from the June 2023 paper.
The Thought-Fox (click here for the analysis of the poem)
Explore the ways Hughes strikingly depicts [how thoughts come to him as he writes] the poem.
Example alternatives:
Football at Slack
Explore the ways Hughes strikingly depicts [the excitement of a football match] the poem.
Roe Deer
Explore the ways Hughes strikingly depicts [an encounter with wilderness] the poem.
The Horses (click here for the analysis of the poem)
How does Hughes powerfully depict [his early morning walk in The Horses]?
Example alternatives:
How does Hughes powerfully depict the natural cycles of life and death in Relic?
How does Hughes powerfully depict the power of predators in The Jaguar?
You can also use other iGCSE Literature Cambridge exams!
Cambridge uses set phrases and a specific formula for their Literature exams, so even though there aren’t many questions available, you can make your own for any poem or poetry anthology, using the same phrasing as the examples below. They are all based on real poetry exams from 2020-2023.
How do [poet’s] words create strong feelings about [theme] in [poem]?
Explore the ways in which [the poet] makes the poem [poem name] so moving for you.
How does [poet] use words and images to striking effect in [poem]?
How does [poet] create a sense of [mystery / suspense / the unexpected] in [poem]?
Explore how [poet] powerfully conveys memories of [theme or setting] in this poem.
Explore the ways in which [poet] creates a powerful atmosphere in this poem.
How does [poet] vividly convey [key theme or idea] in this poem?
Click here to read the poem analysis of the ‘The Harvest Moon’ by Ted Hughes!
Practice Makes Perfect!
Try creating more questions using this structure for different Hughes poems. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll become in analysing and writing about poetry in the exam!
Thanks for reading!
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