100+ Free Cambridge IAL English Literature Practice Questions
Pass your Cambridge International A-Level Literature in English (9695) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.
A novel opens with the protagonist already on a battlefield, then loops back to explain how he got there. Which technique describes this opening?
Explore More Cambridge International AS & A Level
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
Key Facts: Cambridge IAL English Literature Exam
9695
Cambridge syllabus code
CAIE
4 papers
Required for the full A-Level
CAIE 9695 syllabus
A*-E
Grading scale
CAIE
100
Free practice questions here
OpenExamPrep
Cambridge IAL Literature in English (9695) is a 4-paper pre-university qualification. AS papers cover poetry, prose and drama; A-Level papers add Shakespeare, pre-20th century texts and post-1900 literature. Exams are graded A*-E with May/June and October/November sittings worldwide.
Sample Cambridge IAL English Literature Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your Cambridge IAL English Literature exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1A poem extends a single metaphor across many lines, developing parallels between lovers and a pair of compasses. What is this device called?
2Which term describes a deliberate, sharp turn of thought or argument in a sonnet, often at line 9 (Petrarchan) or line 13 (Shakespearean)?
3How is a Shakespearean (English) sonnet structured?
4A line of verse runs: 'Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?' What metre is this?
5Which narrative technique reports a character's thoughts in the third person while preserving the character's idiom and viewpoint?
6A poem repeats the consonant 's' across several lines ('the soft, slow sea slipped silently'). What is this effect called?
7Which rhetorical figure inverts the grammatical structure of two parallel clauses, as in 'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country'?
8Which technique deliberately understates a claim by negating the opposite, as in 'He was not unfamiliar with grief'?
9A novel opens with the protagonist already on a battlefield, then loops back to explain how he got there. Which technique describes this opening?
10Which term names a flashback that interrupts chronological order in a narrative?
About the Cambridge IAL English Literature Exam
Cambridge International A-Level Literature in English (syllabus 9695) is offered by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The full A-Level uses 4 papers: P3 Poetry and Prose (AS, 50 marks, 2h), P4 Drama (AS, 50 marks, 2h), P5 Shakespeare and other pre-20th century texts (A-Level, 50 marks, 2h), and P6 1900 to the present (A-Level, 50 marks, 2h). Each paper requires sustained essay writing, close textual analysis, and engagement with literary theory, context and form across poetry, prose and drama.
Questions
100 scored questions
Time Limit
P3 2h, P4 2h, P5 2h, P6 2h; 8h total across 4 papers for the full A-Level
Passing Score
Grade E is the minimum pass; A*-E count as passing grades on the A-Level certificate
Exam Fee
Set by exam centre; typical international entry fees £85-£130 per paper (Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE))
Cambridge IAL English Literature Exam Content Outline
Literary techniques and theory
Extended metaphor, conceit, symbolism, allegory, allusion, paradox, oxymoron, chiasmus, anaphora; sonnet forms (Petrarchan, Shakespearean), metre (iambic pentameter, trochee, dactyl), free indirect discourse, unreliable narrator, frame narrative; literary theory (formalism, feminist, Marxist, postcolonial, psychoanalytic, reader-response, New Historicism)
Shakespeare
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II/III, Henry IV/V; themes (kingship, ambition, gender, justice, mercy, revenge); soliloquy, aside, dramatic irony, foil characters; Elizabethan-Jacobean context
Pre-20th century literature
Romantic poetry (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Byron, Blake), metaphysical poetry (Donne, Marvell, Herbert); Victorian novel (Bronte, Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy); American Romantic (Hawthorne, Melville, Twain); Restoration comedy; pre-20th century drama (Sheridan, Wilde, Ibsen, Chekhov, Shaw); pastoral tradition
1900 to the present
Modernist fiction (Joyce, Woolf, Mansfield, Eliot, Beckett); post-war US (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner); post-war UK poetry (Larkin, Hughes, Plath, Heaney, Duffy); postcolonial (Achebe, Soyinka, Rushdie, Lahiri); Caribbean (Walcott, Naipaul); African American (Morrison, Walker, Baldwin); contemporary (Atwood, McEwan, Ishiguro, Mantel, Smith); magical realism (Marquez)
Essay craft
Sustained argument structure, sophisticated thesis, comparing texts within an answer at AS/A-Level, integrating quotations seamlessly, embedding theoretical frameworks, sophisticated conclusions that revisit thesis, addressing assessment objectives (AO1-AO5), contextual analysis (historical, biographical, cultural, philosophical, generic)
How to Pass the Cambridge IAL English Literature Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: Grade E is the minimum pass; A*-E count as passing grades on the A-Level certificate
- Exam length: 100 questions
- Time limit: P3 2h, P4 2h, P5 2h, P6 2h; 8h total across 4 papers for the full A-Level
- Exam fee: Set by exam centre; typical international entry fees £85-£130 per paper
Keys to Passing
- Complete 500+ practice questions
- Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
- Focus on highest-weighted sections
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
Cambridge IAL English Literature Study Tips from Top Performers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cambridge International A-Level Literature in English (9695)?
9695 is the CAIE syllabus for AS and A-Level Literature in English. The full A-Level uses 4 papers: P3 Poetry and Prose (AS), P4 Drama (AS), P5 Shakespeare and other pre-20th century texts (A-Level), and P6 1900 to the present (A-Level). Each paper is 2 hours and worth 50 marks.
How many papers does 9695 have and how long are they?
Four papers in total. P3 Poetry and Prose (2h, 50 marks, AS), P4 Drama (2h, 50 marks, AS), P5 Shakespeare and pre-20th century (2h, 50 marks, A-Level), P6 1900 to the present (2h, 50 marks, A-Level). AS-only candidates sit P3 and P4.
When are 9695 exams taken?
Cambridge IAL Literature in English exams are sat in the May/June and October/November series worldwide. A March series is also offered in India. Candidates can split AS and A2 components across sessions.
Are there set texts for 9695?
Yes. CAIE publishes set text lists each year, drawn from poetry, prose and drama. Set texts rotate every 1-3 years and typically include Shakespeare, a pre-20th century novel and play, post-1900 poetry, and contemporary prose or drama by writers such as Achebe, Atwood, Ishiguro and Plath.