For A Level English Literature, how many poems do students need to write about?

If studying a poetry collection as their set text, students should aim for a focused discussion of 3-4 poems, with some reference to others in the collection where they fit the developing argument. This number is not a definitive guide, as poems vary in both length and content.

Ultimately, it is not about the number of poems students consider, but rather the quality of their response. Students need to be able to demonstrate to the examiner that they understand the style and concerns of the collection as a whole and can select appropriate material for use in their answer depending on the direction of the question.