For the AS Level English Literature poetry question (component 01, section 2), how far should students focus on the printed extract?

Student responses should be rooted in the printed extract to fulfil the main part of the question (Discuss X’s portrayal of X in the following extract from X) but should also range across the text to fulfil the secondary part of the question (…consider ways in which you find this extract characteristic of X). The dominant assessment objectives here are AO2, then AO1.  The secondary assessment objectives are AO4 and finally AO3 (light touch).  In most responses, 60-70% of the response will be based on analysis of the extract (AO1/2), with well-integrated references to the wider text or collection throughout (AO4).

For AS, there is no hard and fast rule about how many references to the wider text, or collection, students should make. Students should select references from the wider text or collection to support their argument as appropriate.