Edexcel International GCSE (IGCSE) English Language B (4EB1) Past Papers 2026

English Language B — Single Paper

Duration: 3 hours

Effect analysis in language questions — vague or generic reader response comments

Both 2023 and 2024 reports for Questions 3 and 6 explicitly flag that candidates 'did not always develop their comments on the intended effects' and made generic remarks such as 'makes it more interesting' or 'makes the reader want to read on'. This pattern alone prevents candidates from reaching Level 3 and above.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Tone recognition — missing humour, irony, and self-deprecation in literary non-fiction

The 2023 report for Question 6 notes that 'many candidates missed the humour in the text, seeing it as a gritty, realistic account'. Examiners praised those who appreciated 'the heavy irony and self-abasement' of the Bill Bryson extract. Tone is a frequent source of Level 4/5 marks that lower-ability candidates leave untouched.

4EB1/01 June 2023

Comparison quality in Question 7 — offering unsupported comparisons or comparing surface features only

Both years note that weaker candidates 'listed comparisons one after the other often with no references', focused on 'the use of full stops or commas' showing little understanding of writers' ideas and perspectives, or made comparisons that 'would need more development to go higher in the level'.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Coverage of both texts and all bullet points in Question 8

Examiners in both years noted that 'Text 2 sometimes was referenced less successfully' and that 'the third bullet point' was often covered most briefly or missed. Omitting a bullet point or only drawing on one text keeps responses in AO1 Level 2.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Punctuation variety in writing — reliance on full stops and commas only

Examiners commented across all Section B and C reports in both years that 'there was a lack of variety in the use of punctuation', that 'comma splicing' was common, and that 'candidates writing long, one sentence paragraphs or using very little sentence punctuation' were unable to reach AO5 Level 4.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Technical accuracy — comma splicing, missing apostrophes, homophones, and capitalisation

Identical lists of recurring AO5 errors appear in every Section B and C report across both years: 'missing basic sentence punctuation; comma splicing; missing or misused apostrophes; problems with homophones; misspelling of basic vocabulary; not capitalising I for the personal pronoun; missing capital letters at the beginning of sentences as well as random capital letters within sentences'.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Descriptive writing (Question 11) — sliding into narrative retelling instead of sustained description

Both years explicitly note that 'a significant number of candidates did not focus on the descriptive nature of the task and wrote narrative responses'. Some 'spent so much time on getting to the walk / place that the description itself was limited to a few lines'.

4EB1/01 June 2023, 4EB1/01 June 2024

Argumentative/discursive writing (Question 9) — relying on pre-taught scaffolding phrases and one-sided arguments

The 2024 report for Question 9 flags heavily scaffolded responses where candidates used pre-taught phrases such as 'I am going to be making strong and robust points on my stance', 'as the dust settles, where do we find ourselves?' and 'indubitably exigent' — phrases that 'were pompous and overly formal and broke up the flow of the candidate's argument'. One-sided arguments and responses that became repetitive through lack of ideas were also noted.

4EB1/01 June 2024