AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 and 2: every question explained
All 10 questions on the two AQA papers: what each one asks, the marks, how long to spend, what the best answers do, the usual mistakes and a way to tackle it.
Written in our own words from the board’s published papers and examiners’ reports. Show Working is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by AQA.
02 / Paper 11 hour 45 minutes · 80 marks · 50% of the GCSE
Paper 1: Explorations in creative reading and writing
One extract from a novel or short story written in the 20th or 21st century. About 15 minutes reading, 45 minutes on the reading questions and 45 minutes on the writing.
Question 1 / Finding information (AO1)4 marks · about 5 minutes
Paper 1 Question 1: finding information
Multiple choice
Four short multiple-choice questions on the first few lines of the extract. Each has three answers and only one is right. They follow the order of the text.
What the best answers do
Gets all four by reading each line carefully, in order.
Checks the exact wording: one answer is often close but not quite what the text says.
The usual mistakes
Answering from memory of the whole extract instead of the named lines.
Picking the answer that sounds likely rather than the one the text actually says.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines once.
For each question, find the sentence it is about and read it again before choosing.
Do not spend more than five minutes: it is only 4 marks.
Question 2 / Language analysis (AO2)8 marks · about 10 minutes
Paper 1 Question 2: language analysis
Written answer
How the writer uses language in a printed section of about ten lines to show something (a place, a feeling, a person). Words and phrases, techniques and sentence forms all count.
What the best answers do
Picks short quotations, often single words, and zooms in on them.
Explains how and why each choice works, not just what it is called.
Uses terms (verb, simile, short sentence) accurately, as a way into the effect.
Reads images for what they suggest, not literally.
The usual mistakes
Long quotations, which make it impossible to discuss one word.
Naming a technique and stopping there, or saying it “makes the reader want to read on”.
Mixing up terms, for example adjective and adverb, or using “semantic field” for a single word.
Pasting a dictionary definition of a technique as if it were the effect.
Writing about structure or the whole text. This question is only about the language in the printed lines.
How to tackle it
Read only the lines named. Underline four or five words or phrases that do the most work.
For each one: what does it suggest? Why this word and not a plainer one?
Name the feature only where it helps you explain.
Link every point back to the focus of the question.
Question 3 / Structure (AO2)8 marks · about 10 minutes
Paper 1 Question 3: structure
Written answer
How the writer has structured the whole extract to create one named effect, such as tension or a sense of mystery. Structure means the order things come in: openings, shifts of focus, changes of time or place, what is held back and where the ending leaves you.
What the best answers do
Stays on the named effect all the way through. Writing about structure without it is held back.
Asks why this moment comes here: why open on this, why shift now, why end there.
Covers the beginning, a turning point and the ending, with precise references.
Uses structural terms (shift in focus, foreshadowing, contrast, cyclical) accurately.
The usual mistakes
Retelling the story “at the beginning… in the middle… at the end” without saying why.
Analysing single words. That is language, and belongs in Question 2.
Saying a feature “keeps the reader interested” without explaining how it creates the named effect.
How to tackle it
Split the extract into three or four sections. What is the focus of each?
Find where the focus shifts, and ask what the shift does to the named effect.
Write about the opening, one or two shifts, and the ending, in that order.
Question 4 / Evaluation (AO4)20 marks · about 20 minutes
Paper 1 Question 4: evaluation
Written answer
A statement about the second half of the extract, always in two parts. You say how far you agree, and/or disagree, with your impressions, the writer’s methods and references to the text.
What the best answers do
Gives a clear, convincing judgement on both parts of the statement.
Shows how the writer’s methods create the impressions, with precise, well-chosen references.
Stays in the named section, bringing in earlier details only when they link to it.
Thinks about big ideas the extract raises, such as power, fear or loneliness.
The usual mistakes
Forcing a disagreement. You can agree entirely, and forced disagreement weakens answers.
Writing about the whole extract instead of the named lines.
General comments about the statement with no specific details.
Running out of time: this is worth more than Questions 1 to 3 put together.
How to tackle it
Underline the two parts of the statement.
Find three or four moments in the named lines that test it.
For each: your view, the evidence, how the method creates the impression, and how far that supports the statement.
End with an overall judgement in a sentence.
Question 5 / Writing40 marks · about 45 minutes
Paper 1 Question 5: writing
40 marks: 24 for content and organisation, 16 for technical accuracy. In the exam you choose one of two tasks. The picture is a starting point, not a tour: use it to get going, then go beyond it.
03 / Paper 21 hour 45 minutes · 80 marks · 50% of the GCSE
Paper 2: Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives
Two non-fiction texts on the same theme: one from the 19th century, one from the 20th or 21st. About 15 minutes reading, 45 minutes on the reading questions and 45 minutes on the writing.
Question 1 / Finding information (AO1)4 marks · about 5 minutes
Paper 2 Question 1: finding information
Multiple choice
Eight statements about a few lines of one source. You choose the four that are true. The statements follow the order of the text.
What the best answers do
Gets four out of four by checking each statement against the exact lines.
Reads phrases with their real meaning, including idioms and figures of speech.
The usual mistakes
Choosing more or fewer than four.
Taking a figurative phrase literally, or the other way round.
Going beyond the named lines.
How to tackle it
Read all eight statements, then the lines, in order.
Mark each statement true, false or not stated.
Only true counts: “not stated” is false.
Question 2 / Summary and inference (AO1)8 marks · about 8 minutes
Paper 2 Question 2: summary and inference
Written answer
A summary of the differences (or similarities) between the two sources on a narrow focus, such as the places or the people. You use details from both and say what you can infer from them.
What the best answers do
Makes clear statements of difference, each backed by evidence from both sources.
Goes past the obvious: explains what the details suggest, not just what they say.
Keeps to the focus of the question.
The usual mistakes
Writing about the writers’ attitudes or methods. That is Questions 3 and 4.
Stating facts (“the city is busy”) without an inference about what they show.
Writing about one source much more than the other.
How to tackle it
Find two or three details on the focus in each source.
Pair them up: in A this, whereas in B that.
After each pair, explain what the details suggest about the difference.
Question 3 / Language analysis (AO2)12 marks · about 12 minutes
Paper 2 Question 3: language analysis
Written answer
How the writer of one source uses language in a set section to describe or present something. Language only: words, phrases, techniques and sentence forms.
What the best answers do
Picks short quotations, often single words, and zooms in on them.
Explains how and why each choice works, not just what it is called.
Uses terms (verb, simile, short sentence) accurately, as a way into the effect.
Reads images for what they suggest, not literally.
The usual mistakes
Long quotations, which make it impossible to discuss one word.
Naming a technique and stopping there, or saying it “makes the reader want to read on”.
Mixing up terms, for example adjective and adverb, or using “semantic field” for a single word.
Pasting a dictionary definition of a technique as if it were the effect.
Writing about the other source. This question is about one source only.
How to tackle it
Read only the lines named. Underline four or five words or phrases that do the most work.
For each one: what does it suggest? Why this word and not a plainer one?
Name the feature only where it helps you explain.
Link every point back to the focus of the question.
Question 4 / Comparison (AO3)16 marks · about 20 minutes
Paper 2 Question 4: comparison
Written answer
A comparison of the two writers’ ideas and perspectives on the theme, across both whole sources, with comments on the methods they use to put them across.
What the best answers do
Compares the writers’ feelings and viewpoints, and explains them, rather than listing what each text contains.
Uses methods (tone, language, structure) as evidence for the perspectives.
Moves between the sources throughout, with precise references from both.
The usual mistakes
Comparing methods only (“both use similes”). The comparison is of ideas and perspectives.
Assuming things about the writers that the texts do not support.
Quoting without explaining what the quotation shows about the viewpoint.
How to tackle it
Sum up each writer’s overall view in a sentence.
Find three points of comparison: where they agree, differ, or feel differently.
For each: writer A’s view and how it is shown, then writer B’s, with a comparative word (whereas, similarly).
Question 5 / Writing40 marks · about 45 minutes
Paper 2 Question 5: writing
40 marks: 24 for content and organisation, 16 for technical accuracy. In the exam there is one writing task and no choice. The form, audience and purpose are set for you.
English Language is built for the Show Working app, but it isn’t on phones yet: it will arrive in an update, and we won’t give a date until it’s ready. When it comes, AQA pupils get:
4 practice sets laid out like the AQA papers, with our own texts and classic passages, 16 questions, a timer, model answers and a tick-yourself checklist. The first set of Paper 1 is free.
4 writing tasks, each with a plan, a model answer and a checklist.
525 skill questions on 14 topics, from language techniques to apostrophes.
No mark or grade, ever. Nothing you write is marked by an AI. You compare your answer with ours and tick what you did.
How long are the AQA GCSE English Language papers?
Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and is worth 80 marks, 50% of the GCSE. About 15 minutes reading, 45 minutes on the reading questions and 45 minutes on the writing. Paper 2 lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and is worth 80 marks, 50% of the GCSE. About 15 minutes reading, 45 minutes on the reading questions and 45 minutes on the writing.
What texts are on AQA English Language Paper 1 and 2?
Paper 1: one extract from a novel or short story written in the 20th or 21st century. Paper 2: two non-fiction texts on the same theme: one from the 19th century, one from the 20th or 21st.
Which reading question is worth the most marks on the AQA papers?
On Paper 1: Question 4 (20 marks, evaluation), so give it about 20 minutes. On Paper 2: Question 4 (16 marks, comparison), so give it about 20 minutes. On both papers the writing is worth more than any single reading question.
Our own questions and words. Show Working is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by AQA. Always check the details of your own exam with your teacher.
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