Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 1 and 2: every question explained
All 14 questions on the two Edexcel 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 Pearson Edexcel.
02 / Paper 11 hour 45 minutes · 64 marks · 40% of the GCSE
Paper 1: Fiction and imaginative writing
One extract of about 650 words from a 19th-century novel or story. About 1 hour on the reading and 45 minutes on the writing.
Question 1 / Finding information (AO1)1 mark · about 2 minutes
Paper 1 Question 1: finding information
Multiple choice
One word or phrase from a few named lines that shows something specific.
What the best answers do
Gives one short, exact word or phrase from inside the lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines only.
Pick the shortest phrase that fully answers.
Question 2 / Finding information (AO1)2 marks · about 3 minutes
Paper 1 Question 2: finding information
Short answers
Two things you learn from a few named lines. You can quote or use your own words.
What the best answers do
Gives two separate points, each clearly from the named lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
Giving the same point twice in different words.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines.
Write two short, different points, one per line.
Question 3 / Language and structure (AO2)6 marks · about 12 minutes
Paper 1 Question 3: language and structure
Written answer
How the writer uses language and structure in a set section to show something. You must write about both: an answer on only one is capped low.
What the best answers do
Covers both language and structure, with well-chosen references.
Explores the effect of each choice on the reader.
Uses terms accurately.
The usual mistakes
Writing only about language, which caps the mark.
A checklist of devices with no sense of what the passage is doing.
Going outside the set lines.
How to tackle it
Find two language choices and one or two structural ones (an opening, a shift, a short paragraph, a change of pace).
Explain the effect of each in a few sentences.
Question 4 / Evaluation (AO4)15 marks · about 30 minutes
Paper 1 Question 4: evaluation
Written answer
The writer is trying to do something across a longer section (create tension, show a character). You evaluate how successfully it is done, with your own judgement and references.
What the best answers do
Makes a sustained, critical judgement of how well the writer succeeds, across the whole section.
Discusses methods only when they support the judgement.
The usual mistakes
Retelling what happens.
Focusing on a small part of the section.
Listing techniques without judging their success.
Not giving it the time: it is worth more than Questions 1 to 3 together.
How to tackle it
Decide your overall judgement first.
Choose four moments from across the section: start, middle and end.
For each: what the writer does, the evidence, why it works on the reader, and how far it succeeds.
Question 5 or 6 / Writing40 marks · about 45 minutes
Paper 1 Question 5 or 6: writing
40 marks: 24 for content and organisation, 16 for technical accuracy. In the exam you choose Question 5 or Question 6. One of them comes with two pictures; this one has none. Your answer can be real or imagined.
03 / Paper 22 hours 5 minutes · 96 marks · 60% of the GCSE
Paper 2: Non-fiction and transactional writing
Two non-fiction texts from the 20th and 21st centuries, about 1,000 words together, on a shared theme. About 1 hour 20 minutes on the reading and 45 minutes on the writing.
Question 1 / Finding information (AO1)2 marks · about 2 minutes
Paper 2 Question 1: finding information
Short answers
Two short points from named lines of Text 1.
What the best answers do
Two separate, exact points from inside the lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines only.
Write two short points, one per line.
Question 2 / Finding information (AO1)2 marks · about 2 minutes
Paper 2 Question 2: finding information
Short answers
Two short points, found or explained, from another part of Text 1.
What the best answers do
Two separate, exact points from inside the lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines only.
Write two short points, one per line.
Question 3 / Language and structure (AO2)15 marks · about 15 minutes
Paper 2 Question 3: language and structure
Written answer
How the writer of Text 1 uses language and structure to interest or persuade the reader, or to present a view. Both must be covered: an answer on only one is capped.
What the best answers do
A perceptive analysis of both language and structure.
Thinks about the kind of text and its reader, not just a list of devices.
Short, well-chosen references and accurate terms.
The usual mistakes
Covering only language, which caps the mark.
Device-spotting without effects.
Ignoring who the text is for and why it was written.
How to tackle it
Work out who the text is for and what it wants them to think or feel.
Find three language choices and two structural ones that serve that purpose.
Explain each, linking back to the reader.
Question 4 / Finding information (AO1)1 mark · about 1 minute
Paper 2 Question 4: finding information
Multiple choice
One short point from named lines of Text 2.
What the best answers do
One exact point from inside the lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines only.
Question 5 / Finding information (AO1)1 mark · about 1 minute
Paper 2 Question 5: finding information
Multiple choice
One more short point from another part of Text 2.
What the best answers do
One exact point from inside the lines.
The usual mistakes
Taking an answer from outside the lines the question names. It earns nothing, however true it is.
Using the introduction printed above the text. Answers must come from the text itself.
Copying out long chunks. Keep it brief and exact.
How to tackle it
Read the named lines only.
Question 6 / Evaluation (AO4)15 marks · about 15 minutes
Paper 2 Question 6: evaluation
Written answer
The writer of Text 2 is trying to do something (show a place, persuade, describe an experience). You evaluate how successfully, across the whole text.
What the best answers do
A sustained, critical judgement of how far the writer succeeds, across the whole text.
Discriminating references: the moments that matter most.
Methods discussed only when they support the judgement.
The usual mistakes
Retelling the text.
Writing about one part only.
Listing techniques without judging them.
How to tackle it
Decide your judgement first.
Take the text in order: opening, middle, ending.
For each part: what the writer does, evidence, why it works, how successful it is.
Question 7(a) / Synthesis (AO1)6 marks · about 6 minutes
Paper 2 Question 7(a): synthesis
Written answer
The similarities between the two texts on a named focus (the content, such as what the places are like), with evidence from both.
What the best answers do
Several clear similarities in what the texts say, each with evidence from both.
Short and to the point.
The usual mistakes
Writing about methods (“both use similes”) instead of content.
Writing about differences. They belong in 7(b).
Writing at length: it is only 6 marks.
How to tackle it
Find three things both texts say about the focus.
One sentence for each, with a short quotation from each text.
Question 7(b) / Comparison (AO3)14 marks · about 18 minutes
Paper 2 Question 7(b): comparison
Written answer
A comparison of the writers’ ideas and perspectives on the focus, and how they present them, across both texts.
What the best answers do
Compares a range of ideas and perspectives, and how they are put across.
Balanced across both texts.
Links each comparison back to the writers’ viewpoints on the focus.
The usual mistakes
Writing mostly about one text: an unbalanced answer cannot pass the second level.
Comparing devices without ideas.
Retelling the texts one after the other.
How to tackle it
Sum up each writer’s view of the focus in a sentence.
Three points of comparison, each covering both texts: idea, how it is presented, the difference or similarity.
Question 8 or 9 / Writing40 marks · about 45 minutes
Paper 2 Question 8 or 9: writing
40 marks: 24 for content and organisation, 16 for technical accuracy. In the exam you choose Question 8 or Question 9. Both are non-fiction tasks, and they can be the same form.
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, Edexcel pupils get:
4 practice sets laid out like the Edexcel papers, with our own texts and classic passages, 24 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 Edexcel GCSE English Language papers?
Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and is worth 64 marks, 40% of the GCSE. About 1 hour on the reading and 45 minutes on the writing. Paper 2 lasts 2 hours 5 minutes and is worth 96 marks, 60% of the GCSE. About 1 hour 20 minutes on the reading and 45 minutes on the writing.
What texts are on Edexcel English Language Paper 1 and 2?
Paper 1: one extract of about 650 words from a 19th-century novel or story. Paper 2: two non-fiction texts from the 20th and 21st centuries, about 1,000 words together, on a shared theme.
Which reading question is worth the most marks on the Edexcel papers?
On Paper 1: Question 4 (15 marks, evaluation), so give it about 30 minutes. On Paper 2: Question 3 and Question 6, at 15 marks each. 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 Pearson Edexcel. Always check the details of your own exam with your teacher.
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