How AQA English Language Is Assessed

AQA GCSE English Language (8700) is examined by two written papers sat at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework and no controlled assessment, so every mark comes from those two exams. A separate Spoken Language endorsement is also assessed, but it counts for 0% of the GCSE grade.

Paper	Content	Time	Marks	Weighting
Paper 1	Explorations in creative reading and writing	1 hour 45 minutes	80	50%
Paper 2	Writers' viewpoints and perspectives	1 hour 45 minutes	80	50%

The two papers are equally weighted: same length, same marks, same share of the grade. The subject is untiered, so every student sits the same papers and any grade from 1 to 9 is available.

The defining feature is that all texts are unseen. You do not study set texts and take nothing into the exam to read; the sources are printed on the insert and you meet them for the first time in the room. That makes English Language a skills subject — you are rehearsing transferable reading and writing methods, not memorising a novel.

Both papers share the same shape: Section A is Reading and Section B is Writing, worth 40 marks each.

Section	What it tests	Marks
A: Reading	Understanding and analysis of the source(s)	40
B: Writing	Your own extended piece of writing	40

The difference lies in the material:

• Paper 1 Section A gives you one prose fiction source (a 20th- or 21st-century literature extract). Section B asks for descriptive or narrative writing, linked to the theme of the reading.
• Paper 2 Section A gives you two linked non-fiction sources from different centuries: one is always 19th century, the other 20th or 21st. Section B asks you to write to present a viewpoint on the same theme, for a specified audience, purpose and form.

Paper 1 reads and writes fiction; Paper 2 reads and writes non-fiction. Fixing that split in your mind stops you bringing the wrong style to the wrong paper.

Paper 1 has five questions. Reading (Section A) is Questions 1 to 4 (40 marks); Writing (Section B) is Question 5 (40 marks). Each question targets a specific Assessment Objective.

Q	Task (2026 format)	Marks	AO
1	Multiple choice on a short line range	4	AO1
2	"How does the writer use language here…?"	8	AO2
3	"How has the writer structured the text…?"	8	AO2
4	Evaluation: "To what extent do you agree…?"	20	AO4
5	Descriptive or narrative writing (choice of two)	40	AO5/AO6

Question 1 changed for 2026. It is now a four-part multiple-choice question worth 4 marks (one mark each), where you shade a circle for the correct answer. This replaced the older "list four things" format. Question 5 splits its 40 marks as 24 for content and organisation (AO5) and 16 for technical accuracy (AO6).

Paper 2 also has five questions, but the marks are shared out differently because the reading section works across two sources and includes a comparison.

Q	Task (2026 format)	Marks	AO
1	Choose the four true statements on a short line range	4	AO1
2	Summary and inference across both sources	8	AO1
3	Language analysis of one named source	12	AO2
4	Compare the writers' ideas, perspectives and methods	16	AO3
5	Writing to present a viewpoint (set audience/purpose/form)	40	AO5/AO6

Question 2 changed for 2026. It was reworded to make the task clearer: you now infer and compare differences across both sources (for example, "What can you infer about the differences between the two…?"). Question 4 is the synoptic "draw together" task, comparing how both writers convey their perspectives. As on Paper 1, Question 5 gives 24 marks for content and organisation (AO5) and 16 for technical accuracy (AO6).

Every answer is marked against Assessment Objectives (AOs) — the skills the exam rewards. Reading uses AO1 to AO4; Writing uses AO5 and AO6.

AO	What it rewards	Overall share
AO1	Identify and interpret information; select and synthesise across texts	~10%
AO2	Analyse how writers use language and structure, using subject terminology	~17.5%
AO3	Compare writers' ideas and perspectives across two or more texts (Paper 2 only)	~10%
AO4	Evaluate texts critically, supported by textual references (Paper 1 only)	~12.5%
AO5	Communicate clearly and imaginatively; organise ideas; adapt tone and register	~30%
AO6	Range of vocabulary and sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation (SPaG)	~20%

Two facts about where AOs live are worth memorising. AO3 (comparison) appears only on Paper 2, and AO4 (evaluation) appears only on Paper 1. So comparison is a Paper 2 skill and evaluation is a Paper 1 skill; do not try to do the wrong one on the wrong paper.

AO5 (writing) is the single biggest objective at roughly 30%. Half of every paper's marks are for your own writing, so writing practice matters as much as reading practice.

AO6 covers spelling, punctuation, grammar and the range of your sentences and vocabulary. The specification requires it to be 20% of the marks for the whole qualification, and it is credited entirely on Section B, the writing task.

On each paper's Question 5, the 40 marks divide as:

• 24 marks (AO5) for content and organisation — your ideas, structure and style.
• 16 marks (AO6) for technical accuracy — accurate, varied and controlled writing.

That means 16 of every 80 marks on a paper, and 32 marks across the two papers, reward getting your spelling, punctuation and sentence variety right. On the reading questions, accurate writing helps your answer read clearly but earns no separate AO6 credit.

Both papers use levels-based mark schemes for the extended answers. The examiner reads your whole response, decides which described level band it best fits, and places it there. There is no checklist of separate marks to collect, so a sustained, well-argued answer beats a scattered list of disconnected points.

1. Thinking you can revise the texts in advance

Every source is unseen, so there is nothing to pre-read. What you revise is method: how to analyse language and structure, how to compare, how to write to describe, narrate and argue. Skills, not content, are what you carry into the room.

2. Mixing up which paper does comparison and which does evaluation

AO3 comparison is Paper 2 only; AO4 evaluation is Paper 1 only. Students who blur this waste time comparing on Paper 1 or evaluating on Paper 2 — neither earns the marks the question wants.

3. Treating the two writing tasks as the same

Paper 1 Question 5 is creative (describe or narrate); Paper 2 Question 5 is non-fiction (argue a viewpoint for a set audience and form). The tone, structure and purpose differ, so a story on Paper 2 or a speech on Paper 1 misreads the task.

4. Under-preparing the writing sections

Writing is 40 of 80 marks on each paper — half the qualification. Some students pour all their revision into reading analysis and neglect their own writing, then lose the largest single block of marks.

5. Forgetting SPaG is worth 20%

Careless spelling, punctuation and repetitive sentences cost real marks under AO6 on Question 5, where 16 marks ride on technical accuracy. Leaving a few minutes to proofread the writing task protects a significant share of the total.