How AQA English Literature Is Assessed

AQA GCSE English Literature (8702) is examined entirely by two written papers sat at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework and no controlled assessment, so every mark you earn comes from those two exams.

Paper	Content	Time	Marks	Weighting
Paper 1	Shakespeare + the 19th-century novel	1 hour 45 minutes	64	40%
Paper 2	Modern text + poetry anthology + unseen poetry	2 hours 15 minutes	96	60%

Both papers are compulsory and both are closed book. Paper 2 carries more marks and more weight, mostly because it contains three separate tasks rather than two.

You study only one text per component: one Shakespeare play, one 19th-century novel, one modern text and one poetry cluster of fifteen poems. You do not choose which topics come up; you must be ready to write on any aspect of each set text.

Closed book means you cannot take a copy of any set text into the exam. This shapes how you revise more than any other single rule.

• For the Shakespeare and 19th-century novel questions, a short extract is printed on the paper, so you have some text in front of you, but you still have to write about the whole text from memory.
• For the poetry anthology, one named poem is printed, but the poem you compare it with is not printed, so you must know that second poem's quotations and ideas by heart.
• For the modern-text essay there is no extract at all. You quote entirely from memory.

Closed book is the reason quotation learning matters so much. You cannot flick to a page, so a bank of short, well-chosen quotations you can analyse is worth more than a vague memory of the plot.

The practical consequence: revise a handful of precise, versatile quotations per character and theme, and learn the analysis that goes with them, rather than trying to memorise long passages.

Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and is worth 64 marks. It has two sections, and you answer one question in each.

Section A: Shakespeare. You get one question on your play. It prints a short extract and asks you to start with that extract and then write about the play as a whole. The June 2024 Macbeth question, for example, read: "Starting with this conversation, explore how far Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a strong female character," with bullets directing you to the extract and then the whole play.

Section B: The 19th-century novel. The same shape: one question, a printed extract, and an instruction to write about the extract and then the novel as a whole.

Section	Task	Marks
A: Shakespeare	Extract + whole play	30 (+ 4 for AO4)
B: 19th-century novel	Extract + whole novel	30

Section A carries an extra 4 marks for AO4 (spelling, punctuation and grammar) on top of the 30 for the response, which is why the paper totals 64.

Paper 2 lasts 2 hours 15 minutes and is worth 96 marks. It has three sections, and each tests a different skill.

Section A: Modern texts. You get a choice of two essay questions on your studied modern text (for example An Inspector Calls). There is no extract, so every quotation comes from memory. This answer is marked on AO1, AO2, AO3 and AO4.

Section B: Poetry anthology. One poem from your cluster is printed, and you compare it with one other poem from the same cluster that you choose. This is a comparative response marked on AO1, AO2 and AO3.

Section C: Unseen poetry. You are given a poem you have never seen and answer a question on it (worth the most marks in this section), then a shorter question comparing it with a second unseen poem. This section is marked on AO1 and AO2 only.

Section	Task	Extract printed?
A: Modern text	Essay, choice of two	No
B: Poetry anthology	Compare printed poem with one other	Printed poem only
C: Unseen poetry	Analyse one, then compare two	Yes, both poems printed

Every answer is marked against Assessment Objectives (AOs), the skills the exam rewards. Knowing which AO each part of your answer serves helps you cover all of them.

AO	What it rewards	Rough share of total marks
AO1	An informed personal response, supported by textual references and quotations	~37.5%
AO2	Analysis of language, form and structure, and their effects, using subject terminology	~42.5%
AO3	Understanding of the context in which a text was written and received	~15%
AO4	Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG)	~5%

AO2 is the largest objective, so analysing how the writer creates meaning (word choice, imagery, structure, form) matters more than retelling what happens. A strong answer picks a short quotation, names the technique, and explains its effect—rather than simply summarising events.

A useful habit: for every point, quote briefly, analyse the method (AO2), and link it to the writer's ideas or context (AO3). That single move covers three objectives at once.

AO3 (context) and AO4 (SPaG) are not marked everywhere, so it is worth knowing exactly where each one counts.

• AO3 (context) is credited on the Shakespeare question, the 19th-century novel question, the modern-text essay and the poetry-anthology comparison. It is not assessed on unseen poetry.
• AO4 (SPaG) is credited on only two questions: the Paper 1 Shakespeare answer and the Paper 2 modern-text essay. Elsewhere, accurate writing helps your argument read clearly but earns no separate AO4 marks.

Context (AO3) means the ideas, beliefs and events surrounding a text, such as the Jacobean fear of the supernatural behind Macbeth, or the poverty of Victorian London behind A Christmas Carol. Weave it into your analysis; do not bolt on a paragraph of history that never touches the text.

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

1. Revising the plot but not quotations

Because the exam is closed book, examiners see plenty of answers that retell the story but cannot support a point with evidence. Learn a small bank of short, flexible quotations per character and theme, and the analysis that goes with each.

2. Forgetting the modern-text essay has no extract

Students used to the printed extracts in Paper 1 sometimes freeze on the Paper 2 modern-text essay, which prints nothing. Prepare to quote An Inspector Calls (or your text) entirely from memory.

3. Retelling instead of analysing (missing AO2)

AO2 is the biggest objective. Answers that summarise events without analysing language, form or structure sit in the lower bands. Name the method and explain its effect on the reader or audience.

4. Adding context that does not connect to the text (AO3)

A paragraph of Jacobean or Victorian history that never links back to the writer's choices earns little AO3 credit. Context should illuminate a specific moment in the text, not sit beside it.

5. Ignoring SPaG where it is marked

On the Shakespeare answer and the modern-text essay, 4 marks are available for AO4. Careless spelling and punctuation on these two questions throws away marks you could keep simply by proofreading.