AQA English Language Paper 1
One unseen fiction extract, four reading questions worth 40 marks, and one piece of your own writing worth another 40. The reading half rewards noticing; the writing half rewards planning.
AQA English Language Paper 1 is called Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, carries 80 marks and is worth 50% of the GCSE. Section A gives you one literature fiction extract from the 20th or 21st century and asks four questions about it. Section B asks you to write, choosing between a description prompted by a picture and the opening of a story.
What the paper looks like
| Question | What it asks | AO | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | List four things about a stated topic, from a short numbered section of the source | AO1 | 4 |
| 2 | How does the writer use language here to achieve a particular effect? | AO2 | 8 |
| 3 | How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? | AO2 | 8 |
| 4 | A statement about the second part of the source. To what extent do you agree? | AO4 | 20 |
| 5 | Write a description suggested by a picture, or the opening of a story | AO5, AO6 | 40 |
How to spend the 1 hour 45 minutes
First 15 minutes: read (AQA's advice)
The paper tells you to spend about 15 minutes reading the source and all five questions. Read the questions first, then the source. You will read it differently once you know that Question 4 is about the second half.
Next 45 minutes: Section A (AQA's advice)
Forty marks. An RCF suggestion for splitting it: about 5 minutes on Question 1, 10 on Question 2, 10 on Question 3 and 20 on Question 4. AQA does not publish per-question times, so treat this as a guide, not a rule.
Last 45 minutes: Section B (AQA's advice)
Forty marks for one piece of writing. Plan for five minutes, write for thirty-five, and keep five to check. The plan is what protects the 24 content and organisation marks.
What makes this paper different from Paper 2
- The source is fiction, and it is usually the opening of a novel. That is why Question 3 asks about structure - openings do noticeable structural work.
- There is only one source, so no comparison question. Paper 2's 16-mark comparison has no equivalent here.
- Question 4 is worth 20 marks, the largest single reading question on either paper, and it asks you to evaluate, which means agreeing or disagreeing with a statement and justifying it.
- The writing is creative, not persuasive. You are describing or narrating, not arguing a case.
The mark split most students forget
Section A is worth exactly as much as Section B. Forty marks of reading, forty marks of writing. A student who spends an hour on the reading questions and half an hour on the writing has given up marks in the half of the paper that is easiest to prepare for.
Before you turn over
Four habits that cost nothing and protect marks.
- Read the questions before the source, so you know what to look for.
- Underline the line numbers in each question. Questions 1 and 2 send you to specific lines, and answering from the wrong part of the text earns nothing.
- Note which question is worth 20 marks, and reserve time for it.
- Decide early whether you will do the description or the story in Section B - do not change your mind at minute 70.
Next
Paper 1 question by question
Questions 1 to 4 with methods, worked examples and practice.
Paper 1 creative writing
Question 5, and the 24 plus 16 mark split.
RCF Model Paper 1
An original practice paper in the Paper 1 format.