Eduqas English Language Past Papers
Eduqas publishes its specification, past papers, mark schemes and annotated exemplar answers openly. They are linked here as they are.
How papers are handled here
Official papers are linked, never copied. Eduqas and WJEC own their question papers, source material and mark schemes. Every item below opens on eduqas.co.uk. This site hosts no copy of any of them and links to no paper-sharing site.
RCF English is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Eduqas or WJEC.
Official Eduqas materials
| Type | Component | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification page: specification, papers, mark schemes and resources | Both | Eduqas GCSE English Language |
| Full specification, teaching from 2015 | Both | C700QS specification PDF |
| Past papers and mark schemes portal | Both | Past papers and mark schemes |
| Additional assessment materials | Component 1 | Component 1 additional assessment materials |
| Annotated exemplar answers | Component 2 | Component 2 annotated exemplars |
| Exam guide | Both | English Language exam guide |
| Exam walk-through | Both | Exam walk-through resource |
| English Literature, for comparison | - | Eduqas GCSE English Literature |
The annotated exemplars are the most useful thing on this list
Eduqas publishes real candidate answers with examiner annotation and the mark awarded. They show exactly why one answer scored what it did on the same question another answer failed.
Almost no student reads them. Working through the Component 2 exemplars once will teach you more about the standard than doing a third past paper will, because a past paper tells you what you got wrong while an exemplar tells you what right looks like.
RCF Model Paper: Component 2
An original paper in the Component 2 structure: two unseen non-fiction texts about fighting a fire, one a 2023 newspaper feature and one written in the voice of an 1867 diary, followed by two transactional writing tasks. Two hours, eighty marks. Neither text is taken from any real publication; both were written for this paper.
Question paper
Both texts and all eight questions, in the Component 2 structure, for working under timed conditions.
- Section A: 1+1+1, 10, 1+1+1, 10, 4 and 10
- Section B: two tasks, 40 marks
- Prints cleanly on paper
Marking guide
Answers for all six reading questions, plain-English band descriptions, and full model answers for the evaluation question, the comparison and the letter.
- What separates the bands, per question
- Why each model answer works
- The faults that cost most marks
The other boards
All four boards now have at least one RCF model paper: the AQA Paper 2 model paper, the Edexcel model papers and the OCR Component 01 model paper.
The AQA Paper 2 model paper is also useful practice for Eduqas Component 2, since both pair a nineteenth-century non-fiction text with a modern one and both end in a comparison. The question tariffs differ, so use it for the reading skills rather than for the timing.
Questions about Eduqas past papers
Where can I get Eduqas past papers free?
From Eduqas itself. The past papers and mark schemes portal carries question papers and mark schemes for past series, and the specification and sample materials are free to download.
Some recent series are restricted to registered centres for a period after the examination. Your school will have access; ask a teacher rather than looking for the paper on a sharing site.
Should I use WJEC papers as well?
Be careful. WJEC and Eduqas are the same organisation, but the WJEC-branded GCSE English Language is the Welsh qualification and its structure is not identical to C700QS.
For mock conditions use papers headed Eduqas and carrying C700QS. WJEC papers are useful extra reading practice but will mislead you on timing.
How many past papers should I do?
Fewer than most students think, and each one properly. Two papers done under timed conditions and then marked carefully against the mark scheme are worth more than six attempted and never marked.
Read one set of annotated exemplars before your second paper. Knowing what the examiner rewards changes how you write the next one.
Related pages
Eduqas overview
Both components and the weightings.
Component 1
Literature and creative writing.
Component 2
Non-fiction and transactional writing.
GCSE English overview
All four boards compared.