Approaching your exams? Fear not! Beyond is here to provide stage-by-stage guidance for AQA English Language Paper 1 revision, sharing hints and tips along the way. Our AQA English Language Paper 1 Revision blog covers each aspect of the exam, covering:
- AQA English Language Paper 1 Breakdown
- Reading the text
- Answering question 1
- Answering question 2
- Answering question 3
- Answering question 4
- Answering question 5
- Tips and tricks
- AQA English Language Paper 1 revision resources
Looking for exam-style questions? Check out this Paper 1 Micro Mock.
AQA English Language Paper 1 Breakdown
| Reading the text | N/A | 15 minutes |
| Answering question 1 | 4 marks | 4 minutes |
| Answering question 2 | 8 marks | 8 minutes |
| Answering question 3 | 8 marks | 8 minutes |
| Answering question 4 | 20 marks | 20 minutes |
| Answering question 5 | 40 marks | 40 minutes |
| Checking your work | N/A | 10 minutes |
| Total | 80 marks | 1 hour 45 minutes |
Reading The Text
- Suggested time spent: 15 minutes
What will I need to do?
Read an extract from a 20th or 21st-century piece of fiction (novel or short story). Any particularly unusual words will be marked with an asterisk and explained in a glossary at the bottom of the text.
Top tips
- Don’t skim through the text first time round – make sure you read it carefully.
- If there are any words or phrases you don’t understand, try to use their context in the writing to work out their meaning.
- Remember that you can write on the text as you go through it. Annotate your text carefully.
English Language Reading Paper 1: Question 1
- Worth: 4 marks
- Suggested time spent: 4 minutes
- Assessed via: AO1
- Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas. Select and synthesise evidence from different texts.
What will I need to do?
Locate four specific pieces of information, such as a description, from the text. There may be more than four available, and the information may be surface meaning (such as a fact) or implied meaning (such as a suggestion or hint). You can use specific quotations from the text or your own words, or both.
Top tips
- Read the question very carefully – the examiner is looking for particular things.
- Use the line references. Only look at the section of text you are asked to consider.
- Only give four pieces of information – this is a four-mark question, so don’t spend a long time on it.
- Make sure that your points are different – don’t say the same thing in different ways!
- Read carefully for implied meaning.
- Make sure you take your information from the text – don’t attempt to answer from memory!
English Language Reading Paper 1: Question 2
- Worth: 8 marks
- Suggested time spent: 8 minutes
- Assessed via: AO2
- Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.
What will I need to do?
Identify and analyse how the writer uses words, phrases, and language features to create particular effects. You will need to quote from the text directly and you will need to explain how the quotations you have chosen make your points.
Top tips
- Make sure you refer to language throughout your answer – try to use the vocabulary you have learned to discuss literary techniques.
- Use the line references to get to the appropriate piece of text quickly.
- Highlight on the text words or phrases you think you may use in your answer.
- Remember to use short, precise quotations from the text.
- It’s not enough to just identify the techniques being used – you must explain how they are effective.
Word bank
The following phrases may be useful when writing your answer:
- The writer / narrator uses / refers to / employs…
- The writer / narrator builds / creates / develops…
- The writer / narrator creates a mood / atmosphere / sense / feeling of…
- The use of simile / metaphor / personification creates a sense of…
English Language Reading Paper 1: Question 3
- Worth: 8 marks
- Suggested time spent: 8 minutes
- Assessed via: AO2
- Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support your views.
What will I need to do?
Identify and analyse how the writer uses structural devices to create particular effects. You will need to quote from the text directly and you will need to explain how the quotations you have chosen make your points. Structural features can be:
- Whole text: eg. beginnings / endings / perspective shifts;
- Paragraph level: eg. topic change / aspects of cohesion;
- Sentence level when they contribute to the whole structure.
Top tips:
- Make sure you refer to elements of structure throughout your answer – these include the form and type of sentences, the way the story and plot are put together and where and how certain types of words are used.
- Use the line references to get to the appropriate piece of text quickly.
- Highlight on the text words or phrases you think you may use in your answer.
- Remember to use short, precise quotations from the text.
- It’s not enough to just identify the techniques being used – you must explain how they are effective.
- Consider different ways to approach structure with this resource pack.
Word bank
The following phrases may be useful when writing your answer:
- The writer / narrator uses / refers to / employs…
- The writer / narrator builds / creates / develops…
- The writer / narrator creates a mood / atmosphere / sense / feeling of…
- The use of short sentences / ellipsis / longer sentences creates a sense of…
- The pace / rhythm of the text increases/decreases here so that…
English Language Reading Paper 1: Question 4
- Worth: 20 marks
- Suggested time spent: 20 minutes
- Assessed via: AO4
- Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references.
What will I need to do?
Evaluate how successful the writer has been throughout a section of the text. This will involve referring to language and structural devices the writer uses, but you will also need to show how the writer builds an effect over the course of the piece. Your answer will need to have an overview of the text supplied, as well as an understanding of specific details. You will need to give a personal opinion. You will need to use quotations in your answer.
Top tips:
- Use specific quotations from the text.
- Make sure you consider the question. This will often be a quotation from another student or teacher giving their impressions of the text. You must explain how and why you agree or disagree with this impression.
- Think about how the text changes throughout the section specified – how does the author take the reader on an emotional or psychological journey?
- Remember to refer to the reader – what impression does the author make on them?
- Make sure your answer is personal – you are offering a judgement – but it must be firmly backed up by the text.
- Don’t criticise the author too much – the text is likely to be regarded as a classic of English literature!
Word bank
- The following phrases may be useful when writing your answer:
- The writer / narrator uses / refers to / employs…
- The writer / narrator builds / creates / develops…
- The writer / narrator creates a mood / atmosphere / sense / feeling of…
- The reader is given the impression that…
- This is effective because…
- This creates a feeling of… by…
English Language Reading Paper 1: Question 5
- Worth: 40 marks
- Suggested time spent: 45 minutes
- Assessed via: A05 and AO6
AO5 (24 marks):
- Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences;
- Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts.
AO6 (16 marks):
- Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
What will I need to do?
Write an engaging, imaginative fiction piece which could be based on your real experiences or entirely made up. It should be appropriate to the purpose, audience and form stated in the task. One of the tasks will include an image which you will be asked to use as a stimulus for your piece.
Top tips:
- Make sure your piece is carefully structured – take two minutes to plan it first.
- Use a wide range of vocabulary, sentence structures and literary devices – this is your opportunity to show off!
- Make sure you have read the question carefully – it’s important that your writing fits the task given.
- Take great care with spelling, punctuation and grammar – 16 marks are available for technical accuracy.
- Print out a Section B support guide.
Word bank
Try including some of the following literary techniques in your writing:
- Alliteration
- Emotive language
- Irony
- Juxtaposition
- Metaphor
- Onomatopoeia
- Personification
- Sibilance
- Simile
Final Tips
When you know the time of your exam, work out what the timings for each question will be.
For example, if the exam begins at 1.30pm:
| Reading the text: | 1.30pm |
| Question 1: | 1.45pm |
| Question 2: | 1.49pm |
| Question 3: | 1.57pm |
| Question 4: | 2.05pm |
| Question 5: | 2.25pm |
| Checking your work: | 3.05pm |
| End of exam: | 3.15pm |
If you miss your timings, don’t panic. Move to the next question quickly – you can always return to the previous one if you have time at the end.
Read the text provided carefully. If you’re unsure of what some of the words mean, try to work out their meanings by looking at their context in the sentence.
Remember to read for implied meaning, as well as surface meaning.
Read the questions very carefully. If need be, underline key words so you are sure what you are being asked.
Look at the marks available and adapt your response accordingly. There is no point writing two pages for a eight mark question and half a page for a twenty mark question.
Write on your copy of the text if you want to. This is your exam paper – annotate and highlight as you need.
Keep quotations short – a few words at most.
Try to integrate quotations into your sentences.
Never criticise an author. You can evaluate their work, using evidence from the text, but do not make sweeping statements about whether you personally like or dislike the text.
Plan your written task – a spider diagram, list or flow chart will help you to create cohesion in your writing.
Pay attention to your spelling, punctuation and grammar. This is worth 16 marks in Section B of the exam. Don’t make silly mistakes, such as forgetting to use capital letters correctly.
Check your work carefully when you have finished. Use every minute you have!
Believe in yourself. You are prepared and YOU CAN DO THIS!
AQA English Language Paper 1 Revision Resources
All of the suggestions on this page are taken from the AQA English Language Paper 1 revision booklet which includes additional tasks and exercises and can be downloaded in full with a subscription.
There you have it! AQA English Language Paper 1 Revision laid bare…it doesn’t seem all that scary now does it? If you’re on a revision marathon, our Paper 2 revision blog can be found here. For any other English GCSE revision needs, simply click here. Good luck!
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