AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1, Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (8700/1), lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and carries 80 marks, worth 50% of the GCSE. It comprises five questions across two sections: reading a literature fiction text in Section A, then writing a description or a narrative opening in Section B. Together with Paper 2, it makes up the whole of the written examination for the qualification.
The GCSE splits into two written papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2, each worth 50% of the final grade with no tier of entry for either. Spoken Language is assessed separately by teachers in the classroom and carries 0% weighting towards that grade. Preparing well for Paper 1 comes down to understanding what each of its five questions rewards, then practising against AQA's own past papers and mark schemes.
How is Paper 1 structured?
Paper 1 splits into two sections worth 40 marks each. Section A, Reading, runs through Questions 1 to 4 and is based on one literature fiction text, printed as Source A in a separate insert from the question paper. Section B, Writing, is Question 5 alone: a single description or narrative task. AQA advises around 15 minutes reading the source and the questions, roughly 45 minutes on Section A and roughly 45 minutes on Section B.
- Section A, Reading: 40 marks, Questions 1 to 4, based on Source A
- Section B, Writing: 40 marks, Question 5 only
What does Question 1 ask?
Question 1 carries 4 marks and assesses AO1: identifying and interpreting explicit and implicit information and ideas. It is multiple choice: students reread a specified set of lines from the start of the source, then answer four one-mark statements by shading one box for each. Every answer must draw only on the lines given in the question. Worth only 4 of the paper's 80 marks, it should take a few minutes, leaving most of Section A's 45 minutes for Questions 2 to 4.
What does Question 2 ask?
Eight marks are available for Question 2, which assesses AO2: analysing how writers use language to achieve effects. It asks how the writer uses language in a specified extract from the source, and the question prompt suggests considering words and phrases, language features and techniques, and sentence forms. Selecting precise quotations from within the given extract and explaining their effect carries more weight than simply naming techniques or describing what happens in the passage.
What does Question 3 ask?
Structure, not language, is the focus of Question 3, which is also worth 8 marks and assessed against AO2. It asks how the writer has structured the whole source to create a single named effect, for example suspense, so the answer needs to track that effect across the whole text without concentrating on one extract. Useful points to cover include what the writer introduces at the opening, how the focus shifts partway through, and how the source closes.
What does Question 4 ask?
AO4, evaluating texts critically and supporting judgements with references to the text, is assessed by Question 4, worth 20 marks, the largest single allocation in Section A. The question gives a statement about the second part of the source, states which part of the extract it covers, and asks to what extent the student agrees and/or disagrees. Its bullet points prompt consideration of the student's impressions, comment on the writer's methods, and support for the response with references to the text.
What does Question 5 ask?
Forty marks are on offer for Question 5, split between 24 marks for content and organisation, assessed against AO5, and 16 marks for technical accuracy, assessed against AO6: range and accuracy of vocabulary, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation. Students choose between writing a description, often linked to an image that they may use or ignore and write from imagination instead, or writing the opening of a story. AO6 must make up 20% of the marks across the whole GCSE specification, which is why technical accuracy carries real weight within this single task. AQA advises planning Question 5 before starting to write.
What separates higher-band answers in Questions 2 to 5?
Higher-band answers to Questions 2 and 3 select precise, well-chosen references to language or structure and explain their effect using accurate subject terminology, going beyond a list of techniques without analysis. In Question 4, the strongest responses build a sustained evaluative argument that keeps returning to the specified part of the source, weighing the writer's methods without retelling events. In Question 5, marks reward content and organisation that hold a reader's interest throughout, alongside vocabulary, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation accurate enough to meet the AO6 criteria. Checking a completed answer against AQA's published mark scheme is the most direct way to see which references and phrasing separate one band from the next.
How should a student prepare, and how does Paper 1 differ from Paper 2?
Preparation across Year 10 and Year 11 works best when built around AQA's own materials: past papers, their mark schemes, the updated sample assessment materials, and the Answers and commentaries document, which gives marked answers written to the current question wording. Examiner reports, also published by AQA, explain common misconceptions from each series. Practising Questions 1 to 4 as timed exercises against a fiction extract, then checking each answer against the mark scheme's assessment objective, builds the pattern recognition needed under exam conditions; practising Question 5 separately, with attention to technical accuracy, prepares for the extended writing task.
Paper 1 differs from Paper 2, Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives (8700/2), mainly in its source material and writing task, keeping the same overall structure: Paper 2 is also 1 hour 45 minutes, 80 marks and 50% of the GCSE, but its Section A reading questions are based on one non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text, unlike the single fiction extract in Paper 1, and its Section B writing task asks students to present a viewpoint, unlike the description or narration required in Paper 1.
Related guides
- AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 guide
- How to get a grade 9 in GCSE English Language
- GCSE English revision guide
- GCSE English tutors
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Frequently asked questions
- Can students use a dictionary in Paper 1?
- No. AQA's rules for Paper 1 state that students must not use a dictionary during the exam, whether answering the reading questions in Section A or writing in Section B. Because Question 5 marks 16 points for technical accuracy, including spelling and punctuation, preparation benefits from building vocabulary and spelling confidence well before the exam, since that support will not be available in the room.
- Does AQA tell students in advance what text will be used in Section A?
- No. AQA does not publish or preview the literature fiction extract set for Section A before the exam, and a different source text is used for each series. Because Questions 1 to 4 all respond to whatever extract appears on the day, preparation for Section A focuses on practising the skills each question tests, irrespective of the particular text.
- What grade counts as a pass in GCSE English Language?
- GCSE grades in England run from 9, the highest, down to 1. The Department for Education recognises grade 4 and above as a standard pass. This applies to the overall GCSE English Language grade, which combines marks from both Paper 1 and Paper 2; no separate grade is awarded for each paper.
- Do the Section A questions test spelling and grammar?
- No. AO6, which covers vocabulary, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation, is only assessed within Question 5. Questions 1 to 4 in Section A are marked against AO1, AO2 and AO4, which test comprehension, language and structural analysis, and critical evaluation; technical accuracy is not assessed here.
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