AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2, formally Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives (8700/2), is a 1 hour 45 minute exam worth 80 marks, contributing 50% of the overall GCSE grade. It is sat alongside Paper 1, Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing, which carries the other 50%. The paper is split into a reading section and a writing section of equal marks.
Five questions make up the paper: three shorter reading questions and one longer comparison question on the two printed sources, followed by a single extended writing task. Each question rewards a specific assessment objective, and the mark schemes AQA publishes for past papers set out exactly what earns credit at each level, which makes them the most reliable starting point for deciding how to prepare and how long to spend on each question.
What are the two sources in Section A of Paper 2?
Section A of Paper 2 is the reading section, worth 40 marks, and it is built around two non-fiction extracts, Source A and Source B, printed together in an insert. One source is a non-fiction text and the other a literary non-fiction text, and the two are linked by a shared topic even though they take different angles on it, which is what the four reading questions ask students to explore and compare.
Section B is the writing section, also worth 40 marks, and consists of a single task in which the student writes to present a viewpoint on a statement connected to the theme running through both sources.
- Section A: Reading, 40 marks, 25% of the GCSE
- Section B: Writing, 40 marks, 25% of the GCSE
What do Questions 1 and 2 ask?
Question 1 is worth 4 marks: it points to a specified section of one source and asks the student to identify which of several statements about it are true, recording the answer by shading boxes instead of writing sentences. Both this question and Question 2 assess AO1, reading skills such as identifying and interpreting explicit and implicit information.
Question 2 is worth 8 marks and asks for a summary of the differences or similarities between an aspect of both sources. Because it draws on both texts and not one, it rewards inference and synthesis, so a strong answer makes points that combine or contrast detail from Source A and Source B instead of summarising each source in turn.
What does Question 3 ask?
Question 3 is worth 12 marks and assesses AO2, asking how the writer uses language in a specified part of one source to create a particular effect. It rewards close analysis of specific words, phrases and techniques, and an explanation of their effect on the reader, instead of general comments on what the source is about. Explaining a few well-chosen examples fully scores more highly than a longer list of examples with little analysis attached to any of them.
What does Question 4 ask, and how is the comparison marked?
Question 4 is the comparison question, worth 16 marks and assessed against AO3, comparing writers' ideas and perspectives and how these are conveyed across two or more texts. It asks the student to compare how the two writers convey their different feelings and perspectives on the shared topic, commenting on the methods each one uses and supporting every comparative point with references to both sources.
Because AO3 rewards comparison itself, a response that deals with Source A in full and then Source B in full, instead of moving between the two, tends to score lower even if the individual observations are accurate. Practising this question by making one point and setting it directly against the other source in the same paragraph, instead of writing two separate mini-analyses, builds the skill this question is designed to test.
What does Question 5 ask, and how is the writing task marked?
Question 5 is the single writing task in Section B, worth 40 marks, more than any other question on the paper. It asks the student to write, in a specified form such as an article, letter, speech or essay, to present a viewpoint on a statement linked to the theme of the two sources, for a stated audience and purpose.
The 40 marks divide into 24 for content and organisation, assessed against AO5, and 16 for technical accuracy, meaning spelling, punctuation and grammar, assessed against AO6. Because AO5 carries more of this question's marks than AO6, giving planning and structure as much attention as accuracy is time well spent, instead of treating proofreading as the only thing left to check at the end. Planning before writing begins is worth building into every practice attempt.
How should you prepare for Paper 2?
The most direct way to prepare is to work through AQA's past papers for Paper 2 under timed conditions, then mark each answer against the published mark scheme instead of guessing what would score well. AQA's mark schemes set out the specific content and skills each question rewards at each mark band, and the examiner reports published after each series explain where candidates commonly lost marks, which is often as useful as the mark scheme itself for spotting habits to avoid. Sample assessment materials provide further practice papers matched to the current question wording.
Reading a range of real non-fiction, such as newspaper articles, essays, speeches and travel writing, alongside the fiction reading needed for Paper 1, builds the vocabulary and awareness of viewpoint and structure that both sections of Paper 2 draw on. This wider reading is worth building up well before past papers become the main focus of revision, since it feeds directly into Questions 3 and 4, which both depend on noticing how a writer's choices create meaning.
- AQA past papers for Paper 2, attempted under timed conditions
- Mark schemes, to check answers against what actually earns credit
- Examiner reports, for where marks are commonly lost
- Sample assessment materials, for further practice with the current question wording
How does Paper 2 differ from Paper 1?
Paper 2 and Paper 1 are the same length and carry the same marks and weighting: 1 hour 45 minutes, 80 marks and 50% of the GCSE each. What differs is the material each one tests. Section A of Paper 1 is based on a single work of prose fiction from the 20th or 21st century and is assessed against AO1, AO2 and AO4, compared with the two non-fiction sources and the AO1, AO2 and AO3 reading questions on Paper 2.
Section B of Paper 1 is a creative writing task, describing or narrating in response to a scenario, prompt or image related to the fiction extract, whereas Section B of Paper 2 asks for a non-fiction viewpoint piece such as an article, letter, speech or essay. Both writing sections are marked against AO5 and AO6, so the technique for planning, organising and proofreading a response carries across both papers even though the content does not.
- Paper 1: one fiction extract, AO1/AO2/AO4 reading, creative writing task
- Paper 2: two non-fiction sources, AO1/AO2/AO3 reading, viewpoint writing task
Related guides
- AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 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
- Is AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 tiered?
- AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 has no tiers of entry, so every student sits the same paper and answers the same five questions, whatever their target grade. Because there is only one version of the paper, past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports all apply equally to every student taking the course, without needing to check which tier a resource is written for.
- Does Spoken Language affect the Paper 2 grade?
- No. Spoken Language is a separate non-exam endorsement, reported on the certificate alongside the GCSE grade instead of contributing to it, and it carries a 0% weighting towards the overall English Language grade. Preparation for it is therefore separate from preparation for Paper 1 and Paper 2, and nothing done for Spoken Language changes the marks available on either written paper.
- Why do spelling and grammar carry so many marks in Question 5?
- Question 5 allocates 16 of its 40 marks to AO6, technical accuracy such as spelling, punctuation and grammar, alongside 24 marks for AO5, content and organisation. AQA's specification requires AO6 to make up 20% of the marks across the whole English Language qualification, and the equivalent writing task on Paper 1 is assessed against the same two objectives, which is why technical accuracy cannot be left until last in preparation for either paper.
- What grade counts as a pass in GCSE English Language?
- GCSE grades in England run from 9, the highest, down to 1, and the Department for Education recognises grade 4 and above as a standard pass. This scale applies to the GCSE as a whole and not to Paper 2 in isolation, since the final grade is calculated from performance across both written papers. A student's mark on a single Paper 2 past paper is therefore useful for tracking progress on that paper's skills, but is not a grade prediction on its own.
- How can you check whether a child's practice answers are good enough?
- AQA publishes an Answers and commentaries document alongside its past papers, giving example answers to the current version of each question with examiner commentary on what makes them strong or weak. Used together with the mark scheme, which sets out the content and skills rewarded at each mark band, this is the most direct way to judge a practice answer against a real standard instead of a general impression of whether it reads well. Comparing a child's own attempt at Question 4 or Question 5 against these examples shows the gap between a competent answer and a top-band one.
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