Writing skills — AQA A-Level English Language
Test yourself on Writing skills with AQA A-Level practice questions.
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Writing skills explained
This skill is about writing an academic essay that discusses language issues in a discursive way.
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Discursive writing explores more than one side of a debate, weighs evidence and reaches a reasoned position. For example, an essay on whether social media is damaging young people's language might present arguments about reduced attention and informal register, then counter-arguments about creativity, code-switching and new literacies, before concluding that the effects depend on context and genre. You need a clear line of argument, coherent paragraphs, precise linguistic terminology, relevant examples and references to discourses such as prescriptivism or language change. The essay should sound academic: formal register, measured tone, signposted development and conclusions that follow from the evidence discussed.
writing analytically about texts as parts of discourses about language
This skill means treating any text about language not as a neutral description but as a contribution to an ongoing debate. A discourse is a patterned way of talking and thinking about a topic, carrying assumptions, values and typical vocabulary. To write analytically, identify the discourse a text belongs to, quote its linguistic evidence, and explain what that framing includes, excludes or assumes. For example, a newspaper column calling texting 'an assault on literacy' draws on a decline discourse, using metaphors of damage and crisis. You would quote the metaphor, name the discourse, and analyse how it positions readers to accept a particular view of young people and standard English. Analysis therefore links close language evidence to wider arguments about language, rather than summarising the text or agreeing with it.
writing about language issues in a variety of forms to communicate their ideas to a non-specialist audience.
This skill is about adapting your knowledge of language study for readers who have not studied linguistics. You must choose a form that suits the purpose, such as a broadsheet opinion article, a blog post, a letter to an editor, a speech or a leaflet, and shape content, tone and structure accordingly. A non-specialist audience needs key terms explained in accessible language, concrete examples and a clear line of argument. For instance, an article arguing that regional accents face prejudice might open with an anecdote, define 'accent prejudice' in plain terms, use a short example of a hiring decision, and close with a recommendation. You still draw on linguistic concepts, but you translate them rather than display jargon. Assessment rewards a consistent form, an appropriate register, coherent organisation and ideas that remain accurate while being accessible.
Your focus
- Plan and write a discursive academic essay that addresses a language issue from more than one perspective.
- Use coherent structure, academic register and linguistic terminology to develop a reasoned argument.
- Support claims with relevant evidence and reach a conclusion that follows from the discussion.
Show all 9 objectives
- Identify the discourse or discourses a language text participates in.
- Select and quote linguistic evidence that constructs that discourse.
- Explain how textual choices position readers within wider debates about language.
- Select a form and register appropriate to a non-specialist audience and purpose.
- Explain linguistic ideas accurately using accessible language and concrete examples.
- Sustain coherent organisation and a consistent voice throughout the piece.
Writing skills exam tips
Marking Points
- Establish a clear focus and line of argument about a language issue, making the debate and your position evident to the reader.
- Organise the essay into coherent paragraphs that develop the argument, using discourse markers and topic sentences to guide the reader.
- Present and weigh different perspectives on the issue, using evidence, examples and linguistic concepts rather than assertion alone.
- Use accurate terminology and reference relevant discourses about language, such as standard language ideology or language and power, to support analysis.
- Maintain an academic register and a reasoned, evaluative tone, and reach a conclusion that follows from the discussion.
- Identifies the discourse or competing discourses a text participates in, such as decline, diversity, identity or prescriptivism, rather than only labelling its topic.
- Supports the identification with precise textual evidence, quoting or referencing specific lexical choices, metaphors, pronouns or syntactic patterns.
- Explains how those choices construct a stance and position the reader, for example through inclusive 'we' or alarmist metaphor.
- Links the text to wider debates about language, showing how it takes up, modifies or challenges existing arguments.
- Maintains an analytical register, using cautious modality and evaluative verbs such as 'constructs', 'implies' or 'positions' rather than simply asserting agreement or disagreement.
- Structures the analysis so each paragraph moves from evidence to interpretation to significance for the discourse.
- Distinguishes between describing a text's content, identifying its discourse and diagnosing its persuasive effect on readers.
- Selects a form and register that fit the stated purpose and audience, sustaining conventions such as headline, salutation or direct address throughout.
- Explains linguistic concepts in accessible terms, defining or illustrating terminology rather than assuming specialist knowledge.
- Uses concrete examples, anecdotes or analogies to make abstract language issues vivid for a general reader.
- Organises ideas coherently with a clear opening, developed argument and purposeful conclusion suited to the chosen form.
- Maintains an appropriate tone, for example persuasive, informative or reflective, without becoming overly technical or patronising.
- Keeps linguistic claims accurate while simplifying expression, so accessibility does not become distortion.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Plan the essay around a clear debate question, noting arguments for and against before you begin writing.
- 💡Use topic sentences and connectives to make the development of your argument easy to follow.
- 💡Reserve time to check that your conclusion answers the question and follows logically from the evidence you have discussed.
- 💡Underline the text's key evaluative words and metaphors before writing, then build your analysis around them.
- 💡Name the discourse explicitly but briefly, then spend most words on evidence and effect.
- 💡Use hedged analytical phrasing such as 'this suggests' or 'this positions readers to' to keep a scholarly tone.
- 💡Plan the form first, noting its typical features, then map your argument onto that structure.
- 💡Read your draft as if you were the intended reader and remove anything that assumes specialist study.
- 💡Keep one clear central argument and use examples to support it rather than listing many issues.
Common Mistakes
- Writing a one-sided argument that lists opinions without considering counter-arguments; correct this by including and evaluating at least one alternative perspective before concluding.
- Using informal or conversational language, such as slang or rhetorical questions, in an academic essay; correct this by maintaining a formal register and precise terminology.
- Making claims about language without evidence or examples; correct this by supporting each point with a specific linguistic example, study or observed pattern.
- Summarising what the text says instead of analysing how it frames language; correct this by making every paragraph begin from a quoted choice and its effect.
- Treating a discourse label as a conclusion rather than a tool; correct this by using the label to open analysis of evidence, not to replace it.
- Assuming the text's viewpoint is simply true or false; correct this by analysing how the text persuades and what assumptions it relies on.
- Confusing description with diagnosis; correct this by moving from what the text says to how it positions readers and what it assumes.
- Writing an essay for an examiner rather than the named audience; correct this by adopting the conventions and address of the chosen form.
- Overloading the piece with unexplained terminology; correct this by defining terms briefly or replacing them with plain equivalents.
- Losing the argument in decoration such as jokes or rhetorical questions; correct this by ensuring every device advances the central point.