AQA GCSE English Language
Explore your course, one topic at a time.
Course version · 8700Version from Sept 2017Change version
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Explore your topics
8 study areas
Reading1 topic
Writing1 topic
Spoken language1 topic
Assessment and exam guidance
What Gets Top Grades
Knowledge & Understanding
Demonstrates comprehensive and accurate knowledge
- Uses correct subject-specific terminology
- Shows detailed understanding of concepts
- Makes accurate connections between topics
- Demonstrates depth beyond surface-level knowledge
Application
Applies knowledge effectively to new contexts
- Selects relevant knowledge for the question
- Adapts understanding to unfamiliar scenarios
- Uses examples appropriately
- Shows awareness of context
Analysis & Evaluation
Develops sophisticated analytical arguments
- Constructs logical chains of reasoning
- Considers multiple perspectives
- Weighs evidence to reach justified conclusions
- Acknowledges limitations and nuances
Key Command Words
Give a single fact or term
Name, select, or recognise
Set out main features briefly
Give an account of what something is like or what happens
Give reasons with developed cause→effect chains
State similarities AND differences (both required)
Examine in detail showing cause→effect→consequence chains
Weigh up BOTH sides, reach JUSTIFIED conclusion
Make judgments about importance with justification
Show formula→substitution→calculation→answer with units
Tips and common mistakes
Common Exam Mistakes
Pitfalls to avoid in your exams
- •Retelling the text instead of interpreting it. Correction: for each point, ask what the detail suggests and why the writer chose it.
- •Dropping in a quotation without comment. Correction: follow every quotation with an explanation linking it to your point.
- •Treating one reading as the only possible response. Correction: phrase alternatives as 'a reader might' and justify each with evidence.
- •Retelling the text in order instead of selecting the most important ideas; correction: decide the main theme first, then choose only the details that support it.
- •Copying long phrases from the source; correction: paraphrase in your own words and quote only a few key words.
- •Writing about only one text when the task asks for synthesis; correction: plan points from each text and deliberately link them.
- •Adding personal opinion or evaluation when the task asks only for summary; correction: keep to what the text says and save judgement for analysis tasks.
- •Feature-spotting without explaining effect: naming a metaphor and stopping. Correction: always add what the image suggests and how it makes the reader feel or think.
Top Examiner Tips
Expert advice for exam success
- •Read the question first, then annotate the source for ideas that answer it directly.
- •Use short, precise quotations and integrate them into your own sentences.
- •When comparing sources, judge each against the stated purpose rather than listing similarities.
- •Read the question first so you know which ideas to look for as you read.
- •Annotate each source with a short gist sentence before you start writing.
- •Use connectives such as similarly, whereas and in contrast to show synthesis clearly.
- •Keep quotations short and integrate them into your own sentences.
- •Check that every paragraph links back to the main theme or themes.
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