Skills - Writing — AQA GCSE English Literature
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Skills - Writing explained
This skill is about writing clearly and coherently when you respond to literature.
Read the full explanation
The specification lists purposes such as describing, explaining, summarising, arguing, analysing and evaluating; these are writing purposes, not exam command words. Exam questions typically use command words such as 'How does...', 'Explore how...', 'Compare...' or 'To what extent...'. You must maintain a point of view, select and emphasise key points, and support ideas with relevant quotation and detailed textual references. For example, if asked how Shakespeare presents Macbeth's ambition, you might argue it is destructive, select Macbeth's Act 1 Scene 7 soliloquy, and embed 'vaulting ambition' before analysing the metaphor. Coherence means each paragraph builds logically on the last and links back to your argument.
accurate Standard English: accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.
This skill requires accurate Standard English: correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Spell common and complex words correctly, use punctuation like commas and apostrophes to clarify meaning, and write grammatically sound sentences. For example, distinguish between 'their/there/they're' and use apostrophes for possession, not plurals. Good grammar involves subject-verb agreement and consistent tense. In this specification, these skills (AO4) are assessed for technical accuracy in specific sections: Paper 1 Section A (Shakespeare) and Paper 2 Section A (Modern texts). Marks for technical accuracy are allocated to those sections, not to the 19th-century novel. Frequent errors can obscure your argument, so proofreading is essential to demonstrate control and secure these marks.
Your focus
- Students can produce clear and coherent essays that maintain a consistent point of view.
- Students can select relevant quotations and detailed textual references to support their arguments.
- Students can adapt their writing style to suit different purposes, such as describing, arguing, or evaluating.
Show all 6 objectives
- Students can spell common and complex words accurately in their writing.
- Students can use punctuation correctly to clarify meaning and structure sentences.
- Students can construct grammatically accurate sentences using Standard English.
Skills - Writing exam tips
Marking Points
- Clear and coherent writing is organised logically, with an introduction, developed paragraphs and a conclusion that follow a planned line of thought.
- Writing for different purposes means adapting tone and structure: describing uses vivid detail, arguing uses persuasive language, analysing breaks down methods, and evaluating weighs up effects.
- Maintaining a point of view involves consistently referring back to your central argument throughout the response, avoiding drifting into unrelated points.
- Selecting and emphasising key points requires choosing the most relevant moments or quotations rather than listing everything you know about the text.
- Using relevant quotation means embedding short, precise quotations that directly support your point; detailed textual references include specific acts, scenes, chapters or lines.
- Coherence is strengthened by using discourse markers (e.g. 'furthermore', 'in contrast') and by linking each paragraph back to the question.
- Distinguish writing purposes from exam command words: 'describe' and 'summarise' are purposes you may use, while 'How does...' and 'Explore how...' are typical command words that direct your response.
- Accurate spelling includes correctly spelling common words and increasingly complex vocabulary, including subject-specific terms like 'soliloquy' or 'metaphor'.
- Accurate punctuation involves using full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, apostrophes and semicolons correctly to clarify meaning and structure sentences.
- Accurate grammar requires subject-verb agreement, consistent tense, correct pronoun use, and avoidance of sentence fragments or run-on sentences.
- Standard English means avoiding non-standard forms such as double negatives ('I don't know nothing') or incorrect verb forms ('we was').
- Control of writing is demonstrated when errors are rare and do not impede understanding; ambitious vocabulary and varied sentence structures are used accurately.
- AO4 is assessed for technical accuracy in Paper 1 Section A (Shakespeare) and Paper 2 Section A (Modern texts); do not assume it applies to every response.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Underline the command word and key focus of the question before planning, so you know whether to explore, compare or evaluate.
- 💡Spend five minutes planning your line of argument and selecting three or four key quotations that you can analyse in detail.
- 💡Use short, embedded quotations and always follow them with analysis of specific words or techniques, linking back to your point of view.
- 💡Write a brief conclusion that summarises your argument and evaluates the text's overall effect, if the question asks for evaluation.
- 💡Leave five minutes at the end of the exam to proofread your work, focusing on spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- 💡If unsure about a complex word, choose a simpler word you can spell correctly to maintain accuracy.
- 💡Use a range of punctuation deliberately, such as semicolons to link related clauses or dashes for emphasis, but only if you are confident.
- 💡Read your sentences aloud in your head to check for grammatical errors and clarity.
Common Mistakes
- Retelling the plot instead of arguing a point. Correction: focus on answering the question with analysis, using plot only as brief context.
- Using long, unembedded quotations that disrupt the flow. Correction: embed short quotations into your own sentences to maintain coherence.
- Losing sight of the point of view by including irrelevant points. Correction: plan your response and check each paragraph links back to your central argument.
- Treating 'describe', 'explain', 'summarise', 'argue', 'analyse' and 'evaluate' as exam command words. Correction: these are writing purposes from the specification; exam command words are typically 'How does...', 'Explore how...', 'Compare...' or 'To what extent...'.
- Confusing homophones such as 'their', 'there' and 'they're'. Correction: learn the meanings and practise using them in sentences.
- Misusing apostrophes for plurals (e.g., 'apple's' instead of 'apples'). Correction: remember apostrophes show possession or omission, not plurals.
- Writing comma splices or run-on sentences. Correction: use full stops, semicolons or conjunctions to separate independent clauses.
- Inconsistent tense within a sentence or paragraph. Correction: proofread to ensure verbs stay in the same tense unless a shift is intentional.
- Assuming AO4 is assessed in every response, including the 19th-century novel. Correction: check the specification; AO4 is assessed in Paper 1 Section A (Shakespeare) and Paper 2 Section A (Modern texts).