Quick guides for students
Short guides for GCSE English students: what each exam asks, how to write about the set texts and how to revise.
Your two English GCSEs and their four exams
English is two GCSEs, English Language and English Literature, and each one has two exams. This page sets out what each paper asks, how long you have, the marks and the dates in 2027.
How to write a What–How–Why paragraph
A What–How–Why paragraph makes a point, shows how the writer gets it across and explains why the writer did it. A model paragraph on Macbeth shows each part at work.
How to start an essay with a thesis statement
A thesis is your answer to the question in one sentence, at the start of your essay. Build one with the frame that suits you, then compare it with examples for the set texts.
How to learn quotations so they stay learned
Literature exams are closed book, so your quotations have to come from memory. This method helps you pick the right ones and keep them until the exam.
A Christmas Carol: the story, stave by stave
On Christmas Eve three spirits visit a mean old businessman, and by Christmas morning he is a changed man. Each stave is retold in plain English, with the main characters and ideas.
A Christmas Carol: quotations to learn
Twenty-two quotations from all five staves, checked word for word against the text. Each one comes with who says it, where it is and what it shows.
Macbeth: the story, act by act
Witches tell a brave soldier that he will be king, and he murders his way to the throne. Read what happens in every act, then the main characters and ideas.
Macbeth: quotations to learn
Twenty quotations from Macbeth, each with its speaker, its act and scene, and a plain explanation of what it shows.
An Inspector Calls: the story, act by act
A police inspector interrupts a family celebration and shows that each of them played a part in a young woman’s death. Read the plot act by act, then Eva Smith’s story in order, the characters and the ideas.
An Inspector Calls: quotations to learn
The exam question on An Inspector Calls has no extract, so every quotation comes from memory. These are short, checked lines that each do more than one job.
Power and Conflict: the fifteen poems in brief
A quick reminder of every poem in the cluster, grouped by the idea they share. Each one has the poet, what happens, the main idea and a short quotation to learn.
How to answer the extract question
Both questions on Literature Paper 1 start with an extract and end with the whole text. Give each one about 50 minutes, with the first ten for reading and planning.
A routine for any unseen poem
The last section of Literature Paper 2 gives you poems you have never seen. A four-step routine takes you from a first reading to a plan, and the comparison question is about methods only.
How to compare two poems
In Section B of Literature Paper 2 one poem is printed and the other comes from memory. Much of the work happens before you write: choosing the second poem and deciding how the two connect.
Language Paper 1, question by question
One fiction extract, four reading questions and a piece of your own writing, in 1 hour 45 minutes. AQA changed some of the questions from summer 2026, so this is the paper as it now stands.
Language Paper 2, question by question
Two non-fiction sources, one from the 19th century and one modern, four reading questions and your own point of view, in 1 hour 45 minutes. AQA reworded Questions 2 and 4 from summer 2026, and this page uses the new wording.
Planning your writing for Section B
Question 5 is worth 40 marks on each Language paper, and 16 of them are for accuracy. Five minutes of planning and five of checking protect both parts of the mark.
Using context in your answers
Context earns marks in four of the five Literature sections and in neither Language paper. It works when it explains the writer’s purpose, and it wastes time when it turns into a history lesson.
Which subject terms to use, and how to use them
AQA’s examiners say the name of a technique carries no value on its own. Learn a short list of terms well, and always say what the method does to the reader.
Planning your English revision
Two GCSEs and four exams, and most of the marks depend on what you can remember and write against the clock. Plan for that with short sessions, plenty of self-testing and one timed answer a week.
The day of an English exam
The rules on what you can take in are strict, and watches are banned, so you will time yourself by the clock in the exam room. Know the kit list, the timings for your paper and what to do when a question goes wrong.