20th Century Literature Reading and Creative Prose Writing
Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Marks
80
Share
40% of the GCSE
Questions
6
In Section A you read an extract from 20th-century fiction you have not seen before and answer five questions on it. In Section B you write one story, choosing from four titles.
The board calls these its assessment objectives. Each question tests one or more of them.
AO1
Find and explain information and ideas in a text, both what it says directly and what it suggests.
AO2
Explain how a writer uses language and structure to create effects on the reader, using subject terms to back up your points.
AO4
Weigh up a text and give your own reasoned judgement about it, supported by references to the text.
AO5
Write clearly and imaginatively in a style that suits your purpose and reader, and organise your ideas so the writing holds together.
AO6
Write accurately: choose words well, vary your sentences, and spell and punctuate correctly.
Section A: Reading40 marks
Five questions on one unseen extract of 20th-century literary prose, about 60 to 100 lines long. Each question points you to particular lines, and the last also asks about the passage as a whole.
Question 01
Finding information
5 marksAO1About 5 min
What it asks
Read the opening lines you are pointed to and list five things you learn about the person, place or topic the question names.
What earns marks
One mark for each correct, separate point, up to five.
Points taken only from the lines the question names.
Things the lines suggest can count as well as things they state, as long as the lines support them.
What to avoid
Copying out whole sentences: a sentence copied without picking out the point earns nothing.
Using details from outside the lines named.
Putting two ideas in one point, or the same idea twice in different words.
Tip: Write five short bullet points, one clear point each, in the order they appear in the lines.
Read the next few lines and explain what the writer shows you about a character or situation, such as the impression a person gives or how they feel, and how the language does it.
What earns marks
Clear impressions that answer the question, each backed by a short quotation.
A comment on what particular words or phrases suggest, not only what they say.
Subject terms (for example verb, simile, list) where they help explain the effect.
What each level looks like
Top level first.
Level
Marks
What an answer at this level does
Band 5
5
Sharp, accurate points that notice less obvious things, each backed by a well-chosen quotation, with subject terms used to explain effects.
Band 4
4
Impressions that are right and well backed up, with plenty of evidence and clear comment on how the language creates them.
Band 3
3
Several impressions, each backed by a quotation, with some comment on the words the writer chose.
Band 2
2
One or two simple, obvious impressions, with some support.
Band 1
1
A very slight answer: perhaps one point, with little or no support.
What to avoid
Writing at length: it is worth 5 marks, so a short, focused answer is enough.
Retelling what happens instead of explaining impressions.
Naming techniques without saying what they suggest.
Tip: Aim for three or four impressions, each with a short quotation and a sentence on what the words suggest.
Explain how the writer shows a character’s thoughts and feelings, or the impressions you get of a person, place or situation, in a longer section of the extract, by looking closely at the language.
What earns marks
A range of points that track the whole section, from its first line to its last.
Short quotations, each with a clear explanation of what the words show.
Analysis of how particular language choices affect the reader, with subject terms used accurately.
Noticing what the writer hints at, not only what is stated.
What each level looks like
Top level first.
Level
Marks
What an answer at this level does
Band 5
9-10
Thorough and insightful across the whole section, picking apart in detail how the language works, including the subtler choices, with well-judged subject terms.
Band 4
7-8
Detailed, with some real insight, and beginning to analyse how particular words affect the reader, with accurate subject terms.
Band 3
5-6
Looks at the section in some depth and starts to explain what particular words show, using some subject terms correctly.
Band 2
3-4
Finds some relevant details and says simple things about them; may name a technique without explaining it.
Band 1
1-2
Mentions a detail or two that fit the question, with very little explanation.
What to avoid
Writing about lines outside the section named.
Quoting without explaining: a quotation on its own earns little.
Spotting techniques without saying what they do.
Tip: Work through the section in order so you cover all of it, and build each paragraph from a point, a quotation and an explanation.
Explain how the writer creates an effect in a later section, such as tension and drama or an impression of a character, through both the language and the way the events are organised.
What earns marks
Points about what happens and in what order, and how that builds the effect.
Close comment on language choices and what they make the reader feel.
Subject terms for language and structure used accurately (for example short sentence, repetition, a change of pace).
Points from across the whole section, not just its opening.
What each level looks like
Top level first.
Level
Marks
What an answer at this level does
Band 5
9-10
Thorough and insightful, picking apart in detail how language and structure work together, including the subtler choices.
Band 4
7-8
Detailed, with some real insight, and beginning to analyse how the words and the order of events work on the reader.
Band 3
5-6
Looks at the section in some depth and starts to explain how the words and the order of events create the effect.
Band 2
3-4
Finds some relevant details and says simple things about them; techniques are named rather than explained.
Band 1
1-2
Mentions a detail or two that fit the question, with very little explanation.
What to avoid
Writing only about words and ignoring how the events are put together.
Telling the story instead of explaining how it is told.
Long quotations with no comment.
Tip: For each part of the section ask two things: why the writer tells us this here, and which words make it work.
You are given a view, usually about a character or the story. Say how far you agree, using the final lines the question names and the passage as a whole, and explain how the writer created your thoughts and feelings.
What earns marks
A clear judgement on the view, held to from start to finish: you can agree, disagree or partly agree.
Evidence from the final lines and from across the passage that supports your judgement.
Comment on how the writer’s choices create your thoughts and feelings, not just on what happens.
A sense of the passage as a whole, not a list of separate points.
What each level looks like
Top level first.
Level
Marks
What an answer at this level does
Band 5
9-10
An argument that wins the reader over: it takes in the whole passage, every reference earns its place, and it shows real insight into how the writer steers our feelings.
Band 4
7-8
A clear, well-argued judgement that gets close to the text, with well-chosen evidence and real discussion of the writer’s choices.
Band 3
5-6
Starts to judge the text for real, with sensible references and some sense of the whole passage and the writer’s choices.
Band 2
3-4
Gives a view and backs it with a few obvious references, but says little about the whole passage or how the writer works.
Band 1
1-2
An opinion, but with little more than a passing reference to the text.
What to avoid
An argument that wanders or contradicts itself.
Retelling the story instead of judging it.
Writing only about the final lines and ignoring the rest of the passage.
Tip: Give your answer to the view in your first sentence, then prove it with three or four points from across the passage.
One piece of creative prose writing, chosen from four titles.
Question 11 (a), (b), (c) or (d) (answer one)
Creative prose writing
40 marksAO5 · 24AO6 · 16About 45 min
What it asks
Choose one of four titles and write a story, or an account of an experience, real or imagined, aiming for about 450 to 600 words, as the paper suggests. A title may be a phrase, a time you did something, an opening line or a closing line.
What earns marks
A story with a clear shape: an opening that draws the reader in, a development and an ending that works.
Characters, setting and events brought to life with detail and imagination.
Paragraphs that move the story on, and sentences varied for effect.
Two separate marks: up to 24 for the story itself and how it is organised (AO5), and up to 16 for accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, varied sentences and ambitious words used precisely (AO6).
What each level looks like
Top level first.
Level
Marks
What an answer at this level does
Band 5
AO5 20-24, AO6 14-16
An original story that holds the reader from start to end, with detailed characters and a carefully built structure; spelling, punctuation and grammar are close to faultless and the vocabulary is wide and exact.
Band 4
AO5 15-19, AO6 11-13
A story in firm control, shaped with a clear purpose, with believable detail and some original ideas; sentences are chosen for effect, errors are rare and the vocabulary is ambitious.
Band 3
AO5 10-14, AO6 7-10
A clear, well-organised story that is going somewhere, with some developed detail, though it plays safe; sentences vary and most punctuation and spelling are right.
Band 2
AO5 5-9, AO6 4-6
A story you can follow that is starting to have a shape, though plot and characters are thin; sentences vary a little and most everyday words are spelt correctly.
Band 1
AO5 1-4, AO6 1-3
The story is very simple or hard to follow, with little organisation; sentences are mostly alike and errors in spelling, punctuation and tense are frequent.
What to avoid
A purely descriptive piece, a poem or a script: the specification asks for a narrative, and writing that only describes cannot reach the top of the mark range.
A story learnt in advance that does not fit the title you chose.
Writing far less than the word guidance: very short pieces hold their own marks down.
Sentences run together with commas, and missing full stops.
Tip: Use the 10 planning minutes to decide where the story starts, its turning point and how it ends, then write towards that ending.
The paper is 1 hour 45 minutes. The section times below are the board’s own advice, printed on the front of the paper.
Section A: about 10 minutes reading the extract, then about 50 minutes answering the five questions.
Within those 50 minutes, a suggestion worked out from the marks (not the board’s): about 5 minutes on Question 01, 6 on Question 02 and 13 on each of Questions 03, 04 and 05.
Section B: about 10 minutes planning and about 35 minutes writing.
Before you hand in
Question 01 has five separate points, all from the lines named.
Each reading answer stays inside the lines its question names; Question 05 also uses the passage as a whole.
Your story fits the title you chose, and its ending works.
Full stops are in the right places, with no sentences run together with commas.
Common spellings are right (there, their, they’re; where, were) and names are spelt the same way throughout.
About this guide
This guide explains the mark scheme in plain English, in our own words. It is not the board's mark scheme, and it is not a prediction of any mark. The questions, marks and levels were checked against Eduqas GCSE English Language Component 1 (C700U10-1) marking scheme and question paper, Summer 2025, checked with the specification (Version 3, January 2019) and the Summer 2026 examiners’ report on 24 October 2026.