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Minute-by-minute plans for every AQA paper
This is the simplest and most effective way to allocate your time. A 4-mark question deserves roughly 4 minutes. A 30-mark essay deserves roughly 30 minutes of writing time plus 5 minutes of planning. Spending 20 minutes on an 8-mark question steals time from higher-value questions and can cost you an entire grade boundary.
AQA assesses GCSE English across four papers: Literature Paper 1 (Shakespeare + 19th-century novel), Literature Paper 2 (Modern texts, anthology poetry, unseen poetry), Language Paper 1 (Fiction reading + creative writing) and Language Paper 2 (Non-fiction reading + transactional writing).
Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing. One literary fiction extract with four reading questions and one creative writing question.
Read the source text carefully
Read the full extract once for understanding, then re-read sections referenced by each question. Underline key words.
Q1 - List four things (4 marks)
Simple retrieval. Four clear, short statements, one per line.
Q2 - Language analysis (8 marks)
Pick 2-3 specific words or phrases. Identify technique, explain effect, link to writer's intention.
Q3 - Structure analysis (8 marks)
Analyse opening, shifts in focus, narrative perspective, sentence and paragraph length.
Q4 - Evaluation (20 marks)
Take a clear position on a statement. Use 3 pieces of evidence with detailed analysis.
Q5 - Plan creative writing
Five minutes planning: hook, 3-4 sections, ending, deliberate techniques.
Q5 - Write creative piece (40 marks)
24 marks AO5 + 16 marks AO6. 400-600 words. Vary sentences, deploy techniques.
Proofread
Check spelling, full stops, homophones (there/their/they're).
Q5 is worth half the marks on the entire paper. Protect your Q5 time by capping Q4 at 20 minutes.
Link timing to the rest of your revision strategy.