Exam code:8700
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The Question 2 mark scheme
If you want to achieve a Grade 9, you should be aiming for a Level 4 response for Question 2. Below is a simplified version of the AQA mark scheme for this question.
Student-friendly mark scheme
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Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
Level 4 |
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Basic, simple comments about how the language features work, without much detail |
Some effort to pick out specific language features and explain their effects |
Clear and well-explained answers that look at several language features and/or techniques and how they work in context |
Detailed and thoughtful analysis of how the writer has chosen to use language the text, with a focus on the intended effects of these features |
To demonstrate a clear understanding of a writer’s use of language, your answer should include:
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Accurate subject terminology
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Evidence (quotes or textual references)
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Clear explanation of the effects of the language features
To analyse the language of the text effectively, you should be asking three important questions:
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WHAT is the effect of the writer’s language choices? |
HOW does the writer achieve this? |
WHY do those language features create the effect you have identified? |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The mark scheme for Level 3 and Level 4 makes the distinction between “analysis” and “explanation”. To be awarded a Level 4, you must provide an analysis of the writer’s use of language in your response.
While explanation focuses on providing clear descriptions of specific aspects of a text, analysis involves a deeper exploration and interpretation. Analysis seeks to uncover the underlying meaning and artistic choices of the writer: what is their overall intention for this piece of writing?
How to get full marks on Paper 1 Question 2
To get the highest marks for the language question, it’s really important to understand what examiners are looking for.
Examiner tips for a Grade 9
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Avoid phrases such as “this makes the reader feel”:
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Instead, focus on the writer’s intended effects
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Cover 3 or more aspects of the text in your answer:
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Try to make 3 separate points
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Use more than one piece of evidence for each point if possible
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Use subject terminology (alliteration, metaphor) accurately:
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But only use it if it enhances your point
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Look for patterns across the extract
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Consider a writer’s overall ambition across the passage:
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What is their intention as a whole?
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Levelling up your Question 2 answer
Understanding the different levels: analysis versus explanation
To get a Grade 9, you will have to reach Level 4 for Question 2, which means your response should show “perceptive, detailed analysis” rather than just “clear relevant explanation”. The image below shows what an examiner would expect to see in a Level 3 versus a Level 4 response:
Moving from a Level 3 to a Level 4 response
Below is an example of a paragraph for a Level 3 response, and one for a Level 4. It is based on the November 2019 AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 past paper (opens in a new tab). It is useful to read through this extract and the wording of Question 2 before exploring the model responses below.
We’ve included annotations to show why each would be awarded each level.
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Level 3 explanation (5–6 marks) |
Level 4 analysis (7–8 marks) |
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The writer describes Zoe’s joy and satisfaction at the moment she realises that “Everywhere was snow and silence. Snow and silence”. Using “everywhere” shows that Zoe feels she is surrounded by nothing except pure whiteness and complete quiet, with the repetition and alliteration emphasising how breath-taking she finds it. The metaphor “the complete arrest of life” suggests that Zoe feels she and the world around her have stopped dead, that there is nothing but the snow and the stillness. |
The writer presents Zoe as having an epiphany: it’s as if being in the mountains has elicited feelings of freedom and self-discovery that Zoe cannot find in her day-to-day life. The repetition of the words “snow and silence” and the use of “everywhere” suggest that she feels at one with the surrounding expanse of unspoiled whiteness, but also that this is now her “everywhere”: the only place she wants to be. This feeling of absolute purity and stillness is described as a “complete arrest of life” — a metaphor for Zoe’s feeling of moving from the natural world to the spiritual world where “life” has been stopped as if dead. |
Learn more and test yourself
For more great tips and tricks, check out our dedicated revision notes on how to answer Paper 1 Question 2 and our fully annotated Paper 1 Question 2 model answer.
You can also test yourself on Paper 1 Question 2 with expert-created Save My Exams quiz and exam questions. Try our Paper 1 Question 2 multiple choice questions and answer full questions and get them marked by Smart Mark, our AI model created by English Language experts.
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