GCSE English Specification A

Paper 1 - 30% of the total marks

Foundation and higher Tier - 1 3/4 hours long

Section A: Reading response to unseen non-fiction and media texts. There will be two or more passages in a variety of formats, including literary non-fiction and /or print and ICT-based information and reference texts.   (15%)

Section B: Requires Writing which argues, persuades or advises, possibly linked to the theme(s) or topic(s) of the stimulus materials in Section A. Students have a choice of questions to choose from. (15%)

Paper 2 - 30% of the total marks

Students are advised to spend 45 minutes on each section

Section A: Requires a Reading response to poetry drawn from different cultures and traditions. The poetry to be studied will constitute Part 1 of the AQA Anthology.    (15%)

Section B: Requires Writing which informs, explains or describes; some of the tasks may be linked thematically to the poems in Part 1 of the Anthology.    (15%)

Coursework - 40% of the total

Coursework submitted by students must consist of the following:

The assessment Speaking and Listening (En1) - (20%)

• Individual extended contribution
• Group interaction
• Drama-focused activity

Two responses to reading (En2) and two responses Writing (En3), comprising:

Task 1: Shakespeare (En2)* - (5%)
Task 2: Prose Study (En2)*  - (5%)
Task 3: Media (En3 analyse, review, comment)  - (5%)
Task 4: Original Writing (En3 imagine, explore, entertain) - (5%)

* Responses to Tasks 1 and 2 may be used as “cross-over” pieces for GCSE English Literature Specification A, so long as the requirements of both specifications are met.

Assessment Objectives

AO1 Speaking and Listening (En1)

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to:

(i) Communicate clearly and imaginatively, structuring and sustaining their talk and adapting it to different situations, using standard English appropriately;

(ii) Participate in discussion by both speaking and listening, judging the nature and purposes of contributions and the roles of participants;

(iii) Adopt roles and communicate with audiences using a range of techniques.

AO2 Reading (En2)

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to:

(i) Read, with insight and engagement, making appropriate references to texts and developing and sustaining interpretations of them;

(ii) Distinguish between fact and opinion and evaluate how information is presented;

(iii) Follow an argument, identifying implications and recognising inconsistencies;

(iv) Select material appropriate to their purpose, collate material from different sources, and make cross references;

(v) Understand and evaluate how writers use linguistic, structural and presentational devices to achieve their effects, and comment on ways language varies and changes.

AO3 Writing (En3)

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to:

(i) Communicate clearly and imaginatively, using and adapting forms for different readers and purposes;

(ii)Organise ideas into sentences, paragraphs and whole texts using a variety of linguistic and structural features;

(iii) Use a range of sentence structures effectively with accurate punctuation and spelling.