Exam Tips (AQA GCSE English Language): Revision Note

Find out how to perform at your best with our top tips for your AQA GCSE English Language exams.

Grade boosters: How to get a top grade

Because there are no quotes or poems to learn, preparing for your GCSE English Language exams can often not be given the same amount of attention as your English Literature revision. However, it is important to be as prepared as possible, including having the skills and knowledge you need so that you can confidently answer all of the questions on each paper in the time given.

Based on guidance from examiners’ reports and experienced teachers, here are ten essential tips to refine your exam skills and feel confident on exam day:

1. Practise writing answers in timed conditions

Practise writing an answer to each question on each paper in timed conditions:

• Print out a past question paper and source documents

• Put a timer on your phone and try to answer each question on the paper in the allotted time

• Do not try to complete the whole paper in one go; it is better to break it down question by question. This allows you to really understand the timing of a question and whether you need to speed up in order to answer it fully

2. Answer the reading questions in order

Answer the Section A (reading) questions in order on each paper.

The Section A questions in each paper are designed to build skills for Question 4, the highest-mark question in that section. Students who work through the reading questions in order have more insight into the text(s) and the writer’s methods, so can answer Question 4 more thoroughly and effectively.

3. Use structural phrases in Paper 1, Question 3

Use structural phrases to guide your comments in Paper 1, Question 3.

Students often demonstrate the least confidence in their answers to Paper 1, Question 3 (the “structure” question). Consider the following:

• Structural phrases such as “firstly”, “then” and “finally” can help you focus your response on structural shifts in a text, rather than simply recounting events

• Look for narrative shifts, such as:

  • Shifts of perspective

  • Shifts in time

  • Shifts in place

  • Shifts in topic or mood

  • Shifts from internal to external settings

• Ask yourself: why this event and why now in the text?

4. Manage your timings

Manage your timings in the exam so you spend the right amount of time on each question in each paper.

You should use the number of marks available as a guide to how long to spend on each question.

For example:

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2

5. Judge how much to write

Judge how much to write according to the number of marks available for each question:

• You should write in much more detail for a 20-mark question than for an 8-mark question

• Use the number of marks available as an indicator of how much detail you need to go into

• However, writing as much as you can for every question is not always better; examiners reward clear, focused responses which provide insightful and perceptive comments

• Answers that are too long risk going off topic

6. Know the types of questions

The pattern of questions on each paper is always the same.

Although you will not know what text(s) you will be given on the exam papers, you will know what to expect from each question and what you are expected to do in your answer to each question. This is because the question papers are always structured in the same way.

It is therefore important that you know this structure so that you automatically know what you are being asked to do, and you can concentrate on reading and finding the evidence:

Paper 1

Paper 2

7. Highlight the focus of the question

Read each question carefully and highlight its focus:

• Make sure you are clear exactly what you are looking for in the text(s) or section of text

• Only look for the evidence that directly relates to the focus of the question

• For example, if you are asked how the writer uses language to describe a train crash, then the focus is the train crash itself and how it is described (and not, for instance, how people are described reacting to the train crash)

8. Highlight and annotate the texts

Highlight and annotate the section or text as you read:

• Track through the section of text, or text itself, methodically

• Highlight anything directly related to the focus of the question

• Annotate in the margin: Why has the writer used this? What does this show?

• Use these annotations to make your points in your answers

9. Plan your writing responses

Spend 5–10 minutes planning your responses to Paper 1, Question 5 and Paper 2, Question 5.

You are awarded marks for crafting your writing responses with control and structure. This means you should plan your descriptive or narrative writing in Paper 1, Question 5, and your non-fiction writing response in Paper 2, Question 5.

For more tips on planning, see our guide to How to Plan Your Creative Writing at GCSE.

10. Proofread your writing responses

Spend 5 minutes re-reading your work.

Leave 5 minutes at the end of Paper 1, Question 5 and Paper 2, Question 5 to re-read what you have written to check for obvious errors, such as missing words. Remember, you should write in Standard British English; this means you should never use mobile phone text abbreviations or spelling in your answers!

For more tips on proofreading, see our guide to How to Check and Proofread Your Writing at GCSE.

More revision support

Check out our detailed guides on how to answer each question in your AQA GCSE English Language exams, as well our detailed exam skills pages, and a guide to the 2026 exam updates:

• AQA GCSE English Language Revision Notes

• Exam Skills

• 2026 Exam Changes