A-level
Guide to writing realistic
practice papers
Write practice papers quicker and more accurately
A-level English Literature A (7712)
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Contents
This resource explains how exam questions for A-level English Language and Literature (7712) are
created and guides you through the process of writing your own practice questions to use with
students. It also highlights important aspects of the assessment objectives (AOs) and offers some
advice that will support your teaching in preparation for the exam papers.
We have gathered together all the essential information you need in one place in this guide.
Whether you’re creating whole exam practice papers, or just specific questions for targeted
intervention, use this resource for reassurance that what you’re writing is realistic and helpful.
Before you start
3
Structuring your practice papers
6
Paper 1
6
Paper 2A
19
Paper 2B
30
Marking your own papers
41
Finer points: look, feel and features
43
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Before you start
Introduction
Our AS and A-level English Literature A specification (7712) has been carefully designed to
engage students and allow them to build on the skills and knowledge already gained, preparing
them for their next steps.
Our assessments use a consistent range of open question types, such as such as passage-based
questions, unseen material, single-text questions, multiple-text questions, open- and closed-book
approaches.
We have deliberately chosen a variety of assessment styles so that students are encouraged to
develop a wide range of skills. We believe that the ability to read critically, analyse, evaluate and
undertake independent research are valuable skills for both further study and future employment.
Assessment objectives
The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives:
AO1: Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated
concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression. (28%)
AO2: Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts. (24%)
AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary
texts are written and received. (24%)
AO4: Explore connections across literary texts. (12%)
AO5: Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations. (12%)
Holistic approach
We have taken a holistic approach to assessment. All assessment objectives (AOs) are tested in
every question, and each task has been designed to enable students to meet all AOs if they
answer the question in all its detail and requirements. This reflects our belief that the assessment
objectives work best together, producing a rounded and holistic view of English literature.
Our mantra throughout the specification is therefore: answer the question!
Since we see the AOs as fluid and interactive, holistic marking makes sense. This specification
treats AOs 1, 2 and 3 as broadly equal given their relative weightings. Whilst the individual AOs 4
and 5 are assigned a lower weighting, this spec views AO4 and AO5 as inextricably linked, as
interpretations necessarily arise from making connections. Taken together therefore, AOs 4 and 5
can be considered as broadly equal to AOs 1, 2 and 3.
Each answer is marked holistically and an overall assessment of the quality of the response (to the
question set) is made. When deciding upon a mark in a band, the relative weightings of the AOs
will be considered by examiners, since even with holistic marking, a failure by a student to address
the requirements of a particular AO would clearly impact the overall quality of the response.
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Language of assessment
Command words
Command words in questions tell students how to respond to a particular task, and they appear as
part of a phrase, for example: ‘discuss how Shakespeare presents X’.
Here’s a list of command words based on Ofqual’s official guidance. Do your learners understand
the difference between ‘examine’ and ‘explore’, for example?





Analyse: separate information into components and identify their characteristics.
Compare and contrast: identify similarities and differences.
Discuss: present key points about different ideas or strengths and weaknesses of an idea.
Examine: investigate closely.
Explore: investigate without preconceptions about the outcome.
Subject-specific vocabulary
We’ve used some key terms through the English Literature A specification. So that you can
understand our ethos, we’ve shared our definitions below.
Historicism
Historicism is an approach to literature that gives particular weight to specific historical contexts.
Both of the two examined components have the methodologies of historicism at their centre.
In component one, the theme of love is explored across time, ie in a diachronic way.
In component two, some of the methods of historicism are used to explore either the literature of
world war one and its aftermath, or the literature of modern times (1945 to the present day). History
is approached within a defined narrow time period, ie it is synchronic.
Through these different but complementary approaches to historicism, students understand that
notions of tradition – and changing traditions – in literary study are context-bound and locked into
changing critical and cultural approaches.
Significance
In the Literature A specification, ‘significance’ specifically gives access to assessment objectives
(AOs) 2, 3, 4 and 5.
'Significance' involves weighing up all the potential contributions to how a text can be analysed: for
example; through the way the text is constructed and written, through text specific contexts which
can be relevantly applied, through connecting the text(s) to other texts and then finding potential
meanings and interpretations.
Presentation
Questions have been written to address all assessment objectives. Students should consider AO2
as part of their wider discussion of the literary debates they are engaging with. A question
reference to 'presentation' reminds students to consider aspects of structure and language use.
Our AO2 Teaching Guide offers a useful starting point for exploring the ways meanings are shaped
in texts.
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Core set texts
Core set texts in A-level question papers have specific questions set on them. For example, the
core set texts on paper 1 are Shakespeare plays and each play has its own question.
Chosen comparative set texts
Chosen comparative set texts in A-level question papers are used for the questions which ask for
comparative work and so do not have specific questions set on them. For example, paper 1,
section C, question 6: ‘Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present ideas
about passion’.
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Structuring your practice papers
We have used questions from our sample assessment material (SAM) approved by Ofqual to
demonstrate how each question type addresses all the assessment objectives (AOs). We’ve also
put together some tips so that you can write your own realistic questions. To help you understand
the thought process behind each question and the possible content of the mark scheme we’ve
included a question commentary for each section of our exam papers. The commentaries explain
the skills students are required to demonstrate when answering the question and some of the
ideas that they might choose to explore in their responses. Don’t forget that the question types are
the same across the set texts within each section so the commentary will be helpful, even if you’re
not familiar with the text it relates to.
Paper 1: Love through the ages
Paper 1 will always assess Love through the ages. See section 3.1 of the specification.
Section A
Types of question
Paper 1, section A will offer a passage-based question for each set Shakespeare play: Othello,
The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure or The Winter’s Tale. Students will choose the
question for the play they have studied.
Typically➎, texts about husbands and wives present marriage from a male point of view.’
In the light of this view, discuss➊ how➋ Shakespeare presents➋ the relationship➌➍
between Othello and Desdemona in this extract and elsewhere in the play.
➊ As students discuss, they will be organising their writing and using appropriate terminology
(AO1).
➋ The words ‘how Shakespeare presents’ signals an invitation to students to write about
Shakespeare’s dramatic methods (AO2).
➌ In exploring Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, students will be engaging with contexts of
gender, power and society along with contexts of production and reception (AO3).
➍ As students are discussing the typicality of the view, they will be connecting with one of the
central issues of Love through the Ages and so with the representation of marriage in other texts
(AO4).
➎ In engaging in the debate about the ‘typicality’ of the view, students will be addressing AO5.
Creating your own questions
1. Question structure
Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment material (SAM) is constructed. The
question structure can remain the same, but the question focus and content will need updating.
The statement and the area to be explored has been italicised in red below, to show the aspects of
the question that change.
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‘Paradoxically, texts often present jealousy as springing from the very deepest kind of love.’
In the light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents Leontes’ feelings for Hermione
in this extract and elsewhere in the play.
2. The passage
Our approved Sample Assessment Material (SAM) uses The Winter’s Tale, I. ii. 264-318.
You will need to choose a different passage from a text depending upon the aspect(s) of love you
want the students to explore. Consider different:
 possible aspects of love of which some are listed in specification section 3.1, ie romantic
love, love and sex, love and loss, jealousy and guilt, and so on.
 characters
 actions in the play that provide the best passage.
3. The ‘view’ to debate.
Look for aspects of love which occur in the text. Remember that the absence of aspects in a text is
equally valid for debate. Approaches to picking your view:
 look at some the suggestions in specification section 3.1 (romantic love, love and sex, love
and loss, approval and disapproval etc, and make up a critical view around one of these
 research critical views on a particular text and structure a debate around those
 research critical views on another text about ‘love’ (non-set texts included) and adapt the
quote so students can consider how far this can be said to be true for the text they’ve
studied.
Example with commentary
The Winter’s Tale – William Shakespeare
‘Paradoxically, texts often present jealousy as springing from the very deepest kind of love.’
In the light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents Leontes’ feelings for Hermione
in this extract and elsewhere in the play.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember that each question covers all assessment objectives, so almost all the words in the
question should be addressed, as these are clearly connected to the assessment objectives:
paradoxically, jealousy, springing from, deepest kind of love; in the light of this view, discuss how,
Shakespeare, presents, feelings, this extract, elsewhere in the play.
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AO1
This is tested through the ways the students organise and express their ideas as they are
analysing the passage and exploring the view. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate
use of terminology and the structure of the argument.
AO2
This is tested by the requirement to ‘discuss how Shakespeare presents Leontes feelings for…..’
This requires analysis of Shakespeare’s dramatic methods through a consideration of his use of
language, imagery and other stylistic devices that shape meaning.
AO3
This is addressed when students demonstrate an understanding of the literary, dramatic and
cultural contexts in which The Winter’s Tale is placed. Students will show their understanding of
the wider social and cultural expectations of marriage; they will also be able to explore contexts of
audience reception through awareness of the different ways in which this scene can and has been
performed.
AO4
To address this, students should link the typicality of the extract, and the play as a whole, to the
theme of ‘Love through the Ages’. They will particularly reference to the destructive power of
jealous behaviour, what may cause it, how it affects other characters and influences events. They
could usefully explore the idea of tragic-comedy and the characteristic features of Shakespeare’s
so-called ‘romances’ or ‘late plays’.
AO5
This tests students’ engagement with different interpretations that arise from the point of view
stated at the beginning of the question.
Many successful answers open by establishing where the extract sits in the text, and what it is
about. For example:
‘At this stage of the play, Leontes’ life-long friend Polixenes has been a guest in the Sicilian court
for nine months. He says he must now return home to Bohemia. Egged on by Leontes, Hermione
urges him to stay. In the course of their conversation she ‘gives her hand to Polixenes’, an action
which galvanises Leontes into suspicion of their motives (‘Too hot, too hot! . . O, that is
entertainment my bosom likes not, nor my brows.’), which very quickly turns to an irrational and
jealous rage. Camillo, until now a trusted friend at Leontes’ court, feels he has to speak up.’
Possible answer content: the extract
Examiners look to mark positively, and the below could credibly qualify as dramatic features from
the extract:
 the rapid deterioration of the relationship between Leontes and Camillo which turns to
abuse (‘gross lout’, ‘mindless slave’) and accusations of lying; the excessive nature of
Leontes’ jealous outburst
 the sudden build-up of anger in Leontes’ first speech
 his latent anxiety about being cuckolded
 Camillo’s defence of Hermione – who he believes to be innocent - and concern for her
husband’s sanity
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




the torrent of offensive language, suggesting that Hermione is guilty of unfaithful, licentious
behaviour (‘slippery’, ‘hobby-horse’, ‘flax-wench that puts to Before her troth-plight’, ‘horsing
on foot’)
the listing of physical intimacies, in which Polixenes is also implicated (‘meeting noses’,
‘kissing with inside lip’)
the imagery of infection, disease and cure
the chilling, categorical and emphatic repetition of ‘nothing’
the closing lines in which Leontes contemplates having Polixenes murdered (‘mightst
bespice a cup’) thereby placing an intolerable burden on Camillo’s loyalties to both men.
Possible answer content: the wider context
In investigating Leontes’ jealousy, which seems to be at such odds with (‘paradoxically’) the deep
love he shows for his wife elsewhere in the play, students will be connecting with one of the central
issues of the theme of love. Jealousy and suspicion are represented as having a devastatingly
destructive power (as they are in other plays by Shakespeare, e.g. Othello and King Lear and even
in Much Ado About Nothing). Thus the extract offers a way into a broader and richer understanding
of ‘literary representation’. Opportunities for comment include:
 the idea of tragi-comedy or ‘romance’
 the high price typically placed by husbands upon the purity and fidelity of their wives
 the fear and shame of being mocked as a cuckold, by other men and by society at large.
Examples of ‘love’ between characters are provided by:
 Leontes and Hermione
 Mamillius and his parents
 Paulina and Antigonus
 Perdita and Florizel
 Old Shepherd and Perdita (although the emotional tie here is primarily one of fatherly pride)
 Camillo and Leontes and Polixenes (love expressed in loyal service to a king).
Students might enlarge upon any of the above points and suggest what ‘meanings’ arise from
them. Observations could be made about:
 how Leontes’ moves in a trice from speaking lovingly of his wife (1. ii. 87-106) to suspecting
her of adulterous behaviour;
 the development of his jealousy which is to drive the plot of the play and result in his
ordering Camillo to kill Polixenes, his rejection of his new-born daughter, and to Hermione’s
supposed death
 the social and cultural expectations of marriage from an early 17th century point-of-view
(cp. the ideal marriage of Paulina and Antigonus, and the good omens for the imminent
marriage of Perdita and Florizel)
 the great value placed on a queen’s virtue in the patriarchal context of a court;
 contemporary ideas about love as a sickness
 a woman seen as a man’s possession in every sense
 pure women
 cuckoldry.
Debate could centre on:
 Is Leontes fully responsible for his thoughts, feelings and actions?
 Is he suffering some form of mental breakdown?
 Should the audience feel pity for him, as well as for Hermione and Camillo?
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Of course, students can disagree with the view put forward in the question, asserting with
appropriate textual illustration that:
 jealousy is at least temporarily stronger than love
 Leontes is fickle, foolish, stubborn, arrogant, possessive and tyrannical, shown best of all
by his persisting with the trial of Hermione, which seems particularly callous seeing she has
just given birth.
Section B
Types of question
Paper 1, Section B will be an unseen poetry comparison question.
It has been said that Rossetti's poem is conventional and celebratory, whereas Millay's
poem offers a very different view of love➌➎.
Compare and contrast➊ the presentation of love➋ in the following poems➍ in the light of
this comment➌.
➊ As students compare and contrast the presentation of love, they will be organising their writing
and expressing their ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋ The words ‘presentation of love’ give a clear invitation to students to engage with the poets’
methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about love (AO2).
➌ In engaging with the poems in light of the comment, students will be addressing the central
issue of how literary representations of lovers expressing their feelings in texts can reflect different
social, cultural and historical aspects of the different time periods in which they were written (AO3).
➍ As students are making connections between the poems in terms of subject matter or poetic
methods, they will be addressing AO4. They will also be connecting implicitly with other texts
which address the same concepts of love they are exploring in these poems. (AO4).
➎ In engaging with the poems in light of the comment, students will be considering different
interpretations (AO5).
Creating your own questions
1.
Question structure.
Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment materials is constructed. The
instruction of ‘Compare and contrast’ will remain the same, but a different comment will be needed
and will depend upon the possible comparison or contrast between the two poems you want the
students to explore. Ideas for areas to explore can be found in the specification, section 4.1
(romantic love, love and sex, love and loss, approval and disapproval etc). The aspects of the
question that will need changing are in red italics below:
'It has been said that Rossetti's poem is conventional and celebratory, whereas Millay's
poem offers a very different view of love.'
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Compare and contrast the presentation of love in the following poems in the light of this
comment.
Remember to include variety in the questions you prepare so that students don’t become
dependent on precise question wordings.
2.
The poems.
Choose two poems which explore similar aspects of love through the ages. Don't forget that the
absence of aspects in a text is equally valid for comparison.
Why not use poems from one of the AQA love poetry anthologies not studied for examination as a
starting point?
Remember that the poems set for examination can be taken from any time period; and both poems
could come from the same period or from different ones.
Sample question with commentary
It has been said that Rossetti's poem is conventional and celebratory, whereas Millay's
poem offers a very different view of love.
Compare and contrast the presentation of love in the following poems in the light of this
comment.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Each question covers all assessment objectives, so all the key words in the question should be
addressed, indicating either focus (conventional, celebratory, different view, presentation of love)
or direction (compare and contrast, in the light of).
AO1
This is tested through the way students organise their writing and express their ideas as they
compare and contrast the presentation of love. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate
terminology and quality of discussion.
AO2
Reference to ‘the presentation of love’ gives a clear instruction to consider the writers’ methods in
detail, to engage with the poets’ methods and their effects, and to show how the methods open up
meanings about love.
AO3
This will be addressed through students showing their understanding of the importance of
contextual factors, and by the way they elicit contextual ideas about love within a historicist
perspective (eg feminism and modernism).
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AO4
This will be addressed through students making connections between the poems in terms of
subject matter or poetic methods, and by connecting implicitly with concepts of the aspects and
theme of love.
AO5
This will be addressed when students grapple with meanings that arise about love and its
presentation in the poems. Critical viewpoints might be used to help advance the argument, or to
offer alternatives.
Possible answer content
Students will address AO2 if they focus on any:
 aspects of form such as Millay’s use of the Shakespearean sonnet
 use of structural features.
Structural features could include:
 the use of very long sentences where semi colons separate ideas
 the shift of tone from Line 7 onwards in Millay’s sonnet
 the shift from the declaratives in stanza one to the imperatives in stanza two of Rossetti’s
poem
 the use of indentation in Rossetti’s poem
 the use of repetition
 use of figurative language methods such as the similes in Rossetti’s first stanza
 the personification of pain and death in Millay’s poem
 religious imagery in Rossetti’s poem
 language features such as possessive pronouns in Rossetti’s poem
 the use of alliteration in Millay’s poem.
AO3
Students will need to address the central issue: how literary representations of lovers expressing
their feelings in texts can reflect different social, cultural and historical aspects of the different time
periods they were written. Students might focus on:
 how the representations of love in the two poems may differ because of when they were
written (the Victorian era and the twentieth century)
 the idea that poetry produced in the Victorian period is more likely to be conventional and
celebratory whereas twentieth century literature is, less likely to offer simple and
straightforward representations of love
 the fact that both poets are women, with Millay choosing a form historically associated with
a male speaker rather than employing modernist experimentation typical for the time
period.
AO4
This will be addressed when students compare love in the two poems, and the central issue of how
lovers express their feelings in two texts from different time periods. Comparisons might include:
 relevant genre-related comment on the idea of the lyric poem or the sonnet
 the similarity or difference of subject matter, for example the aspects of love and feelings of
women towards men
 the poets’ methods, including the images of the natural world typical of romantic poetry in
Rossetti’s poem, as opposed to images of pain, suffering and death in Millay’s poem
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
the declarative certainty of Rossetti’s poem in contrast with the changing ideas and
ambiguities of Millay’s, which might be viewed as a more sceptical exploration of love and
its limitations.
AO5
Criteria are met if students show that they have fully ‘compared and contrasted the presentation of
love’ in the two poems, engaging with different interpretations.
Some students will agree with the task’s statement and focus on:
 the celebratory tone in Rossetti’s poem when expressing an outpouring of joy upon finding
love
 ways in which Rossetti’s poem can be seen as a conventional and celebratory love poem
with a fanciful and idealised addressee
 ways in which Millay’s poem can be seen as very different, more radical and reflective of
the ambiguity and complexity of love and its potential to disappoint
 the possibility that Rossetti’s poem might be considered satisfying for the reader, while
Millay’s perhaps disappoints by failing to live up to expectations.
Some will disagree and focus on:
 the possibility that Rossetti’s frank admission of feelings may be seen as unconventional,
given her gender and the time period the poem was written in
 the idea that Millay’s use of the sonnet is conventional rather than innovative.
Section C
Types of question
Paper 1, section C will be a comparison using one poetry and one prose text from the comparative
set text list. Find the set text list in the specification section 4.1.1.
Compare how➊ the authors of two texts➌➍ you have studied present barriers to love➋➎.
➊ As students compare their two texts they will be organising their writing and expressing their
ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋ The words ‘present barriers to love’ give a clear invitation to students to engage with the writers’
methods and their effects (AO2).
➌ In connecting the two texts, students will address how literary representations of ‘barriers to
love’ can reflect different social, cultural and historical aspects (AO3).
➍ As students are making connections between the texts in terms of subject matter or methods,
they will be addressing AO4. They will also be connecting implicitly with other texts which address
the same concepts of love they are exploring in these texts. (AO4).
➎ As students explore the many types of ‘barriers to love’ in texts, they will engage with different
interpretations (AO5).
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Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment material is constructed. The
wording of the question will remain the same, aside from the area to be explored which is shown
below italicised in red:
Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present barriers to love.
2. Look for aspects of love through the ages in the texts of your choice. Ideas for areas to explore
can be found in the specification, section 3.1 (romantic love, love and sex, love and loss, approval
and disapproval etc). Don't forget that the absence of aspects in a text is equally valid for
comparison.
Sample question with commentary
Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present barriers to love.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember, each question addresses all assessment objectives, so all the key words in the
question should be addressed, indicating either focus (how authors present, barriers to love) or
direction (compare, two texts).
AO1
This is tested through the way the students organise their writing and express ideas as they
compare how barriers to love are presented. Students will need to use coherent, accurate written
expression in order to compare efficiently. In doing this they will use appropriate concepts and
terminology.
AO2
This is set up in the requirement to explore the writers’ methods and their effects, signalled by the
word ‘present’. Students may explore how the methods open up meanings about intense emotions
and barriers to love. Comparisons and discussions should be supported with relevant textual detail
wherever possible.
AO3
This is addressed when students demonstrate they understand contexts of barriers to love,
including permanent or temporary:
 class ‘barriers’
 racial ‘barriers’
 religious ‘barriers’
 political ‘barriers’
 emotional ‘barriers’
 or physical barriers.
In exploring the nature of barriers to love presented in their two texts, students will engage with the
specific context of love through the ages. Students will also engage with the contexts of when texts
were written and of potential reader responses.
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AO4
Students will make comparisons between their two chosen texts because the question directs it.
They will connect to a wider awareness of barriers to love and the many forms of representation in
literature of love through the ages.
AO5
This will be addressed by grappling with meanings about barriers to love in the texts, and by
showing an understanding that different meanings can be opened up through comparison. Critical
viewpoints might help advance the argument, or offer alternatives.
Possible answer content
This example uses two texts. The prose is Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and the poetry text is the
AQA Anthology of Love Poetry through the Ages: Post-1900.
AO2
Students focus on any of the following, according to which genre their chosen texts belong to. This
is an open book exam, so students are expected to quote appropriately and accurately from those
texts.
For the prose text (here The Awakening), attention could be paid to:
 narrative structure - how the sequence of events reflects Edna’s process of ‘awakening’
and so her increasing attempt to overcome the barrier of social expectation to be with the
man she loves:

o
initial internal stirrings on meeting Robert
o
beginning to paint again
o
learning to swim
o
refusing to fulfil wifely duties
o
awareness of sexuality in relationship with Alcee Arobin
o
moving out of marital home
o
suicide as complete solitude and defeat or as ultimate freedom and independence).
the delineation and presentation of character - a range of female characters are drawn
against which Edna can be judged:
o
Adele as the Victorian feminine ideal of the devoted wife and mother
o
the lady in black as representative of the socially acceptable widow
o
the two young lovers who symbolise acceptable (pre-motherhood) love
o
the Farival twins who are destined to join the nunnery
o


Mademoiselle Reisz whose independence is epitomised in her devotion to her passion
of music.
the ironic narrative voice
the use of dialogue and of indirect speech: as Edna learns to define things for herself and
to express herself through female Creole frankness, through her painting and those around
her
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

the description of settings helps to mark Edna’s process of ‘awakening’: Grand Isle and the
marital home in New Orleans represent the social expectation of Edna as ‘mother-woman’
and perfect hostess; the Cheniere Caminada provides the initial, albeit temporary, glimpse
at a romantic world and so of liberation; the pigeon house which is supposed to symbolise
Edna’s independence but in fact isolates her
ways of influencing the reader’s response to character and incident, for example the use of
metaphor: the caged parrot which cannot make itself understood as representative of
Edna; the winged bird at the seashore, initially in Edna’s imagination flying away from a
man as Edna wished to escape but at the end of the novel injured and crashing into the
water; the sea as a symbol of Edna’s rebirth where its vastness suggests freedom and
escape from social expectation but also represents the loneliness of independence.
For the poetry text (here AQA anthology of love poetry through the ages post-1900), attention
could be paid to:
 use of structural features to convey difficulty of communication, eg enjambment and erratic
rhyme scheme in Talking in Bed compared to a steady rhyme scheme in One Flesh to
suggest an ongoing bond in spite of separation
 use of irony, eg a poem entitled Talking in Bed which is actually a poem about silence
 use of contrast in One Flesh to show the change in the couple’s relationship from passion
to separation or in For My Lover, Returning To His Wife to highlight the difference between
the wife and the mistress; the silent inside contrasted with the active outside in Talking in
Bed
 use of figurative language methods, eg in One Flesh a metaphor to convey the fragility of
marriage, a simile to show the wreckage of the relationship; in For My Lover, Returning To
His Wife a metaphor to suggest the temporary nature of the mistress and a simile to convey
the permanence of the wife
 use of symbolism such as the wedding ring in Timer.
AO3
Students will need to explore:
 the nature of barriers to love as it affects those who desire a relationship (Edna and Robert
in The Awakening, the poet in After the Lunch) or those already in a relationship (Edna and
Leonce in The Awakening, the poet in For My Lover, Returning to His Wife, the married
couples in One Flesh and Talking in Bed)
 the nature and impact of social convention as a barrier to love on the one hand, and of
mental and emotional separation and difficulty of communication within a relationship on
the other
 how the presentation of barriers to love is connected to other themes and subjects in the
literature of Love through the ages. The Awakening (1899) was written in a transitional
phase for American women’s writing which was challenging a literary tradition of the
Victorian feminine ideal of devoted wife and mother. Louisiana at that time still saw women
as their husband’s legal property and, as a largely Catholic state, divorce was extremely
rare. By 1964, whilst divorce was still unusual and people stayed together unhappily ‘for the
sake of the children’, students might reflect on the changing attitudes towards marriage
which emerged in the late 1960s/early 1970s when writing about Talking in Bed.
AO4
This will be addressed when students compare barriers to love in their two texts - connecting with
the representation of one of the central issues of the literature of love through the ages. Students
could cite examples of changing ideas about the nature of love, and about barriers to love which
might be experienced. They should, however, concentrate on the differences and similarities
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between their two chosen texts and attempt valid comparisons throughout, as directed in the
question.
Comparisons with The Awakening might include:
 One Flesh and Talking in Bed for
 social expectations of and within marriage
 feelings of isolation and separation within marriage
 difficulty of communication
 how love within marriage changes over time.

For My Lover, Returning to His Wife for:
 lover admitting defeat to the wife and so to the conventions of marriage
 the inability to match up to the representation of the ‘perfect’ wife and mother
 the temporary nature of the adulteress.

Timer, where:
 the symbolism of the wedding ring, which survives the cremation, is celebrated as a
sign that love continues even after death
 conversely Edna’s inability to destroy her wedding ring and so social convention is
portrayed as a barrier to love between Edna and Robert.

After the Lunch where:
 the poet’s heart is ruling her head and convincing the rational self that love can
overcome any potential barriers
 this is much like Edna in The Awakening.
AO5
These criteria are met when students fully compare the barriers to love in their chosen texts. They
initiate and manage interpretations around barriers to love expressed in the texts. Possible barriers
include:
 social expectation
 physical distance
 difficulty of communication
 mental and emotional separation
 acceptance of defeat
 the temporary nature of love.
Students then evaluate the extent to which the contrasting genres (in this example prose and
poetry) affect the way barriers to love are presented, and the way meanings are understood by the
reader.
Remember, this is just an example. If you’re familiar with The Awakening you’ll know it features
other aspects of love which could be valid for exploration:


the difference between society’s expectations of men and of women in matters of love: men
appear to have greater freedom but, whilst Robert’s passion for Edna is strong, he will not
break with social expectations and so refuses to enter into a permanent relationship with
Edna
jealousy: context of creole husbands who are so sure of their woman’s fidelity that they do
not even entertain the idea that they would be unfaithful and so do not succumb to jealousy,
hence Leonce’s failure to understand that the change in Edna has anything to do with
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



another man; outside marriage, however, both Edna and Robert feel jealousy of the other’s
attention towards other people
Robert’s engagement in courtly love; acceptable in Creole society because of the
husband’s complete faith in his wife’s fidelity
passion: only portrayed outside marriage such as by the young lovers; Edna recollects her
passionate infatuations before marriage; Edna, whose passions are aroused by music, now
only feels passion with Robert and Alcee; the lady in black has to suppress passion out of
respect for her dead husband.
familial love: Adele as the ‘perfect mother’ in opposition to Edna who feels enslaved by her
children.
Truth and deception: Edna does not set out to deceive her husband but ironically does not
need to because of his own self-deception as to the absolute fidelity of married women.
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Paper 2A: Texts in shared contexts, WW1 and its aftermath
Paper 2A will always be Texts in shared contexts, WW1 and its aftermath. See specification
section 4.2.
Unlike paper 1, each section is duplicated to offer students a simple path through the question
paper. Students choose the route based on their choice of prose, drama and poetry for section A.
Section A
Types of question
Paper 2A, section A will always offer a choice of two questions for each of the core set text s. The
core set text will either be prose, drama or poetry.
‘Faulks uses➋ birdsong to suggest a range of possible ideas➋➌➍➎ within the novel.’
Examine➊ the significance➋➌➍➎ of the title of the novel in light of this comment
➊As students examine the significance of birdsong they will be organising their writing and
expressing their ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The comment directs students to Faulks’ use of birdsong as a strategy for making meaning and
ideas. In examining this strategy, they will be considering the writer’s methods. (AO2)
➋➌➍➎The term ‘significance’ invites access to AOs 2, 3, 4, and 5.
➋➌➍➎ Students will be weighing up the potential meanings that arise from this metaphor: how
it leads to many possible contexts of understanding (AO3), implicitly connecting their study of it
with the ways in which metaphors are used to represent the conflict in other readings of this period
(AO4), engaging with different ways in which significance can be found in the notion of birdsong
(AO5).
Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment material is constructed. The
command word will remain the same, but the area to be explored, below in red italics, will need to
be changed:
Examine the view that women’s attempts to write from a male combatant’s point of view are
unconvincing.
2. Look for aspects of WW1 and its aftermath which occur in the set text of your choice. Option A
from specification section 4.1.2 is a good starting point as it lists potential aspects such as
nationalism, propaganda, heroism, etc. Other approaches include:

research critical views on the text, and structure a debate around one of these
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

research critical views from any another text about ‘WW1 and its aftermath’ and adapt the
quote so that students can consider how far it is true for the set text they have studied
debate the absence of aspects in a text which is equally valid.
Sample question with commentary
Scares Upon My Heart – ed. Catherine Reilly
Examine the view that women’s attempts to write from a male combatant’s point of view are
unconvincing.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember, each question covers all AOs, so all question key words should be addressed,
indicating either focus (women's attempts to write from a male combatant's point of view) or
direction (examine the view, unconvincing).
AO1
This is tested through the way students organise and express their ideas as they examine the
view. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate terminology and quality of discussion.
AO2
This requires detailed analysis of methods poets use to achieve effects. This is an open-book
exam, so students will illustrate their answers with generous textual detail, using quotations and
other close reference to support their points.
AO3
This is addressed when students demonstrate their understanding of the significance and influence
of the contexts in which Scars Upon My Heart was written and received. In exploring the
importance of the presentation of women’s roles in war, and their experience of war, students don’t
just engage with the context of WW1 and its aftermath, but with the contexts of when texts were
written and how they have been received. When exploring meanings and interpretations, they
should demonstrate their awareness of how the text is constructed and written.
AO4
In exploring women’s attempts to write from a male perspective, students will be connecting with
the representation of a critical issue of WW1 literature. Answers should be framed by a wider
understanding of the concept of the ‘role’ of women in this area.
AO5
Tests students’ skill in debating a view. Students would explore alternative interpretations of how
convincing women's attempts to write from a male combatant's point of view are.
Possible answer content
AO2
Structural features:
 contrast between the trench and home
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







life and death in From a Trench
the role of men and the role of women in WW1 in Non-Combatant
the role of the mother and the role of the munitions worker
life and death in Women at Munition Making; the young innocent boy and the brave soldier
in Pluck
the use of first person in From a Trench, The Convalescent, Christ in Flanders, Over the
Top, Non-Combatant and The Lament of the Demobilised
the use of the third person in Pluck and Women at Munition Making
the use of rhyme in Over the Top, which helps to convey the idea of a countdown to battle
The Convalescent and Non-Combatant.
Figurative language methods:
 similes in Over the Top to show the anxiety of the soldier waiting to go into battle and in
From a Trench to convey the conditions in the trench
 religious imagery in Over the Top, Christ in Flanders and Women at Munition Making
 the inclusion of the language of death and destruction in From a Trench, which arguably
does not fully/convincingly capture the horror of battle
 language which even plays down horror such as in The Convalescent.
Language features:
 speech in The Lament of the Demobilised which sarcastically conveys attitudes of people to
soldiers
 alliteration in Pluck and in Non-Combatant
 sibilance in Pluck and Women and Munition Making.
AO3



How the presentation of women is embedded in a specific historical context, ie that of the
home front in WW1
How this presentation is also determined by the different occupations, roles and attitudes to
war adopted by women:
o
Women at Munition Making suggests that women shouldn’t work in the war effort but
instead should fulfil a ‘motherhood’ role
o
Non-Combatant expresses humiliation, inferiority and a sense of burden that women
cannot go into battle
o Pluck voices nurses' first-hand observations of the consequences of war.
how attitudes to the idea of ‘powerless women’ in WW1 have changed since the poetry was
written, and how this reflects changing attitudes over time to WW1.
AO4
This is addressed by exploring the roles of women within WW1, in doing so connecting with one of
the central issues of WW1 and its aftermath:
 Students may cite arguably more ‘authentic’ poems written as from the point of view of
 the combatant From a Trench, Christ in Flanders, Over the Top
 the injured soldier The Convalescent
 the returning soldier The Lament of the Demobilised
 Conversely students may cite examples of arguably ‘inauthentic’ poems, for example those
written in the third person and/or from the point of view of nurses (Pluck).
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AO5
This is addressed when students construct a debate around the idea that women’s attempts to
write from a male combatant's point of view as unconvincing. They may focus on:
 poems written in the 1st person and/or in a trench setting where an attempt to create an
authentic 'male' voice is made through the use of trench slang, military language etc.
 poems which attempt to present the graphic reality of battle as if from direct experience
 poems where women use their own voices
 poems written in the third person, but establish sympathy with and/or appreciation of
combat experience.
Section B – first question
Paper 2A, section B requires the response to two questions. The first one will be around an unseen
text, the other will be comparison of set texts.
Types of question
The first question of section B requires the analysis of an unseen literary prose text. This text could
be fiction or non-fiction.
Explore➊ the significance➋➌➍➎ of suffering in this extract. Remember to include in your
answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Malouf shapes meanings➋.
➊As students explore the significance, they will be organising their writing and expressing their
ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The phrase ‘shapes meanings’ gives a clear invitation to students to engage with the writer’s
methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about suffering
(AO2).
➋➌➍➎Significance takes students into an exploration of meanings and a consideration of the
contextual factors that arise from the passage (AO2, AO3, AO4 and AO5).
Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment materials (SAMs) are
constructed. Most of the wording will remain the same aside from the area to be explored, shown
below in red italics:
Explore the significance of suffering in this extract. Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Malouf shapes meanings.
2. Look for an extract which includes a key area of WW1 and its aftermath; see specification
section 4.1.2 for ideas. Don’t forget that the aspect used for this question, the first question of
section B, will determine the aspect used for the second question of section B. Possible sources
include:
 extracts from any texts on the set text list for WW1 and its aftermath
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

extracts from other texts which explore this period
Rrmember to set extracts from literary prose as the unseen text in the examination will
always be in this form.
Sample question with commentary
Read the insert carefully. It is taken from the novel ‘Fly Away Peter’ by David Malouf,
published in 1982. In this scene Jim, the protagonist, visits his comrade Eric who has been
badly wounded in a recent battle. In the battle their mutual friend, Clancy, was killed. Eric
wants to know who will care for him after the war now that he is severely disabled.
Explore the significance of suffering in this extract. Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Malouf shapes meanings.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember, each question covers all assessment objectives, so all parts should be addressed. Key
words in this question indicated focus (significance of suffering, ways that Malouf shapes
meanings) or direction (explore, relevant detailed analysis).
AO1
This is assessed through how students organise writing and express ideas as they analyse the
extract and explore the significance of suffering. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate
terminology and quality of discussion.
AO2
Students are reminded to provide a detailed analysis of how Malouf shapes meaning. Students will
illustrate answers with generous textual detail, using quotations and other close reference to
support their points.
AO3
This relates to ‘significance’, so is addressed when students demonstrate they understand contexts
of suffering, including the moral and the psychological. In exploring the nature of suffering,
students will engage not only with the specific context of WW1 and its aftermath, but also with the
contexts of when texts were written and of reader response to the representation of suffering.
AO4
Students will connect with a central issue of WW1 literature, ie physical, mental and emotional
suffering as it affects combatants and those who minister to them, other service personnel, family
and friends. Answers should be implicitly informed by a wider awareness of the central issue and
the different forms of representation as seen in other reading around this period.
AO5
This assesses the skill with which students engage with the different ways significance can be
found in this extract; showing an understanding that meanings are not fixed.
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Possible content
AO2
Students should make it clear they are conscious that the text under analysis is fictional, the work
of a creative imagination.
Students may explore:
 aspects of narrative form and/or genre, ie the point-of-view which shifts between Eric and
Jim
 the overall shape and direction of their conversation
 the hospital setting and its impact on Eric and Jim respectively
 the use of direct speech in a conversation between the two men, containing elliptical forms
(‘Y’reckon’, ‘Wilya?’) and vulgar slang (‘take a piss’)
 colloquialisms (‘knocked about’, ‘knew the ropes’)
 elements of back-story (the orphanage, the NCOs, Clancy)
 Jim’s non-committal words and actions (‘vague’) in response to Eric’s need for
reassurance, including repetitions (‘they’ll look after you alright’, ‘Wilya Jim?’) and what they
indicate
 figurative language (‘his own hot panic had invaded the room’, ‘phantom moustache’, ‘force
weeping through him’)
 sparing use of descriptive adjectives (‘dry’, ‘hot’, ‘fine’, ‘thin and far away’, ‘aggrieved’,
‘insistent’, ‘querulous’, ‘impersonal’) which is characteristic of a generally economical style
throughout.
AO3
Students may explore ideas about:
 comradeship, friendship and loyalty among male combatants (Jim visiting the disabled Eric
in hospital and the ‘attraction’ of their mutual army friend Clancy)
 the suffering of those seriously injured in the war and their difficulty in coming to terms with
a bleak and uncertain future
 the incongruous evidence of premature ageing in young men who have been through hell in
the trenches
 the support provided by the army, hospital staff (‘the charity of their people’) and visitors like
Jim.
AO4
This will be addressed by exploring suffering, one of the central issues represented in literature of
WW1 and its aftermath. Students may cite examples of changing ideas about conflict and of
suffering experienced by those involved, whether directly or indirectly. They should also connect
the attitudes of those who were alive at the time and more recent attitudes.
AO5
Exploring different interpretations, students should fully ‘explore the significance of suffering’ in the
extract. They should be ready to write about:
 Eric’s physical condition (‘I can’t even stand up to take a piss’, ‘All those mornings when he
would have to be helped into a chair’)
 Eric’s emotional state
 Eric’s neediness and fearful anxiety about the future (betrayed by his ‘dry lips’ and ‘sweat
drops’, and by the change in his voice which Jim perceives as he walks away)
 Jim’s response to Eric’s predicament and questioning, which is presented at first as
vagueness, then ‘hot panic’, later in making promises which ‘he knew guiltily’ he would not
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keep, and finally bursting into tears, ‘trying to control his breath’, being ‘startled’ by the
‘harshness of his own words’.
Students could also give some account of the characters Malouf has placed in the background of
the narrative, all of whom in their different ways were or are there to look after Eric:
 the matron at the orphanage where presumably Eric grew up
 the NCOs he will have fought alongside
 the ward sisters
 Clancy whose worldliness and readiness to assert ‘his rights’ would have given Eric (and
Jim) much-needed moral strength and courage.
Section B – second question
Paper 2A, section B requires response to two questions. One will be around an unseen text, the
other will be comparison of set texts.
Types of question
The second question of section B addresses the comparison of two set texts.
‘Suffering in war comes in many different forms.’➌➎
Compare the significance of suffering➊➍ in two other texts you have studied. Remember
to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped➋
➍ in the texts you are comparing.
You must use one prose text written post-2000 and one poetry text in your response.
➊As students compare the significance of suffering, they will be organising their writing and
expressing their ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The phrase ‘how meanings are shaped’ gives a clear invitation to students to engage with the
writers’ methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about
suffering (AO2).
➌In engaging with the texts in light of the comment, students will be addressing the central issue
of how literary representations of suffering in texts can reflect different social, cultural and historical
aspects of the different time periods in which they were written (AO3).
➍As students are making connections between the texts in terms of subject matter or methods,
they will be addressing AO4. They will also be connecting implicitly with other texts which address
the same concepts of suffering they are exploring in these texts. (AO4).
➎In engaging with the texts in light of the comment, students will be considering different
interpretations (AO5).
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Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant questions from the sample assessment material (SAM) are
constructed. Most of the wording will remain the same aside from the comment area to be
explored, as shown in red italics below.
‘Suffering in war comes in many different forms.’
Compare the significance of suffering in two other texts you have studied. Remember to
include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are
comparing.
Don’t forget that the aspect of significance used for comparison will be the same as the aspect
used in the first question of section B.
2. Look for sources that can be used to construct a different ‘view’:
 look for aspects of WW1 and its aftermath which occur in the texts. See specification
section 4.1.2 for inspiration and remember that the absence of aspects in a text is equally
valid for debate
 look at the list of areas to explore for WW1 and its aftermath in the specification, and make
up a critical view around one of these
 research critical views on this text around which to structure a debate
 research critical views on another text about ‘WW1 and its aftermath’ (non-set texts
included) and adapt the quote in a more general sense so that students can consider how
far this can be said to be true of the two texts they have studied.
Sample question with commentary
Drama and Prose Contextual Linking (option 1).
‘Suffering in war comes in many different forms.’
Compare the significance of suffering in two other texts you have studied. Remember to
include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are
comparing.
You must use one drama text and one prose text in your response, at least one of which
must be a text written post-2000.
Note: the exemplar scripts here use David Haig, My Boy Jack (post-2000) as the drama text and
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front as the prose text, in the prescribed
translation by Prof. Brian Murdoch, 1994. The specific guidance below gives examples only from
those two texts.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Each question covers all assessment objectives, so all the key words in the question should be
addressed, indicating either focus (suffering in war, many different forms, how meanings are
shaped) or direction (compare, drama, prose, two texts of which one must be post-2000).
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AO1
This is tested through the way the students organise their writing and express their ideas as they
analyse the significance of suffering. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate
terminology and the quality of the discussion.
AO2
Reference to the ways that meanings are shaped gives a clear instruction to consider the writers’
methods in detail. Students should illustrate their answers with relevant textual detail wherever
possible – with quotations and other close reference – to support the points in their comparison
and discussion.
AO3
Picking up from their study of the unseen, students will demonstrate an understanding of the
various contexts of suffering, including the moral and the psychological. In exploring the nature of
suffering as presented in their two texts, students will engage not only with the specific context of
WW1 and its aftermath, but also with the contexts of when texts were written and of reader
response to the representation of suffering.
AO4
This will be addressed as students make comparisons between their two chosen texts, as directed
in the question. Students will connect to a wider awareness of the significance of suffering and the
many forms its representation can take in the literature of WW1 and its aftermath. Different forms
of suffering should be considered:
 physical and mental suffering as it affects the combatants
 their families and friends
 those who minister to them
 other service personnel
 the public at large.
AO5
This tests students’ skill in engaging with the different ways in which significance can be found in
their chosen texts. Students should show an understanding that comparison may open up different
meanings.
Possible content
AO2
This is an open book exam, therefore students are expected to quote appropriately and accurately
from those texts.
If writing about a prose text, students may comment on:
 narrative structure
 the delineation and presentation of character (most notably of Paul Bäumer, but also of
other key figures like Kemmerich, ‘Kat’ Katczinsky, Kropp, Himmelstoss, Müller and Tjaden)
 point-of-view and narrator’s ‘voice’, his thoughts on the wider context of the war, its futility
and inhumanity, the suffering of all combatants (irrespective of nationality)
 the use of dialogue and of indirect speech
 the sequence or chronology of events
 the description of settings (graphic scenes on the battlefield contrasted with scenes set in
the relative peacefulness of a nearby town or back home, or with those set the hospital)
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
ways of influencing the reader’s response to character and incident, which may include
ellipsis, use of the historic present tense, metaphor and other figurative language.
If writing about a drama text, students may comment on:
 aspects of overall structure and the placing of scenes in time and place (twelve scenes
spread across eleven years, from before the war begins to a significant moment for the
Kipling family in the aftermath
 scenes set at Batemans contrasted with those set on the western front in France
 the counterpoint of scenes involving the Kiplings and those involving Jack’s men)
 the importance of stage directions
 direct and indirect ways of communicating ideas and ‘messages’ (the consequences for
England of a German invasion; the imperatives of patriotism, honour and service; the
differing expectations of members of the same family; religious belief in the context of the
ultimate sacrifice)
 ways of presenting character and the interaction between characters (the Kiplings at home,
before and after the news of Jack’s being declared missing, and then after the certainty of
his death; Jack with his men on the battlefield; the physical suffering of Bowe and the
others contrasted with the emotional suffering of Rudyard, Carrie and Elsie)
 the titles of the two works (Haig’s taken from Kipling’s very personal poem about the loss of
his only son in the war; the irony of Remarque’s).
AO3
Students may explore:
 the nature of suffering as it affects those on the home front (Rudyard Kipling, Carrie and
Elsie; Bäumer’s mother)
 the nature of suffering as it affects those drawn directly into combat (Jack, Bowe, all those
in Paul’s band of comrades, and other soldiers)
 the nature and impact of physical suffering
 the psychological and emotional suffering
 how the presentation of suffering is connected to other themes and subjects in the literature
of WW1 and its aftermath (the Kipling family in 1924; examples passim in Remarque).
Students need to take account of the fact that, although first published ten years after the end of
the war, All Quiet… is the work of someone who actually fought in the war and was able to draw on
his own experiences when writing his novel. By contrast, the play My Boy Jack is the work of one
of our living playwrights which therefore has a very different genesis and perspective on a story
involving characters who represent historically authentic figures.
AO4
This will be addressed when students explore the ‘significance’ of suffering in their two texts,
thereby connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of the literature of WW1 and
the aftermath. They could cite examples of changing ideas about the nature of conflict and of the
suffering experienced by those involved, whether directly or indirectly. They should, however,
concentrate on the differences and similarities noted between their two chosen texts and attempt to
make valid comparisons at all significant stages of their answers, as directed in the question.
AO5
Students should incorporate different interpretations and show that they have fully ‘explored the
significance of suffering’ in their chosen texts. They should be ready to initiate and manage a
debate around the nature and possible forms of suffering:
 the savage brutality, misery and degradation experienced by soldiers in the trenches
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 the physical legacy of injuries sustained in the fighting or during gas attacks
 the pain of loss and separation
 the not knowing experienced by those left at home.
Students will evaluate the extent to which the contrasting genres – here prose and drama – affect
the ways in which suffering in particular is presented and meanings generally are understood by
the reader.
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Paper 2B: Texts in shared contexts, Modern times: literature from 1945 to
the present day
Paper 2B will always be ‘Texts in shared contexts, Modern times: literature from 1945 to the
present day’.
Unlike paper 1, each section is duplicated to offer students a simple path through the question
paper. Students choose the route based on their choice of prose, drama and poetry for section A.
Section A
Types of question
Paper 2B, section A will always offer a choice of two questions for each of the core set text s. The
core set text will either be prose, drama or poetry.
‘In Skirrid Hill relationships are frail, fragile, falling apart.’➌➍➎
Examine➊ this view of Sheers’ presentation➋ of relationships➌➍➎ in the collection.
➊As students examine the presentation of relationships, they will be organising their writing and
expressing their ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The words ‘presentation of relationships’ give a clear invitation to students to engage with the
poets’ methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about love
(AO2).
➌➍➎In engaging with the poems in light of the comment, students will be considering different
interpretations (AO5). In exploring relationships, students will be connecting with the representation
of one of the central issues of modern literature (AO4). They will also be addressing the central
issue of how literary representations of relationships in texts can reflect different social, cultural and
historical aspects of the different time periods in which they were written (AO3).
Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant question from the sample assessment material is constructed. The
command word will remain the same, but the area to be explored, below in red italics, will need to
be changed.
Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between
Stella and Stanley is 'inconceivable'.
2. Look for aspects of modern times which occur in the set text of your choice. Specification
section 4.1.2, option A is a good starting point as it lists potential aspects such as personal and
social identity, resistance and rebellion, political upheaval and change, etc.
 You can research critical views on the text, and structure a debate around one of these.
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

You can research critical views from any another set text and adapt the quote so students
can consider how far it is true for the set text they have studied.
Remember, the absence of aspects in a text is equally valid for debate.
Sample question with commentary
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between
Stella and Stanley is 'inconceivable'.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember, each question covers all AOs, so all question key words should be addressed,
indicating either as potential content (relationship, Stanley, Stella) or as direction for the debate
(examine, view, fails, 'inconceivable'), as these are clearly connected to the assessment objectives
AO1
This is assessed through the ways students organise and express their ideas as they are
examining the view. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate terminology and the
structure of the argument.
AO2
This requires students to analyse the methods used by Williams to achieve his effects, which will
include aspects of the dramatic form. This is an open-book exam, so students will illustrate their
answers with generous textual detail, using quotations and other close reference to support their
points.
AO3
This is addressed when students demonstrate an understanding of the literary, dramatic and
cultural contexts in which A Streetcar Named Desire is placed. In exploring changing attitudes to
marriage, students should engage not only with the specific context of literature from 1945 to the
present day, but also with the context of when the play was written and how it has been 'received'.
In their exploration of meanings and interpretations, they should demonstrate their awareness of
how the text is constructed and written.
AO4
Students will consider the roles of men and women within marriage, thereby making connections
with the representation of a central issue of the unit. Answer should be framed by a wider
understanding of relevant concepts, eg gender, class and culture, power and patriarchy.
AO5
Students will demonstrate skill in debating what they perceive to be the truth or otherwise of the
proposition or 'view' expressed in the question, by exploring alternative interpretations of the
relationship between Stanley and Stella.
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Possible content
AO2
Students may comment on:
 aspects of dramatic form and genre, e.g. melodrama, comedy and tragedy, social realism
 structure, e.g. crisis– climax–resolution, forward-moving action with 'flashback' (Blanche's
discovery of her young husband's homosexuality and his subsequent suicide)
 setting in the Elysian Fields quarter of New Orleans
 naturalistic effects: the use of music (the 'Negro' Blue Piano, the Polish Varsouviana),
sound (thunder, passing train) and lighting (described in meticulous detail in the stage
directions)
 dialogue (Stanley's is colloquial, working-class and assertive while Stella's is higher register
but sensible and down-to-earth)
 action (Stanley can be violent, clumsy, impetuous, but also tender and always passionate,
while Stella answers his passion in equal measure and in behaviour that bespeaks a wife
who, motivated by self-interest as well as by love, will unquestioningly stand by her man).
AO3
Students will need to show how the marriage of Stanley and Stella is embedded in a specific
historical context, ie that of America immediately after the Second World War. The essential nature
of that marriage is also determined by their differing class backgrounds and values. During the war
Stanley served as an NCO in the US Army; now a civilian, he is employed as a commercial
traveller at the same engineering 'plant' as Mitch with whom he plays poker and goes bowling.
Stella, like Blanche, is a product of a bygone colonial era; she made her way to New Orleans
during the war where she met Stanley and the two fell in love. In determining the inconceivability or
otherwise of their relationship, students will want to take account of the tremendous social and
cultural disruption which the war brought about, making their meeting a possibility against the
odds.
AO4
Students may explore the roles of men and women within marriage, so connecting with the
representation of one of the central issues of modern literature. They may cite examples of the
differences between the social backgrounds and personalities of Stanley and Stella. He is workingclass, 'common', from a European immigrant family, an arrogant, assertive alpha male; insensitive,
coarse, bestial, capable of raping his sister-in-law while she is a guest under his own roof. She is
refined but from a ruinously decadent aristocratic family, submissive, loyal, rejoicing in her new
motherhood, protective towards her sister but unwilling to accept the accusation of rape. They are
both sexually passionate (which leads to some 'stormy' scenes), but also capable of showing
tenderness towards each other, of giving and taking pleasure; both are needy and self-centred,
both are materialistic.
AO5
Students will explore different interpretations and conduct a debate around the notion of the
Kowalskis' marriage being 'inconceivable'.
If they accept the proposition set up in the task they may focus on some of the following:
 Stella's previous life in Belle Rêve
 the differences between them as seen in their respective values, speech and actions
 Blanche's difficulty in understanding the attraction they have for each other.
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In addition, they might like to consider Williams's themes:
 the ambiguous nature of sexuality
 the betrayal of faith
 the corruption of modern America
 the over-arching battle of artistic sensitivity against physical materialism
 whether or not the relationship between Stanley and Stella ties in with those themes.
Some students may decide that Stella's migration from Belle Rêve to the Elysian Fields is not
entirely plausible. If they do not accept the 'view' of inconceivability, they will probably focus on:
 the magnetic attraction that the two characters experience for each other which is sexual,
powerful and undeniable
 the presentation of Stanley as physically attractive, but also persuasive and manipulative
 the presentation of Stella's 'narcotized tranquility', her tolerance of Stanley's brutish
behaviour and his weaknesses.
Section B – first question
Paper 2B, section B requires the response to two questions. The first one will be around an unseen
text, the other will be comparison of set texts.
Types of question
The first question of section B requires the analysis of an unseen literary prose text. This text could
be fiction or non-fiction.
Explore➊ the significance➋➌➍➎ of isolation in this extract. Remember to include in your
answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Ali shapes meanings➋.
➊As students explore the significance, they will be organising their writing and expressing their
ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The phrase ‘shapes meanings’ gives a clear invitation to students to engage with the writer’s
methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about isolation
(AO2).
➋➌➍➎Significance takes students into an exploration of meanings and a consideration of the
contextual factors that arise from the passage (AO2, AO3, AO4 and AO5).
Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant questions from the sample assessment materials are constructed.
Most of the wording will remain the same aside from the area to be explored, shown below in red
italics:
Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Ali shapes meanings.
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When setting a different extract, the question wording can remain unchanged with the exception of
the area to be explored in the extract (here 'isolation') and the extract writer's name (here 'Ali').
2. Look for an extract which includes a key area; see specification section 4.1.2, option B for ideas.
Don’t forget that the aspect used for this question, the first question of section B, will determine the
aspect used for the second question of section B. Possible sources include:
 Extracts from any texts on the set text list for WW1 and its aftermath
 Extracts from other texts which explore this period
 Remember to set extracts from literary prose as the unseen text in the examination will
always be in this form.
Sample question with commentary
Brick Lane – Monica Ali
Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Ali shapes meanings.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Each question covers all assessment objectives, so all the key words in the question should be
addressed, indicating either focus (significance of isolation, ways that Ali shapes meanings) or
direction (explore, relevant detailed analysis).
AO1
This is tested through the way students organise their writing and express their ideas as they are
analysing the extract and exploring the significance of isolation. Value is placed on technical
accuracy, appropriate terminology and quality of discussion.
AO2
Students are reminded to provide a detailed analysis of how Ali shapes meaning. Students will
illustrate answers with generous textual detail, using quotations and other close reference to
support their points.
AO3
This relates to ‘significance’ so is addressed when students demonstrate an understanding of the
various contexts of isolation, including the physical and psychological. In exploring the nature of
isolation as presented in this passage, students will engage not only with the specific context of
modern times, but also with the contexts of when texts were written and of reader response to the
representation of isolation.
AO4
Students will make connections to the representation of one of the central issues of Modern times:
Literature from 1945 to the present day. Their answers should be implicitly informed by a wider
awareness of the concept and the many forms its representation can take, as seen in other reading
around this period.
AO5
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This assess the skill with which students engage with the different ways significance can be found
in this extract; showing an understanding that meanings are not fixed.
Possible content
AO2
Students should make it clear they are conscious that the text under analysis is fictional, the work
of a creative imagination. Students may explore:
 aspects of narrative form and/or genre, such as point-of-view where the reader sees the
situation through Nazneen's eyes only with the help of a third-person narrator
 the overall shape and direction of the extract, which begins with ideas of escape from her
isolation but then moves to the confines of her new life and a way of coping
 the domestic setting of the small flat and its impact on Nazneen
 elements of back-story (sent away to London, the sadhus, Dr Azad, daydreams about the
tattoo lady)
 unspoken thoughts (wishing for something, considering leaving the flat)
 use of questions ('Was it cheating?', 'Was it not the same as making the wish?', 'What if it
went wrong?') to show Nazneen's lack of confidence in her new world
 sparing use of figurative language ('monstrous black wardrobe that claimed most of the
room')
 straightforward choice of vocabulary and syntax ('Strangers would answer if she knocked
on the wrong door.') to reflect her lack of sophistication
 use of minor sentences (It was only dinner. One dinner. One guest.)
 repetition of 'never' and 'another day', which show Nazneen's lack of choice
 inclusion of religious references to reflect Nazneen's home culture.
AO3
Students may explore relevant ideas:
 what can cause isolation and loneliness (being sent to an unfamiliar country, an arranged
marriage to an older man, being unable to speak the native language)
 the isolation of women in particular because of class, race, gender or culture
 ideas about place/location (Ali's choice of Britain as Nazneen's new home in a period when
immigration and multiculturalism have challenged notions of a British identity.)
AO4
This will be addressed through the exploration of ideas about isolation, so connecting with the
representation of one of the central issues of modern times. Students may cite examples of
changing ideas about the concept of the isolation that can be present in modern society.
AO5
Exploring different interpretations, students should fully ‘explored the significance of isolation’ in the
extract. They should be ready to write about:
 the East End setting ('climbing the Rosemead stairwell to the fourth floor')
 Nazneen's restricted view from the flat ('Nazneen had never been close enough (never
closer than this, never further) to decipher the designs.')
 the loneliness of her arranged marriage to an older man ('She could spend another day
alone. It was only another day.')
 impositions of his expectations on her domestic life ('She should be getting on with the
evening meal')
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



Nazneen's thoughts about the tattoo woman ('perhaps they would sit together by the
window and let the time pass more easily.')
her preoccupations with cooking, and caring for the home (She would rinse the glasses and
rub them with newspaper to make them shine.')
her memories of her earlier life (the sadhus who walked in rags through the Muslim
villages')
the influence of her religion ('She had made her intention as fervently as possible seeking
refuge from Satan with fists clenched and fingernails digging into her palms.').
Students may also give some account of the characters Ali has placed in the background of the
narrative, all of whom in their different ways may contribute to her isolation (Chanu, the tattoo lady,
Dr Azad).
Section B – second question
Paper 2B, section B requires response to two questions. One will be around an unseen text, the
other will be comparison of set texts.
Types of question
The second question of Section B addresses the comparison of two set texts.
‘Modern literature shows isolated characters as being profoundly damaged.’➌➎
Compare the significance of isolation➊➍ in two other texts you have studied. Remember
to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped➋ in the texts you are
comparing.
You must use one prose text and one poetry text in your response, at least one of which
must be a text written post-2000.
➊As students compare the significance of isolation, they will be organising their writing and
expressing their ideas using appropriate terminology (AO1).
➋The phrase ‘how meanings are shaped’ gives a clear invitation to students to engage with the
writers’ methods and their effects and to show how those methods open up meanings about
suffering (AO2).
➌In engaging with the texts in light of the comment, students will also be addressing the central
issue of how literary representations of suffering in texts can reflect different social, cultural and
historical aspects of the different time periods in which they were written (AO3).
➍As students are making connections between the texts in terms of subject matter or methods,
they will be addressing AO4. They will also be connecting implicitly with other texts which address
the same concepts of suffering they are exploring in these texts. (AO4).
➎In engaging with the texts in light of the comment, students will be considering different
interpretations (AO5).
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Creating your own questions
1. Look at how the relevant questions from the sample assessment material (SAM) are
constructed. Most of the wording can remain the same aside from the area to be explored, below in
red italics.
'Modern literature shows isolated characters as being profoundly damaged.'
Compare the significance of isolation in two other texts you have studied. Remember to
include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are
comparing.
Don’t forget that the aspect of significance used for comparison will be the same as the aspect
used in the first question of section B.
2. Look for sources that can be used to construct a different ‘view’:
 Look for aspects of modern times which occur in the texts. See specification section 4.1.2
option B for inspiration and remember that the absence of aspects in a text is equally valid
for debate.
 Look at the list of areas to explore in the specification, and make up a critical view around
one of these.
 Research critical views on this text around which to structure a debate.
 Research critical views on another text about ‘modern times’ (non-set texts included) and
adapt the quote in a more general sense so that students can consider how far this can be
said to be true of the two texts they have studied.
Sample question with commentary
Brick Lane – Monica Ali
'Modern literature shows isolated characters as being profoundly damaged.'
Compare the significance of isolation in two other texts you have studied. Remember to
include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are
comparing.
You must use one drama text and one prose text in your response.
Note: the exemplar scripts use Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as the drama text and
Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road as the prose text. The specific guidance below gives examples
only from those two texts and assumes that the requirement for students to study a poetry text and
to include one text written post-2000 has been satisfied in section A of this paper.
How the question meets the assessment objectives
Remember, each question covers all assessment objectives, so all parts should be addressed. Key
words in this question indicated either focus (significance, isolated characters, profoundly
damaged, how meanings are shaped) or direction (compare, drama text, prose text).
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AO1
This is assessed through the way the students organise their writing and express their ideas as
they analyse the significance of isolation. Value is placed on technical accuracy, appropriate
terminology and the quality of the discussion.
AO2
Reference to the ways that meanings are shaped givens a clear instruction to consider the writers’
methods in detail. Students should illustrate their answers with relevant textual detail wherever
possible – with quotations and other close reference – to support the points in their comparison
and discussion.
AO3
Picking up from their study of the unseen, students will demonstrate an understanding of the
various contexts of isolation, including the physical and psychological. In exploring the nature of
isolation as presented in their two texts, students will engage not only with the specific context of
Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day, but also with the contexts of when texts
were written and of reader response to the representation of isolation.
AO4
This will be addressed as students make comparisons between their two chosen texts, as directed
in the question, and will connect to a wider awareness of the significance of isolation and the many
forms its representation can take in literature of Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present
day. Different forms of isolation might be considered:
 gender
 culture
 language
 religion
 belief
 attitude
 age.
AO5
This tests students’ skill in engaging with the different ways in which significance can be found in
their chosen texts. Students should show an understanding that comparison may open up different
meanings.
Possible content
AO2
This is an open book examination, therefore students are expected to quote appropriately and
accurately from those texts.
If writing about a prose text, students may comment on:
 narrative structure (the division into three parts which each show a different stage in the
marriage and in April's mental decline, the use of flashback to add context to character, the
anti-climactic ending)
 the delineation and presentation of character (most notably of Frank and April but also of
figures such as John Givings)
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



point-of-view and narrator’s ‘voice’ (the use of an ironic omniscient narrator who heightens
tension by switching between characters, his thoughts on loneliness in suburban middle
America, the absence of April's point-of-view until immediately before her suicide)
the use of dialogue and of indirect speech (the imaginary dialogue in Frank's head which
lets us see the breakdown of the marriage from his point of view and the better life that
Frank imagines, the ordinary conversation between Frank and April which reveals cracks in
the marriage)
the sequence or chronology of events; the description of settings (New York City where
Frank works and from which April is now excluded, Revolutionary Road which now
ironically represents a failed attempt at independence and freedom, Paris as an imagined
escape from the isolation of middle-class suburban life)
ways of influencing the reader’s response to character and incident, which includes
figurative language features.
If writing about a drama text, students may comment on:
 aspects of overall structure and the placing of scenes in time and place (the whole play
takes place in one time and one room
 the scenes move from a focus on Maggie and Brick to a focus on Big Daddy and Brick to
an unsatisfactory resolution: none of the isolated characters find peace)
 dramatic irony (the impending isolating revelations of Brick's homosexuality and Big
Daddy's cancer); the importance of stage directions
 direct and indirect ways of communicating ideas and ‘messages’ (the symbolism of the bed,
which acts as the ghost of an unnatural homosexual love which haunts Maggie and Brick,
and of Brick's crutch, a phallic symbol, which is removed by both Maggie and Big Daddy as
a symbol of Brick's castration)
 ways of presenting character and the interaction between characters (Maggie is presented
as dispossessed in her childlessness in contrast with Mae as 'monster of fertility'
 key points in dialogue are punctuated by interruptions by other characters and the off stage
telephone so that the height of tension is frozen).
AO3
Students may explore:
 the nature of isolation as it affects the key characters of Frank and April, and Maggie and
Brick
 the nature and impact of physical isolation
 the nature and impact of psychological isolation
 other forms of isolation due to for example: gender (the stereotypical expectations of
women in 1950s American society that April and Maggie cannot meet), sexuality (Brick is
living in a time when America did not tolerate deviation from the heterosexual norm)
 comparison with others who are theoretically less isolated (the contrast between Brick and
Maggie and Gooper and Mae)
 how the presentation of isolation is connected to other themes and subjects in the literature
of modern times.
AO4
This will be addressed when students explore the ‘significance’ of isolation in their two texts,
thereby connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of the literature of Modern
times: 1945 to the present day. They could cite examples of changing ideas (particularly between
the 1950s and today) about the nature of isolation and of the profound damage experienced by
those involved, whether directly or indirectly. They should, however, concentrate on the differences
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and similarities noted between their two chosen texts and attempt to make valid comparisons at all
significant stages of their answers, as directed in the question.
AO5
Students should incorporate different interpretations and show that they have fully ‘explored the
significance of isolation’ in their chosen texts. They should be ready to initiate and manage a
debate around the nature and possible forms of isolation as expressed in those texts and to
evaluate the extent to which the contrasting genres – here prose and drama – affect the ways in
which isolation in particular is presented and meanings generally are understood by the reader.
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Marking your own papers
Our mark schemes
As mentioned in the ‘Before you start’ section, this specification takes a holistic approach to
assessment. All assessment objectives (AOs) are tested in every question, and each task has
been designed to enable students to meet all AOs.
Using the mark bands
When marking the questions you’ve written yourself, you’ll need to apply the appropriate ‘levels of
response’ marking grid.
Determine a level by:
 looking at the overall quality of the answer
 taking into account the descriptor for each level
 using a ‘best-fit’ approach.
Once the level has been decided, the mark within that level is determined by the quality of the
response at that level.
When placing answers in mark bands, examiners look closely at the descriptors and the detailed
generic mark bands. The key words for the bands are important and are printed below.
Mark band descriptors
Band 5: perceptive/assured
Band 4: coherent/thorough
Band 3: straightforward/relevant
Band 2: simple/generalised
Band 1: largely irrelevant, largely misunderstood, largely inaccurate
Remember: mark bands are not equivalent to grades. Grades are decided by the awarding
committee at the end of each exam series. Find out more in our four minute video.
Answers placed at the top of the band will securely address the descriptors; answers at the lower
end of the band will securely address the descriptors below and begin to show the qualities of the
band into which the examiner is placing them. Top band marks are attainable if students could not
be expected to do more in the time and under the conditions in which they are working.
Careful judgements need to be made about marks in the middle of the range; here it is likely that
the key descriptors will be more intermittent but still clearly evident.
There will be occasions when an answer addresses descriptors in different bands; in such cases,
the ‘best-fit’ model applies. Here examiners will need to exercise a different kind of judgement,
looking to see where the answer can be most fairly and appropriately placed in terms of its quality
against the descriptors.
Possible content
Students’ views which are relevant, well-argued and supported by appropriate textual evidence
must receive credit whether the examiner agrees with the views or not. It is important to try to
remain flexible if a student introduces unusual or unorthodox ideas.
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Although the mark scheme provides some indicators for what students are likely to write about,
examiners should be willing to reward what is actually there – provided, of course, that it is relevant
to the question being asked.
Key points: marking extract-based questions
 Does the student have an overview of the extract(s)?
 Has the student written about authorial method(s)?
 Has the student seen the significance of the extract in relation to the central historicist literary
concept?
 Has the student quoted from the extract to support ideas?
 What is the student’s AO1 competence?
Key points: questions based on a single text
 Has the student engaged in a relevant debate or constructed a relevant argument?
 Has the student referred to different parts of the text to support their views?
 Has the student seen the significance of the text in relation to the central historicist literary
concept?
 Has the student referred to authorial method?
 What is the student’s AO1 competence?
Key points: questions connecting two texts
 Has the student focused on the central historicist literary concept set up in the question and
referred to two texts?
 Has the student engaged in a relevant debate or constructed a relevant argument around the
two texts?
 Has the student considered the writers’ authorial methods in the two texts?
 Has the student adhered to the rubric?
 Has the student given substantial coverage of two texts?
 What is the student’s AO1 competence?
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England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
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Finer points: look, feel and features of a live exam paper
Journey of a final paper
Contributors
A question paper is put together by an exam team. The members of the team are often teachers,
who have developed assessment expertise as a result of working as examiners. The team is made
up of senior examiners: it includes the Chair of Examiners for the subject; a Chief Examiner for the
specification; and writers for each question paper.
We also have assessment design and product teams who manage the process and ensure the
question paper complies with rules and regulations. The team draws on the research and
assessment expertise of our Centre for Education Research and Practice.
Analysis
We analyse the statistics of question papers sat by students and are continuously improving. By
understanding how individual questions have performed we learn lessons which help inform any
future decisions on question papers.
We develop a ‘blueprint’ for each question paper. This is essentially the design of the question
paper; for example what areas of the specification and balance of skills are to be assessed. This is
one of the most important parts of the whole process.
The exam team collaborates closely to create and review the question paper. They scrutinise all
aspects of every question. This includes:
 relevance to specification
 breadth of specification covered
 depth of knowledge assessed
 possible content in the mark scheme accurately reflecting the question asked
 allocation of assessment objectives.
Accessibility
It is important to us that our question papers are accessible to all students. Accessibility is about
getting the message across clearly without affecting the demand of the question. Clear language
and layout of question papers is important for all students.
We take measures to ensure that our question papers are clear to all students. Our question
papers are reviewed by representatives of The British Association of Teachers of the Deaf who tell
us if certain words or images could make the question more difficult for some students to access.
Once our question papers are made, our specialist team creates modified question papers for
visually impaired students.
Our accessibility ethos gives all students the best opportunity to get the results they deserve.
There are basic principles we work towards. We:
 use standard wording/instructions
 add ‘scaffolding’ to questions to act as a guide (appropriate to level of demand)
 embolden key bits of information
 explain unfamiliar terms
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
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

reduce repeated information
include plenty of white space to improve readability.
Layout
The structure of a question is extremely important. Students need to manage information and
understand what is required of them.
Students find familiar, plain fonts easier to read, so we use Arial as the typeface for all our question
papers. We use it at size 11 pt, an acceptable size for reading. Larger font sizes are available for
students who are visually impaired.
We are aware that dense text will put some students off reading the whole question so leave plenty
of white space around questions and texts. White space leaves room for students to highlight and
annotate questions and texts, should they wish to.
Bold and square brackets are used to indicate the total marks available for a question. This
formatting makes the depth of response required clear to students, and helps them to decide how
long to spend on the question.
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
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Notes
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
45 of 48
Notes
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
46 of 48
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
47 of 48
A-level
Contact Us
T: 0161 953 7504
E: [email protected]
@: AQAEnglish
aqa.org.uk/english
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
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