GCSE English Language Paper 2 – Revising For Your Exam

Our Advice To Revising For English Language Paper 2

What should I do in each question?

Question 1

You will be presented with a list of statements. You have to tick 4 true statements.

Question 2

You need to write a summary that highlights the differences between particular things in both texts. You should use your own words but also support your summary with evidence from both sources. You do not need to analyse language but you must show that you clearly understand the two texts’ representations of the particular thing.

Question 3

Here you will analyse language features/literary techniques and explain how they affect the reader. Personal opinions can be offered but must be justified with quotations. PEA structure will ensure you are successful. Remember to zoom in on key words and explain their connotations!

Question 4

In this question, you will analyse how writer’s ideas and perspectives are similar/different in both texts. You should use building connectives to show similarities (furthermore, also, additionally) and use comparing connectives (however, on the other hand, in comparison) to show differences. Evidence is vital to support ideas and an analysis of writing methods should prove you understand deeper meaning of both texts (inference skills).

Timing the paper

You should spend 15 minutes reading the extracts and the questions. Highlight any key parts of the text during reading time.

Question                                                       Time

1-     A01 evidence                                    5 minutes

2-     A01 select and synthesise                  10 minutes

3-     A02 analysing language                    10 minutes

4-     A03 compare and contrast texts       20 minutes