English GCSE Exam Outline
English Language
Paper One: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (50%)
Duration: 1 hour 45 mins Marks: 80 marks
Section A Reading: One literature fiction text
You will answer four questions looking closely at what information is presented and the methods the writer uses to do this.
Section B Writing: Descriptive or narrative writing
You will write a piece of descriptive writing, either by using a picture to describe a setting or through the perspective of a character.
Paper Two: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (50%)
Duration: 1 hour 45 mins Marks: 80 marks
Section A Reading: One non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text
You will answer four questions looking closely at what information is presented and the methods the writer uses to do this.
Section B Writing: Writing to present a viewpoint
You will write a piece of persuasive, informative or argumentative writing on the given subject.
English Literature
Paper One: Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel (40%)
Duration: 1 hour 45 min Marks: 64
Section A: You will answer a question on an extract from ‘Macbeth’ and then write about the play as a whole.
Section B: You will answer a question on an extract from ‘A Christmas Carol’ and then write about the play as a whole.
Paper Two: Modern Texts and Poetry (60%)
Duration: 2 hours 15 mins Marks: 96
Section A: You will have a choice of two essay questions on ‘An Inspector Calls’.
Section B: You will write a comparative essay on two poems. One will be printed and you will compare this with another poem from the anthology but this will be from memory.
Section C: You will answer a question on an unseen poem and then compare this with another unseen poem.
Remember! You will not have a copy of any of the texts apart from what is printed on the exam paper.