I find a lot of students who come to me for English tuition are really confused when it comes to Language and Literature, with many not knowing which is which or what will appear on the exam papers.
This is a brief description of what will appear on each of the literature exam papers, and as most of my students are studying for either AQA or Edexcel, these are the exam boards I’ll detail here. Make sure you read the section (AQA or Edexcel) that is relevant to you!
The exam is made up of two papers and you do both of them.
AQA Exam Board
| Name of paper | Length of exam | Percentage of total marks | Total marks available | |
| Paper 1 | Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel | 1hr45 | 40 | 64 |
| Paper 2 | Modern texts and poetry | 2hr15 | 60 | 96 |
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel
The paper is divided into two sections (A and B)
Section A will give you an extract from the Shakespeare play you have been studying and you will have to answer one question about the given extract and the play as a whole. There are several possible plays but it’s most likely that you will have studied either Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet. This section is worth 34 marks (30 for the question plus 4 for using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures and for accurate punctuation and spelling).
Section B will give you an extract from the 19th century novel you have been studying and you will have to answer one question about the given extract and the novel as a whole. There are several possible novels but it’s most likely that you will have studied A Christmas Carol. This question is worth 30 marks.
Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry
The paper is divided into three sections (A B and C)
Section A will give you a choice of two questions about the modern text you have studied. There are several possible texts but it’s most likely that you will have studied either An Inspector Calls or Blood Brothers. This section is worth 34 marks (30 for the question plus 4 for using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures and for accurate punctuation and spelling).
Section B will give you one poem from the anthology you have been studying and you will have to answer one question comparing this poem to one of the others in your anthology. There is more than one possible anthology, but it’s most likely that you will have studied power and Conflict. This question is worth 30 marks.
Section C is in two parts. In part one you will answer one question about a poem you haven’t seen before. In part two you will be given a second unseen poem and you will be asked to compare the two. This question is worth 32 marks (24 for part one and 8 for part two)
Edexcel Exam Board
| Name of paper | Length of exam | Percentage of total marks | Total marks available | |
| Paper 1 | Shakespeare and Post-1914 Literature | 1hr45 | 50 | 80 |
| Paper 2 | 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789 | 2hr15 | 50 | 80 |
Paper 1: Shakespeare and Post-1914 Literature
The paper is divided into two sections (A and B)
Section A will give you an extract from the Shakespeare play you have been studying and you will have to answer two questions: one about the given extract and one about the play as a whole. There are several possible plays but it’s most likely that you will have studied either Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet. This section is worth 40 marks.
Section B will give you a choice of two questions about the modern text you have studied. There are several possible texts but it’s most likely that you will have studied either An Inspector Calls or Blood Brothers. This section is worth 40 marks (32 for the question plus 8 for using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures and for accurate punctuation and spelling).
Paper 2: 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789
The paper is divided into two sections (A and B)
Section A will give you an extract from the novel you have been studying and you will have to answer two questions: one about the given extract and one about the novel as a whole. There are several possible novels but it’s most likely that you will have studied A Christmas Carol. This section is worth 40 marks.
Section B is in two parts. In part one you will be given one poem from the anthology you have been studying and you will have to answer one question comparing this poem to one of the others in your anthology. In part two you will be given two poems you haven’t seen before and you will be asked to compare the two. This question is worth 40 marks (20 for part one and 20 for part two).