2026 Changes: Paper 2 (AQA GCSE English Language): Revision Note

What are the changes to the AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 exam?

Question 1

No changes.

Question 2

The wording of Question 2 has changed to make it clearer what you have to do in order to gain marks.

Instead of being asked to “write a summary”, you will be asked what you can “infer” about the similarities and/or differences of something in both texts.

For example:

It is important to remember that you are still being assessed on AO1(i): to select and synthesise evidence from different texts. This means you are still required to write a summary of what you can infer from both texts. Even though the wording has changed, there is no change in how you answer this question.

Question 3

No changes.

Question 4

Question 4 is the question that asks you to look at two writers’ viewpoints. There are some slight changes to the wording of Question 4, mainly removing the need to “compare” the writers’ methods, but rather to “comment on” them.

For example:

Question 5

There are no changes to the question, but the mark scheme has been updated to give “typical features” at each level. This is mainly to help teachers and examiners, and shouldn’t affect the way you write your answers.

Remember, we will be updating all of our AQA GCSE English Language revision resources later this year to reflect these changes.

Also watch out for Smartmark, our AI marking tool, coming soon for AQA GCSE English Language!