How to Answer Question 3 (Edexcel GCSE English Language)

Question 3 on Paper 2 of your Edexcel GCSE English Language exam is the language and structure question.

The following guide to how to answer Question 3 includes:

• Question 3 overview

• How to answer Question 3

• Exam tips

Question 3 overview

Question 3 is the language and structure analysis question. It is worth 15 marks, and you should spend 20 minutes on it, including reading time.

You will be asked about the whole of Text 1, to consider how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader. The question will also have three bullet points to guide your answer:

• Language features and techniques

• Structural techniques

• The effect on the reader

You must also support any points you make with detailed quotes or references to the text.

It is important to note that, to achieve full marks for this question, your answer must include analysis of both language and structure, as indicated by the mark scheme:

If you focus only on language in your answer, you cannot get more than 4–6 marks.

How to answer Question 3

Question 3 will always be worded as follows:

The focus of this question is on how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

Remember, this question is based on the whole text. In order to achieve full marks, you should:

1. Read the question carefully and highlight its focus

2. Track through the whole of Text 1, highlighting what the writer has done to interest and engage the reader:

• Highlight interesting words, phrases and techniques

• Annotate in the margins: how does this interest and engage the reader?

For example (taken from the June 2023 exam):

3. Start your answer with a summary statement, using the wording of the question:

   • For example: “The writer uses language and structure to increase the tension in the text and emphasise the danger the writer is in.”

4. Make a range of points from the whole of the text which cover both what effects the writer’s choices of language achieve, and why the writer has structured the extract in the way they have:

   • You should ensure you use evidence from the start, middle and end of the text to show that you have considered it as a whole

   • In addition, consider how the writer has organised the whole text (how it starts and how it ends)

   • You can use the bullet points in the question to help structure your answer

5. For every point you make, ensure you provide a short, relevant quote or textual reference to support it:

   • For example: “The writer emphasises the scale and danger of the attempted escape by calling it the ‘most daring mass escape’, suggesting that other attempts were less important.”

Please see the Question 3: Model Answer revision note for more detailed examples.

Exam tips

• In order to get top marks for this question, you must ensure you include analysis of both language and structure in your answer (although it is not necessary to make the same amount of points about both):

  • For a guide on how to analyse language, please read our exam guide: How to Analyse Language in an English Language Exam

  • For a guide on how to analyse structure, please read our exam guide: How to Analyse Structure in an English Language Exam

• Make sure you have included appropriate and relevant supporting references for every comment that you make:

  • Re-read your answer when you have finished to make sure you have done this

• To include an analysis of structure, you should write about how the text begins and where it leaves the reader at the end:

  • You should try to explain why you think the writer has structured the writing in this way

• Avoid just identifying the techniques the writer has used, without any analysis of why they have used these techniques:

  • Think: what effects are they trying to create?

  • Your use of subject terminology should be relevant, specific and accurate, but without accompanying analysis this will not be enough to secure high marks