GCSE English Language Topics by Exam Board: Full List

Published

17 February 2025

Last updated

17 February 2025

Contents

As a student of AQA GCSE English Language, you will need to understand how your course is structured and what will be expected from you in each exam.

This article provides a detailed breakdown of the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language courses. We’ll outline the content and examination format for each one to help you focus your studies effectively.

AQA GCSE English Language topics

Studying GCSE English Language with any exam board will help you develop essential reading, writing and spoken language skills. A core subject of the national curriculum, gaining a pass in GCSE English Language means you’ll achieve an essential qualification for many career pathways and opportunities.

The AQA GCSE English Language course is designed to improve your comprehension, analysis, and communication abilities.

The course is divided into three main areas of study:

Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing
Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives
Spoken Language

1.Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

This unit focuses on how writers of literature engage their readers. You will analyse a fiction text and examine how the authors have used narrative and descriptive techniques to capture readers’ interest. You’ll use this as inspiration for your own creative writing piece.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Becoming confident reading fictional texts from the 20th or 21st century.
Analysing narrative techniques, language use, and structure.
Writing descriptive or narrative pieces inspired by reading material.

2.Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives

This unit encourages you to evaluate how different writers have presented viewpoints and perspectives over time. You’ll be analysing both non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts in this part of the course, which will inspire your own piece of written text in which you will present your own perspective on the themes to which you have been introduced.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Comparing texts from different time periods (a 19th-century text with either a 20th- or 21st-century text).
Understanding how writers convey opinions and arguments.
Writing to express a personal viewpoint.

3.Spoken Language

In this element of the course, you’ll prepare for a non-exam assessment to evaluate your speaking and listening skills. You will deliver a formal presentation and respond to questions.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Delivering a formal spoken presentation.
Responding to questions and feedback.
Using Standard English effectively in speech.

What is covered in AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1?

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 is called Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing part of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse a fiction text, and then answer:

One short-form question (1 x 4 marks)
Two longer-form questions (2 x 8 marks)
One extended question (1 x 20 marks)

The questions will assess your comprehension, language analysis, and critical evaluation of one single text.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

Section B — Writing:

One extended writing task (24 marks for content; 16 marks for technical accuracy)

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 1 is 80.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 50% of your GCSE English Language grade.

What is covered in AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2?

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 is called Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives section of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse two linked non-fiction texts from different time periods, and then answer:

One short-form question (1 x 4 marks)
Two longer-form questions (1 x 8 marks; 1 x 12 marks)
One extended question (1 x 16 marks)

The questions will assess your comprehension, comparison, and evaluation of two linked texts.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

Section B — Writing:

One extended writing task (24 marks for content; 16 marks for technical accuracy)

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 2 is 80.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 50% of your GCSE English Language grade.

Revision Resources for AQA GCSE English Language

You’ll find a wealth of resources at Save My Exams to polish your English Language skills in preparation for your GCSEs. Our English experts have created revision notes, exam questions and practice papers, all carefully aligned to the AQA course specification, so you won’t waste a moment of valuable revision time.

AQA GCSE English Language: Revision Notes

AQA GCSE English Language: Exam Questions

AQA GCSE English Language: Practice Papers

AQA GCSE English Language: Past Papers

Edexcel GCSE English Language Topics

Studying Edexcel GCSE English Language will help you develop essential reading, writing, and spoken language skills. As with the AQA qualification, this course is designed to improve your comprehension, analysis, and communication abilities.

The Edexcel course is divided into three main areas of study:

Fiction and Imaginative Writing
Non-Fiction and Transactional Writing
Spoken Language Endorsement

1.Fiction and Imaginative Writing

This component focuses on reading and responding to fiction texts, as well as developing your own creative writing skills.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Becoming confident analysing 19th-century fiction texts.
Exploring narrative techniques, language, and structure.
Writing imaginative, descriptive, or narrative pieces.

2.Non-Fiction and Transactional Writing

This unit encourages you to understand and analyse non-fiction texts, which in turn will help you develop your own transactional writing skills.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Reading and analysing 20th- and 21st-century non-fiction texts.
Comparing different writers’ perspectives and techniques.
Writing non-fiction pieces, such as letters, articles, reviews, and speeches, for a variety of audiences and purposes.

3.Spoken Language Endorsement

This non-exam element of the course involves:

Delivering a formal spoken presentation.
Responding to questions and feedback.
Using Standard English effectively in speech.

You will not get marks towards your final English Language grade from this endorsement. Instead, you will be awarded a grade at Pass, Merit or Distinction level.

What is covered in Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 1?

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 is called Fiction and Imaginative Writing.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Fiction and Imaginative Writing part of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse an unseen 19th century fiction text of approximately 650 words, and then answer:

Two short-form questions worth 1 and 2 marks
Two longer-form questions, one worth 6 marks and one worth 15 marks

The questions will assess your comprehension, language analysis, and critical evaluation of one single text.

This section is worth 24 marks in total.

Section B — Imaginative Writing:

One extended writing task from a choice of two, linked by theme to the reading extract. One of the tasks will provide two images that you can use to help generate ideas for your writing.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 1 is 64.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 40% of your GCSE English Language grade.

What is covered in Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 2?

Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 2 is called Non-Fiction and Transactional Writing.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Non-Fiction and Transactional Writing section of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse two linked extracts from 20th- and 21st-century non-fiction texts, and then answer a mixture of short-form and extended-response questions about the texts.

One of the questions will test your ability to compare the writers’ ideas and how they are presented in the two texts.

This section is worth 56 marks in total.

Section B — Transactional Writing:

One extended writing task from a choice of two.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 2 is 96.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 60% of your GCSE English Language grade.

Revision resources for Edexcel GCSE English Language

There are plenty of resources to help you prepare for success in your Edexcel GCSE English Language exam at Save My Exams, including detailed revision notes written by our team of English experts. There are also past papers to help you with crucial exam practice.

Edexcel GCSE English Language: Revision Notes

Edexcel GCSE English Language: Past Papers

WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language topics

Studying WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language as an alternative to the AQA and Edexcel qualifications will help you to develop the same all-important reading, writing, and spoken language skills.

Unlike AQA and Edexcel, the spoken assessment element of this course counts towards your overall grade.

The WJEC Eduqas course is divided into three main areas of study:

Reading and Writing: Description, Narration, and Exposition
Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion, and Instructional
Non-Examination Assessment: Oracy

1.Reading and Writing: Description, Narration, and Exposition

This unit assesses your ability to understand and produce descriptive, narrative, and expository texts.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Reading and analysis of description, narration, and exposition texts.
Writing skills in description, narration, and exposition texts.
Editing of short texts at word, sentence, and text level.

2.Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion, and Instructional

This unit is designed to develop your skills in argumentation, persuasion, and instructional writing. You will learn how to express your arguments with clarity, accuracy, and good organisation.

The key areas of study for this part of the course are:

Reading and analysis of argumentation, persuasion, and instructional texts.
Writing skills in argumentation, persuasion, and instructional texts.

3.Non-Examination Assessment: Oracy

This non-exam element of the course involves:

Researching and preparing an individual researched presentation on a set theme
Participating in group discussions based on written or visual stimuli.

What is covered in WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 1?

WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 1 is called Reading and Writing: Description, Narration, and Exposition.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Reading and Writing: Description, Narration, and Exposition part of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse an unseen text and then answer a mixture of short-form questions and extended response questions about the text.

The questions will assess your comprehension, language analysis, and critical evaluation of the text.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

Section B — Creative Prose Writing:

One extended writing task from a choice of four.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 1 is 80.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 40% of your GCSE English Language grade.

What is covered in WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 2?

WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 2 is called Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion, and Instructional.

This written paper tests the reading and writing skills you have learned in the Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion, and Instructional section of the course.

The paper is divided into two sections:

Section A — Reading:

You will read and analyse an argumentation, persuasion and instructional texts and then answer a mixture of short-form and extended-response questions about the text.

The questions will assess your comprehension, comparison and evaluation skills.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

Section B — Writing:

Two extended writing tasks, one argumentation and one persuasion.

This section is worth 40 marks in total.

The total marks for Paper 3 is 80.
You will have 1 hour 45 minutes to complete this paper.
This paper is worth 40% of your GCSE English Language grade.

What is covered in WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 3?

WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language Paper 3 is called Oracy. It is a non-exam assessed unit in which you will do:

An individual researched presentation on a set theme.
A group discussion based on written or visual stimuli.

Although this unit is not assessed in an exam paper, both the individual presentation and the group discussion are assessed and awarded marks that comprise 20% of your final grade.

Revision resources for Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language

Get set for success in your Eduqas GCSE English Language exam by using the detailed revision notes written by our team of English experts. There are also past papers to help you shape up your skills.

Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language: Paper 1 Revision Notes

Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language: Paper 1 Past Papers

Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language: Paper 2 Revision Notes

Eduqas WJEC GCSE English Language: Paper 2 Past Papers