GCSE English Language Paper 2 Overview (Edexcel GCSE English Language): Revision Notes
📚 Revision Notes
How to Approach Paper 2
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Facts
- Time: 2 hours 5 minutes (1 hour 20 for reading, 45 minutes for writing)
- Structure: 2 sections – Section A (Reading) and Section B (Writing)
- Texts: 2 non-fiction texts, one from the 20th century and one from the 21st century
- Questions: 8 reading questions, 1 writing task
Section A - Reading (Total: 40 marks)
- In this section, you'll answer 4 questions based on a single fiction extract. Here's a quick overview of what they're about and how many marks they are worth. | Question | Focus | Marks | |---|---|---| | 1 | Comprehension | 4 | | 2 | Language Analysis | 8 | | 3 | Structure Analysis | 8 | | 4 | Evaluation | 20 |
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You should aim to spend about a minute per mark!
Use the paper 1 guide to see how to analyse the extract in detail → How to Approach Paper 1
Section B
- In this section, you'll answer a creative writing question based on a prompt. This could be a story, description, or a piece inspired by an image. You'll have 45 minutes for this section.