What Paper 1 asks of you

Section A gives you one unseen literary fiction extract (20th or 21st century). You answer four reading questions worth 40 marks:

• Q1 — List four things (4 marks) — quick retrieval from a set part of the text (AO1).
• Q2 — Language (8 marks) — how the writer uses words, phrases, language features and sentence forms (AO2).
• Q3 — Structure (8 marks) — how the writer has structured the whole text to interest the reader (AO2).
• Q4 — Evaluation (20 marks) — how far you agree with a statement, evaluating the writer's methods (AO4).

Section B — Writing (40 marks): a choice of a descriptive or narrative task, often prompted by a picture or a title. Assessed on content & organisation (AO5, 24 marks) and technical accuracy (AO6, 16 marks).

The extract is unseen — so you can't revise the text itself. What you can revise is the skill of analysing language, structure and effect, and your own writing craft.

Which question is which?

Read the extract like a detective

Before you write a word, annotate. Marks are lost by readers who skim, so build every answer on evidence:

• Underline striking verbs, adjectives and images.
• Bracket structural moves — where the focus shifts, a change of pace or a short punchy sentence.
• Note the tone in the margin (tense? peaceful? menacing?).
• Track the reader's journey — what are you made to notice first, next, last?

Read for effect, not plot. In Q2–Q4 the examiner rewards how the writing works on the reader — not a retelling of what happens.

Language techniques & their effects

Naming a device earns almost nothing. The marks are in the effect — what the word makes the reader feel or picture.

• Metaphor / simile — paint a vivid picture; make the abstract concrete.
• Personification — gives objects or nature feelings, creating mood.
• Powerful verbs — a precise verb ("crept", "shattered") controls the whole image.
• Sensory imagery — sight, sound, touch pull the reader into the scene.
• Sentence forms — a short sentence after long ones lands like a shock.
• Semantic field — a cluster of related words (e.g. of decay, of light) builds atmosphere.

The golden rule: device → quotation → effect on the reader. Miss the effect and you're only "feature-spotting".

Name the technique

Comment on the effect, not the label

Compare two comments on the same line:

Misconception: the marks are not for spotting personification — they're for explaining why 'crawled' works and what it does to the reader.

Pick the best comment

Structure — the shape of the whole text

Q3 is the structure question. Structure is how the writer orders and shapes the extract to guide the reader through it:

• The opening — where does the writer focus your attention first?
• Shifts — zooming from a wide view to a tiny detail; outside to inside; then to now.
• Perspective — following a character's eyes, or pulling back to a narrator.
• The ending — a cliffhanger, a return to the opening image, a final revelation.

How to structure the Q4 evaluation

Q4 (20 marks) gives you a statement about part of the text and asks how far you agree, evaluating the writer's methods. Judge the effect and back it with evidence — a What → How → Why chain with a verdict:

Evaluation = analysis + verdict. Keep coming back to the statement: "The writer does succeed here, because…", "This is convincing, though…".

What's missing?

Technique → effect

Tap the effect that best matches each technique.

Descriptive vs narrative writing

Section B offers a choice — usually a descriptive task (often from a picture) or a narrative task (a title or opening line). Pick the one you can do best and plan it:

• Descriptive — creates a vivid picture of a place, moment or person. Little plot; rich imagery and the senses.
• Narrative — tells a story with a clear shape. Keep it small: one moment done well beats a rushed epic.

AO5 rewards craft, not length. A tightly-controlled, vividly-described single scene scores higher than a sprawling plot with weak description.

Choose the stronger writing

Show, don't tell

• Use the senses — sight, sound, smell, touch, taste build a real place.
• Choose precise verbs and nouns — "sprinted", not "went fast"; "cathedral", not "big building".
• Zoom like a camera — wide shot, then a close-up on one telling detail.
• Vary sentence length for pace and control.
• Use a motif — a repeated image (light, cold, a colour) ties the piece together.

Plan first. 4–5 minutes planning a shape (an arc of images, or a story's turning point) saves the whole answer and boosts AO5 organisation.

Match method → effect on the reader

Tap a method on the left, then the effect it creates on the right.

Descriptive writing in action

A short model opening describing an abandoned house, with the techniques labelled:

Notice each device does a job: unsettling the reader, then leaving them tense in the silence. That is craft, not decoration.

Control your sentences

Sentence variety is one of the clearest markers of a confident writer:

• Long, flowing sentences — build atmosphere and detail.
• Short, blunt sentences — create shock, tension or a full stop of drama.
• Openers — start some sentences with a verb (-ing) or adverb for variety.
• Punctuation for effect — a dash, colon or ellipsis used deliberately.

Read it aloud in your head. If every sentence sounds the same length, vary it — rhythm is part of AO5.

Why the short sentence?

AO6 — spelling, punctuation, grammar & vocabulary

16 of the 40 Section B marks are for technical accuracy and ambitious vocabulary — nearly a quarter of your writing marks. Easy to gain, easy to throw away.

• Punctuate accurately — full stops, commas, and the occasional colon, semicolon or dash used correctly.
• Reach for precise vocabulary — "desolate" not "empty"; "menacing" not "scary".
• Vary sentence structures securely, using a range of punctuation.
• Proofread — leave 3–4 minutes to catch slips.

Ambition with control beats safety with errors. Only use words you can spell and punctuate correctly.

Spot the AO

Sort: reading skill or writing skill?

Tap a task, then the box for whether it belongs to Section A (reading) or Section B (writing).

The evaluative verdict

Working the paper for marks

• Watch the mark tariff — Q1 (4 marks) takes a moment; Q4 (20 marks) and Section B (40 marks) need the most time.
• Analyse the whole extract for Q2–Q4 — don't stall on the first line.
• Quote briefly and precisely — short, well-chosen quotations beat long copied chunks.
• In Section B, plan first — 5 minutes on a shape saves the whole answer.
• Save time to proofread for AO6.

Split your time by marks: Section A and Section B are worth 40 marks each — give each roughly half the paper (about 45 min reading, 45 min writing, plus reading time).

Where do the marks come from?

The skills to take into the exam

You've trained every core skill AQA 8700 Paper 1 tests. Press Finish to see your score.