Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Language (1EN0) · Paper 2: Non-fiction and Transactional Writing
Mini-Lesson
Paper 2: Non-fiction & Transactional Writing
This mini-lesson trains the skills Edexcel 1EN0 Paper 2 tests: reading two unseen non-fiction texts (20th and 21st century), retrieving and synthesising, analysing language, comparing the texts, and producing convincing transactional writing.
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go (spot the device, pick the best comparison, match form to feature) and collect ⭐ stars. Press Start when you're ready.
Know the paper
What Paper 2 asks of you
Section A gives you two unseen non-fiction texts from the 20th and 21st centuries on a linked theme. A ladder of reading questions worth 56 marks:
Retrieval — find and select information from a text (AO1).
Language & structure — analyse how a writer uses language for effect (AO2).
Evaluation — evaluate how successfully a writer achieves an effect (AO4).
Comparison — compare the two texts' ideas and perspectives, and how they are conveyed (AO3).
Section B — Transactional Writing (40 marks): choose one task and write in a set form for a set purpose and audience. Assessed on communication & organisation (AO5) and technical accuracy (AO6).
Both texts are unseen. You can't revise the texts — but you can master the skills: analysis, comparison and transactional writing.
Quick check
Which is the compare question?
?One question asks you to compare how the two writers present their ideas and perspectives. Which Assessment Objective does it mainly reward?
Reading skill
Read like a detective — annotate
Marks are lost by readers who skim. Before you write, annotate both texts:
Purpose — is it to inform, persuade, describe, argue?
Audience — who is it aimed at, and how do you know?
Underline striking words and phrases.
Bracket structural moves and the writer's stance.
Tone — jot the mood in the margin (angry? warm? urgent?).
PAT — Purpose, Audience, Tone. Nail these for both texts and the comparison writes itself.
Toolkit · AO2
Language techniques & their effects
Naming a device earns almost nothing. The marks are in the effect — what it makes the reader feel or think.
Emotive language — targets the reader's feelings.
Rhetorical question — pulls the reader in; makes them agree.
Statistics / facts — sound authoritative; feel like proof.
Metaphor / imagery — make an abstract idea vivid.
Direct address ("you") — makes it feel personal.
Triples (list of three) — build rhythm and emphasis.
The golden rule: device → quotation → effect on the reader. Miss the effect and you're only "feature-spotting".
Quick check
Name the device
?"Every hour, another 400 people lose their homes. How much longer can we ignore this crisis?" — which technique ends that extract?
Analysis skill · AO2
Comment on the effect, not the label
Compare two comments on the same line:
"The scheme bulldozed a community into the dust."
▸ verb "bulldozed" — metaphor
Weak (feature-spotting)
"The writer uses a metaphor here. This is effective and makes it interesting."
Strong (device → effect)
"The verb 'bulldozed' presents the scheme as brutal and unstoppable, crushing people without care, so the reader sees the community as helpless victims and feels anger at those responsible."
Misconception: the marks are not for spotting the metaphor — they're for explaining why 'bulldozed' works and what it does to the reader.
Quick check
Pick the best comment
?A writer calls a decision "a slap in the face for loyal customers". Which comment earns the most AO2 marks?
Comparison · AO3
How to structure a comparison
The comparison question weighs the two texts' ideas and perspectives and how they are conveyed. Cover both texts in each point:
Compare both ideas and methods in each paragraph — never write about one text, then the other in isolation.
Use connectives: "whereas", "similarly", "in contrast", "unlike Text 1…". They keep the comparison explicit and score AO3.
The evaluation question · AO4
How to structure an evaluation answer
The evaluation question asks how successfully a writer does something. Judge the effect and back it with evidence — a What → How → Why chain with a verdict:
Point → Evidence → Explanation, then the extra step that makes it evaluation: a clear judgement of how successful it is.
Evaluation = analysis + verdict. Always end with a judgement: "This is highly effective because…", "This works well, though…".
Quick check
What's the weakness?
?For the comparison, a student writes a whole paragraph on Text 1, then a separate paragraph on Text 2, never linking them. What's the main problem?
Mini-game
Technique → effect
Tap the effect that best matches each technique.
Section B · Writing
Transactional writing: form, purpose, audience
Transactional writing gets something done — it informs, persuades, advises or argues to a real reader. Before writing, decode the task:
Form — letter? article? speech? report? review? Each has its own conventions.
Purpose — persuade, argue, inform, advise.
Audience — a head teacher, a newspaper's readers, MPs, teenagers.
Match the register to the audience. Getting the register wrong costs AO5 marks even if your ideas are good.
Quick check
Match the register
?The task: write a letter to your local council arguing for safer cycle lanes. Which opening best fits the form and audience?
Article — a catchy headline, an engaging opening hook, a clear voice.
Speech — direct address, rhetorical questions, repetition, a rousing final line.
Report — a title, neutral/formal tone, findings and a recommendation.
Review — a personal opinion with reasons, a recommendation to the reader.
Structure your writing: plan 4–5 paragraphs, open with a hook, group ideas logically, close memorably. Organisation is a big slice of AO5.
Mini-game
Match form → key feature
Tap a form on the left, then its signature feature on the right.
Persuasive toolkit
The DAFOREST toolkit
For persuasive tasks, DAFOREST is a checklist of moves that win readers over. Weave several in — don't just tick boxes.
Direct address · Anecdote · Facts · Opinion · Rhetorical question · Emotive language · Statistics · Triples.
Some teachers use the related acronym AFOREST instead (Alliteration, Facts, Opinion, Rhetorical question, Emotive language, Statistics, Triples) — either checklist covers the same ground. The point is the techniques, not the acronym.
Quick check
Which form is this?
?A piece opens with a bold headline, then an eye-catching first line to draw readers in, written for a newspaper's readership. Which form is it?
Technical accuracy · AO6
AO6 — spelling, punctuation, grammar & vocabulary
A large slice of your Section B marks is for technical accuracy and ambitious vocabulary. Easy to gain — or throw away.
Vary your sentences — mix short and long for control and effect.
Punctuate accurately — full stops, commas, and the occasional colon, semicolon or dash used correctly.
Reach for precise vocabulary — "devastating" not "very bad"; "compelling" not "good".
Proofread — leave 3–4 minutes to catch slips.
Ambition with control beats safety with errors. Only use words you can spell and punctuate correctly.
Quick check
Spot the AO
?An examiner writes: "You compare the two writers' perspectives and how they convey them." Which Assessment Objective is being rewarded?
Mini-game
Text-type → purpose
Tap a text-type, then the box for its main purpose.
🎯 Persuade / Argue
ℹ️ Inform / Advise
Quick check
Spot the comparison
?Which sentence does the clearest job of comparing the two texts?
Quick check
Where do the marks come from?
?For the AO2 language question on one text, a candidate spends the whole answer comparing the two texts. What's the problem?
Recap
The skills to take into the exam
Read & annotate: Purpose, Audience, Tone (PAT) for both texts.
AO2 analysis: device → quotation → effect on the reader (one text).
AO4 evaluation: analysis + a clear judgement of how successful it is.
AO3 comparison: compare ideas AND methods in the same point, with connectives.
Transactional writing (AO5): match form + purpose + audience; use DAFOREST.