english language essay gcse

English Language GCSE Past Papers

This section includes recent GCSE English Language past papers from AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC. If you are not sure which exam board you are studying ask your teacher. Past papers are a fantastic way to prepare for an exam as you can practise the questions in your own time. You can download each of the exam board's papers by clicking the links below.

• AQA GCSE English Language Past Papers
• CIE IGCSE English Language Past Papers
• Edexcel GCSE English Language Past Papers
• Eduqas GCSE English Language Past Papers
• OCR GCSE English Language Past Papers
• Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Language Past Papers
• WJEC GCSE English Language Past Papers

Essays (or reports) are designed to inform readers and advise readers about what they should do or believe.

What is in an essay or report?

• An effective and interesting introduction.
• Paragraphs that flow well into each other.
• A convincing and clear conclusion.
• A logical structure of connected ideas or pros & cons.

Who is the audience of essays & reports?

• Essays are usually targeted at a wide group of people.
• Reports are usually commissioned for a particular purpose and are targeted at a specific audience.

What language do essays use?

• This language is formal and impersonal.
• This is objective. The writer has given facts without stating their opinion on the fire or the deaths.
• But, your report or essay should still show your viewpoint.

1 Key Terms

1.1 Key Terms

1.1.1 Key Terms - Nouns, Verbs & Sentence Types

1.1.2 Key Terms - Words, Sounds & Language

1.1.3 Key Terms - Images, Symbols & Mood

1.1.4 Key Terms - Other Techniques

1.1.5 End of Topic Test - Key Terms

2 Language Techniques

2.1 Language Devices

2.1.1 Metaphors

2.1.2 Similes

2.1.3 Metaphors & Similes HyperLearning

2.1.4 Personification

2.1.5 Pathetic Fallacy

2.1.7 Oxymoron

2.1.8 Hyperbole

2.1.9 Alliteration

2.1.10 Sibilance

2.1.11 Onomatopoeia

2.1.12 Emotive Language

2.1.13 All Language Devices

2.1.14 End of Topic Test - Language Devices

2.2 Writing Structure

2.2.1 Narrators

2.2.2 Paragraphs

2.2.3 Tense

2.2.4 Present vs Past vs Future

2.2.5 Foreshadowing

2.2.6 Structure

2.2.7 End of Topic Test - Writing Structure

3 Paper 1: Reading

3.1 Structuring Your Answer - Section A

3.1.1 Overview - Section A

3.1.2 Answering Question 1

3.1.3 Answering Question 2

3.1.4 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading

3.1.5 Answering Question 3

3.1.6 Answering Question 4

3.1.7 End of Topic Test - Section A

3.1.8 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading

4 Paper 1: Writing

4.1 Structuring Your Answer

4.1.1 Overview - Section B

4.1.2 Answering Section B

4.1.3 Answering Section B - Checklist of Techniques

4.1.4 End of Topic Test - Writing Section

4.1.5 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Writing

5 Paper 2: Reading

5.1 DAFORESTER

5.1.1 Direct Address

5.1.2 Alliteration

5.1.3 Facts

5.1.4 Opinions

5.1.5 Repetition

5.1.6 Exaggeration (Hyperbole)

5.1.7 Statistics

5.1.8 Triples (Rule of 3)

5.1.9 Emotive Language

5.1.10 Rhetorical Questions

5.1.11 End of Topic Test - DAFORESTER

5.2 Structuring Your Answer

5.2.1 Overview - Section A

5.2.2 Answering Question 1

5.2.3 Answering Question 2

5.2.4 Answering Question 3

5.2.5 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading

5.2.6 Answering Question 4

5.2.7 End of Topic Test - Section A

5.2.8 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading

6 Paper 2: Writing

6.1 Structuring Your Answer

6.1.1 Overview - Section B

6.1.2 Answering Section B - Punctuation & Plans

6.2 Types of Writing

6.2.1 Article

6.2.2 Essay

6.2.3 Leaflet

6.2.4 Letter

6.2.5 Speech

6.2.6 Review

6.2.7 Travel Writing

6.2.8 Diaries & Journals

6.2.9 End of Topic Test - Types of Writing

6.3 Writing to...

6.3.1 Writing to Inform

6.3.2 Writing to Inform - Example

6.3.3 Writing to Explain

6.3.4 Writing to Explain - Example

6.3.5 Writing to Persuade

6.3.6 Writing to Persuade - Example

6.3.7 Writing to Argue

6.3.8 Writing to Argue - Example

6.3.9 Writing to Persuade vs Writing to Argue

6.3.10 Writing to Advise

6.3.11 Writing to Advise - Example

6.3.12 End of Topic Test - Writing to...

6.3.13 Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Writing

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Free downloadable english gcse past papers with mark scheme.

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• AQA GCSE English Past papers
• Edexcel GCSE English Past Papers
• OCR GCSE English Past Papers
• WJEC GCSE English Past Papers

CIE IGCSE English Past Papers

• Eduqas GCSE English Past Papers

One of the best ways to revise for your GCSEs is to look at past papers. To make your life a little easier, 😉 we have compiled a list of different past papers to help you find what you are looking for! 

AQA English Past Papers 

Even the most educated and learned scholars lose the will to live after spending more than five minutes searching for papers on the AQA website! 💀

If you want to brave it alone, here are the links: 

• AQA English Language past paper resources  
• AQA English Literature past paper resources  

If you want us to neatly, concisely and handily lay them all out for you, 😇 then get a load of this: 

AQA English Language: Paper 1 

This exam paper is fiction (stories). You will be given two sources and have to answer five questions. 

• Question booklet  
• Insert  
• Mark scheme  

AQA English Language: Paper 2 

This exam paper is non-fiction (not stories). 😅 You will be given one source and have to answer five questions. 

• Question booklet

AQA English Literature: Paper 1 

English Language Paper 1 focuses on Shakespeare and 19th Century 

• Mark scheme

AQA English Literature: Paper 2 

English Literature Paper 2 focuses on Modern Texts and Poetry (Anthology and Unseen)~

Edexcel English Past Papers 

The Edexcel website is definitely better to navigate than the rabbit warren, AQA. Can you believe that someone thought to upload the question paper, mark scheme and extracts all onto the same document?! 🤯

• Edexcel past paper resources: English Language   
• Edexcel past papers resources: English Literature  

The downside is that there are not that many past papers available online. 

OCR English Past papers

The OCR Website gives a comprehensive and easy to navigate website with past papers. Here are the links:

• OCR English Language past paper resources 
• OCR English Literature past paper resources  

If you want a more comprehensive breakdown of the 2019 English papers, read on… 

OCR English Language: Communicating Information and Ideas 

• Question paper 

OCR English Language: Exploring Effects and Impact 

• Question paper  
• Mark scheme 

OCR English Literature: Exploring Modern and Literary Heritage Texts 

Ocr english literature: exploring poetry and shakespeare , wjec english past papers.

Here is where you can find past papers for the WJEC English Literature and English Language GCSEs:

• WJEC English Language past paper resources 
• WJEC English Literature past paper resources

The WJEC website is good because it groups past papers and mark schemes by year (so it is easy to find a year) but confusing in that all of the past papers and mark schemes are jumbled into the same list – which becomes particularly confusing when you have higher and lower tiers and the rather unimaginatively named ‘Unit 2A’ and ‘Unit 2B’. 😳

But fear not, we’ve filtered through the chaos and ordered it for you in a neat way! 💪

WJEC English Language: Unit 2

• Past paper 

WJEC English Language: Unit 3

• Past paper  

WJEC (foundation) English Literature: Unit 1

Wjec (foundation) english literature: unit 2a , wjec (foundation) english literature: unit 2b , wjec (higher) english literature: unit 1, wjec (higher) english literature: unit 2a, wjec (higher) english literature: unit 2b .

The Cambridge IGCSE websites are pretty straightforward and easy to use so they don’t need us to distil the information for you. 🙌 Here are the links to all of their past paper resources:

• English Language past paper resources   
• English Literature past paper resources   

Eduqas English Past Papers

And finally, there is good old, Eduqas! Here are the links to the websites with their past paper resources: 

• Eduqas English Language past paper resources 
• Eduqas English Literature past paper resources  

And here is a paper by paper breakdown of the different components for each paper: 

Eduqas English Language: Component 1 

Eduqas english language: component 2, eduqas english literature: component 1, eduqas english literature: component 2.

So there you have it! A handy breakdown of all the different English Literature and English Language GCSE papers, mark schemes and inserts! 📚 If you would like some more help with your English GCSEs (or even A-Level) preparations, you can book a free trial session with one of our English tutors on the GoStudent website ! 

You might also like to check out our guide on how to analyse unseen poetry ! 

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Paper 2 Question 5: Persuasive Language Techniques ( AQA GCSE English Language )

Revision note.

Paper 2 Question 5: Persuasive Language Techniques

Question 5 requires a response which uses language and features appropriate for the task. In all cases, you will be expected to use some persuasive language techniques to develop and add authenticity to your arguments. Which of these techniques are most effective will depend on the specific task, but to achieve the highest marks, you must interleave and craft your use of linguistic devices in a sophisticated manner.

In your answer you must:

• Use persuasive techniques appropriately, judiciously and convincingly for the task
• Avoid overusing one particular technique 

In this guide, we will be further exploring persuasive linguistic techniques in more detail, under the following sections (click to go straight to the section):

What are persuasive language techniques?

Persuasive devices and examples.

Persuasive language techniques, or rhetorical devices, are the linguistic devices that make your language more persuasive and convincing. You may have identified and analysed some of these techniques in your responses to Section A questions 3 and 4.

There are lots of techniques you can use, so it is important to utilise them in a sophisticated and integrated way in order to add impact to your argument. For example, political speech writers use lots of rhetorical devices to convince their listeners that the speaker is correct and should be agreed with. It is, however, important to remember that you are not trying to sell something; instead, you are trying to convince your readers to accept your views or ideas.

Question 5 most commonly asks you to argue your point of view. This means you will use persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices to convince your reader of your opinion. When the task requires you to argue, it is important to remember to:

• Employ an assured and confident tone of voice without being rude or aggressive:
• Using inclusive pronouns builds rapport and sounds less aggrieved, such as “we” and “us”
• Convince your reader or listener by constructing a balanced argument using both facts and opinions
• Acknowledge a counter-argument:
• This means you predict your reader’s possible reasons for disagreeing and offer an argument against them 
• Consider your audience carefully to understand where their values and concerns may lie

Remember Question 5 requires you to use appropriate language for the audience , purpose and form of the writing in the question. Therefore, the most effective answers will demonstrate a well-planned answer which has considered how to use language techniques appropriately and convincingly for the specific task.

When planning your answer to Question 5, it is vital to spend time thinking about your brief (your task), just as a journalist would do. The brief will indicate whether to write in a formal or informal style. The information given in the question is a bit like a journalist’s brief. 

The following can be useful to think about in your planning:

• Consider what your readers’ opinions may be on the subject
• Think about how you will use persuasive techniques to offer a convincing argument
• Consider whose perspective you will write from and how you can build rapport with your reader or audience:
• It may be more effective to write from an adult’s perspective if your intended audience are adults
• Plan the tone of voice you wish to adopt:
• Use sophisticated vocabulary and avoid slang
• Use modal verbs to construct a tone:
• Words like “must” are more aggressive than “could”, or “should”
• Vary your punctuation and sentence lengths to avoid a monotonous voice

Next, we are going to consider some of the main persuasive devices, along with examples of how they might be used in an exam response.

The acronym DAN FOREST PIE can be useful to help you to remember some of the key devices, but there are many other techniques you can employ for effect:

You could also consider using:

Now we are going to look at how these devices can combine to contribute to a convincing argument. Remember, using too much of any one technique can actually weaken your argument, so make sure you are using persuasive devices judiciously. As you read the short example below, consider which persuasive techniques have been used and how they contribute to the writer’s arguments:

• Plan your response:
• Alternating facts and opinions throughout your writing will be more effective than producing a purely emotional response
• One way to do this is to consider how your paragraphs will use persuasive techniques to convey your points in a more developed and convincing way
• Focus on the effects of your choices:
• Using too much hyperbole and emotive language will weaken your argument
• Rhetorical questions which are not answered with facts or an anecdote will lose their impact
• Statistics can be made up for the purposes of the exam, but keep them credible and believable
• Avoid placing all your facts in one paragraph:
• Plan how you can convey facts across your writing using:
• Polls and studies
• Expert quotes or witness statements
• Statistics 
• Remember to use anecdotes and personal examples or stories to bring your ideas alive: 
• The examples do not have to be based on your real experiences
• You may be able to refer to an example you read in the insert for Section A
• Being humble and showing your reader you are not perfect is a great way to build rapport
• Using emotive language is effective as long as it is not overused:
• Emotive language can highlight your attitude and present your ideas passionately, but it should not take the place of facts

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Author: Sam Evans

Sam is a graduate in English Language and Literature, specialising in journalism and the history and varieties of English. Before teaching, Sam had a career in tourism in South Africa and Europe. After training to become a teacher, Sam taught English Language and Literature and Communication and Culture in three outstanding secondary schools across England. Her teaching experience began in nursery schools, where she achieved a qualification in Early Years Foundation education. Sam went on to train in the SEN department of a secondary school, working closely with visually impaired students. From there, she went on to manage KS3 and GCSE English language and literature, as well as leading the Sixth Form curriculum. During this time, Sam trained as an examiner in AQA and iGCSE and has marked GCSE English examinations across a range of specifications. She went on to tutor Business English, English as a Second Language and international GCSE English to students around the world, as well as tutoring A level, GCSE and KS3 students for educational provisions in England. Sam freelances as a ghostwriter on novels, business articles and reports, academic resources and non-fiction books.