GCSE English Language - How structure is assessed Paper 1, Question 3 - Further insight series

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

GCSE English Language Paper 1, Question 3 guidance explains how assessment focuses on AO2: how a writer structures a text to achieve effects and influence readers. It clarifies what “whole source” reference means, describes structural features at whole-text, paragraph, and sentence levels (including beginnings, endings, and perspective shifts), and links the wording to student task demands. Indicative standards and level descriptors show how marks progress from simple comment to detailed, perceptive analysis with accurate subject terminology.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Aims

What Question 3 assesses

The meaning behind the wording

Example indicative standards

Structural features: ideas to get you started

Example responses with commentaries

| GCSE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
How structure is assessed Paper 1, Question 3 | | --- | | Further insight series | Contents: Aims 3 What Question 3 assesses 4 The meaning behind the wording 5 What a student needs to do 7 Example indicative standards 8 Structural features: ideas to get you started 9 Example responses with commentaries 11 AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723) . Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. 2 of 16 Aims: 􀁸 to explain the Assessment Objective and the key requirements of the question 􀁸 to explore the progression in the mark scheme for the question 􀁸 to share some ways of considering features of structure that students can use as starting points for their analysis 􀁸 to look at marked student responses as a way of helping students to better understand the standard that is required in the top level of the mark scheme. Read in conjunction with: 􀁸 sample papers and mark schemes, available free to download on Secure Key Materials 􀁸 fully annotated student responses to Paper 1 Question 3 that relate to Sample Assessment Material set 4. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723) . Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. 3 of 16 What Question 3 assesses Paper 1 , Question 3 assesses AO2, in this case how the writer has structured a text. Specifically: “Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.” As per the mark scheme, structural features can be: 􀁸 at a whole text level, including reference to 􀁸 beginnings 􀁸 endings 􀁸 perspective shifts 􀁸 at a paragraph level, including, if relevant 􀁸 topic change 􀁸 aspects of cohesion 􀁸 at a sentence level, when it contributes to the structure as a whole. Note: assessing structure in this context is relatively new, but the mark scheme is based on the same hierarchy and progression as the much more familiar approach to assessing writers’ use of language from Paper 1 Question 2, and Paper 2 Question 3. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723) . Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. 4 of 16 The meaning behind the wording This table represents Paper 1, Question 3 from our fourth set of sample assessment materials (SAMs 4), [available from](available from aqa.org.uk/eaqa)[ ](available from aqa.org.uk/eaqa)[aqa.org.uk/eaqa](available from aqa.org.uk/eaqa) | Question text | Explanation | | --- | --- | | You now need to think about the whole of the source. | This part of the question will stay consistent each series.
It reminds students to make reference to the whole source. | | This text is from the beginning of a novel. | This part of the question provides a context to where the source is taken from within the novel or short story. | | How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? | This part of the question will stay consistent in each series.
􀁸 The phrase: ‘interest you as a reader’allows students the freedom to choose their own examples.
􀁸 The word ‘interest’reminds students to consider the effects on them as areader. | | You could write about:
􀁸 what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning
􀁸 how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops
􀁸 any other structural features that interest you. | This part of the question will stay consistent each series.
In an un-tiered assessment, the bullet points can offer additional support if required. | AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee regi

FAQs

What does Paper 1, Question 3 assess in GCSE English Language?

It assesses AO2, focusing on how the writer has structured the text. The question asks students to explain, comment on, and analyse the effects of structure on readers using relevant subject terminology.

Which structural features can students write about?

Students can consider structural features at whole-text level (beginnings, endings, perspective shifts), paragraph level (topic change, cohesion aspects where relevant), and sentence level when it contributes to the overall structure.

How is a high mark response expected to differ across levels?

Top levels require perceptive, detailed analysis of the effects of structural choices, selecting a judicious range of examples and using subject terminology sophisticatedly and accurately. Lower levels focus on simpler awareness and more limited comments with less secure terminology use.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk