GCSE English Literature Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - Lead Examiner’s Report 2018

Sep 5, 2026

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Lead Examiner’s Report 2018 for GCSE English Literature Paper 1 focuses on how students approached Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel under the 2018 assessment requirements. It reviews overall performance and key messages for teachers, highlighting clearer understanding of subject terminology, context, and assessment objectives. Section-by-section guidance considers common strengths, productive approaches to specific questions (including attitudes toward the supernatural and relationships), and how context should support analysis rather than replace it.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

General Overview

Changes in the 2018 specification and student adaptation

Clarity, fairness, and the quality of responses

Section A

Popular Shakespeare texts

Macbeth: attitudes toward the supernatural

Romeo and Juliet: adult-young person relationships

Using historical/context material effectively

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel Report on the Examination 8702 June 2018 Version: 1.0 Further copies of [this Report are available from aqa.org.uk](this Report are available from aqa.org.uk) [Copyright](Copyright) © 2018 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Lead Examiner’s Report 2018: GCSE English Literature 8702/1 This report should be read in conjunction with the report for 8702/2. This qualification is now in its second year of assessment, and once again the overwhelming view of the examining team is that the majority of students are responding extremely successfully to its demands. Much has been developed since 2017 in terms of the ways students are approaching the requirements of the exam and the vast majority of responses were not only a pleasure to read but demonstrated genuine engagement with the studied texts and increasing levels of confidence with the requirements of the assessment. The aim of this report is to provide feedback on the 2018 exam for teachers. It has been compiled from the views of the entire examination team and will: • Provide a general overview of the examination with some key messages • Exemplify some strengths and key points for each specific section of the exam • Provide clarification of the assessment objectives (AOs) and how they are assessed • Suggest some possible approaches that might have a positive impact upon student performance. Examiners are very mindful of the fact that this is an un-tiered examination and therefore the following comments will give feedback and suggestions that could inform progress at different levels of attainment. General Overview The changes that were introduced with the new specification,(closed book, removal of tiers, newmark scheme etc) have become part of the standard process, and it is clear that most students and teachers have adapted to the demands of this examination. The overriding impression of senior examiners was of a candidature which was growing in confidence and engaging thoughtfully and effectively with demanding texts. Examiners reported a sense of a growing confidence and fluency in responses, much of which seems to be developing from a greater appreciation of what the exam seeks to assess. It is hoped that the examiner’s report and AQA feedback meetings are reinforcing the principle that we want students to think about and explore the texts. It is worth quoting from the Statement of Importance, which appears at the start of the Mark Scheme: “GCSE English Literature aims to enable students to appreciate [literary] qualities, developing and presenting informed, critical responses to the ideas in literary texts and the ways writers present these ideas.” A general impression is that a better understanding of what is expected by “subject terminology” and a greater appreciation of how context is being assessed has contributed to many responses being more fluent and integrated in their discussion and understanding of the texts. There was a very strong sense that the questions on the paper were clear and fair and invited students to engage thoughtfully and thoroughly with the texts. Indeed, it was observed that there were very few brief responses, which indicates that the vast majority of students have been interested, stimulated and challenged by the texts they have studied and the ideas they contain. References to film versions of the texts were extremely rare this year. Section A The most popular Shakespeare text by far was Macbeth followed by Romeo and Juliet. Of the other available choices, Much Ado A

FAQs

What was the main aim of the Lead Examiner’s Report 2018 for GCSE English Literature Paper 1?

To provide teacher feedback on the 2018 exam, including an overview, examples of strengths by section, clarification of assessment objectives, and approaches likely to improve student performance.

How should students use context when answering the Macbeth question?

Context facts should be used to explain characters’ attitudes and decisions; it is more effective when tied to ideas such as superstition, moral choices, and the implications of Macbeth contemplating killing Duncan.

What topic focus proved fruitful for the Romeo and Juliet question?

Relationships between adults and young people, particularly Juliet and her parents, with many stronger answers also extending to Romeo’s relationships with his parents and with the Nurse and the Friar.

Sep 5, 2026

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