GCSE English Literature Paper 2 - Modern texts and poetry - Instructions and questions

Sep 5, 2026

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GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry outlines the exam requirements, answering structure across Sections A, B, and C, timing, and allowed materials. It specifies writing in black ink, completing the answer book front details, and avoiding dictionaries. The document details assessment approach, including marks and AO4 in Section A, then lists the Modern prose or drama texts and Section B poetry topics, followed by Section C unseen poetry prompts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Instructions

Answering requirements and materials

Marking and AO4

Section A: Modern prose or drama

JB Priestley: An Inspector Calls

Willy Russell: Blood Brothers

Alan Bennett: The History Boys

Dennis Kelly: DNA

Simon Stephens: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Section B: Poetry

AQA Anthology: Love and Relationships

AQA Anthology: Power and Conflict

Section C: Unseen poetry

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Paper 2 Modern texts and poetry Time allowed: 2 hours 15 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Do not use pencil. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 8702/2 R. • Answer one question from Section A, one question from Section B and both questions in Section C. • You must not use a dictionary. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 96. • AO4 will be assessed in Section A. There are 4 marks available for AO4 in Section A in addition to 30 marks for answering the question. AO4 assesses the following skills: use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. • There are 30 marks for Section B and 32 marks for Section C. There are no questions printed on this page SECTION A Modern prose or drama JB Priestley Willy Russell Alan Bennett Dennis Kelly Simon Stephens Shelagh Delaney William Golding AQA Anthology George Orwell Kazuo Ishiguro Meera Syal Stephen Kelman SECTION B Poetry AQA Anthology Questions Page An Inspector Calls 1–2 4 Blood Brothers 3–4 5 The History Boys 5–6 6 DNA 7–8 7 The Curious Incident of the 9–10 8 Dog in the Night-Time A Taste of Honey 11–12 9 Lord of the Flies 13–14 10 Telling Tales 15–16 11 Animal Farm 17–18 12 Never Let Me Go 19–20 13 Anita and Me 21–22 14 Pigeon English 23–24 15 Questions Page Poems Past and Present Love and Relationships 25 17 Power and Conflict 26 19 SECTION C Unseen poetry 27.1 20 27.2 21 Turn over for Section A Section A: Modern prose or drama Answer one question from this section on your chosen text. JB Priestley: An Inspector Calls Either How does Priestley use the character of Mrs Birling to explore ideas about social class? Write about: • what Mrs Birling says and does • how Priestley presents Mrs Birling. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] or How does Priestley use the Inspector to suggest the need for social change in An Inspector Calls? Write about: • what the Inspector says and does • how Priestley presents the Inspector. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] | 0 | 1 | | --- | --- | | 0 | 2 | | --- | --- | Willy Russell: Blood Brothers or 0 3 How does Russell present Mickey’s relationships with his mother and with Linda in Blood Brothers? Write about: • Mickey’s relationships with his mother and with Linda • how Russell presents Mickey’s relationships with his mother and with Linda. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] or 0 4 How does Russell present the effects of poverty in Blood Brothers? Write about: • the effects of poverty that are shown in the play • how Russell presents the effects of poverty. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] Turn over for the next question Alan Bennett: The History Boys or 0 5 How far does Bennett present Hector as a likeable character in The History Boys? Write about: • what Hector says and does • how far Bennett presents Hector as a likeable character. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] or 0 6 ‘Hector represents education for its own sake: Irwin represents education as a way of getting on in life.’ How far do you agree with this view of The History Boys? Write about: • what Hector and Irwin say about education • how Bennett presents Hector's and Irwin’s views of education. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] Dennis Kelly: DNA or 0 7 How does Kelly explore the dangers of peer pressure in DNA? Write about: • some of the dangers of peer pressure in the play • how Kelly presents the dangers of peer pressure. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] or 0 8 How does Kelly present ideas about power and control in DNA? Write about: • examples of power and control in the play • how Kelly presents ideas about power and control.

FAQs

How many questions must be answered, and from which sections?

Answer one question from Section A, one from Section B, and both questions in Section C. The paper is timed at 2 hours 15 minutes.

What are the writing and equipment rules for the answer book?

Use black ink or a black ball-point pen; do not use pencil. Complete the required information on the front of the answer book and do not use a dictionary.

What does AO4 assess in Section A, and how many marks are available for it?

AO4 assesses using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Section A provides 4 marks for AO4 in addition to the question marks.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Noah