AQA A-Level English Language 7702: Language Discourses and Writing Skills — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s own section structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board for practice at the exact format and tariffs the board sets.

Related: Language discourses and writing revision notes | study guide | Paper 2 Section A practice

These questions practise the Paper 2 content on methods of language analysis, language discourses and writing skills in AQA AS and A-level English Language (7701/7702), Version 1.2. Questions 1 to 4 build the skills step by step; questions 5 and 6 are full Section B-style tasks based on the two short texts below, which were written for this page. Answers give indicative content and what a high-level response does, as AQA marks these tasks by levels.

The two texts

Text A — an opinion column in a national newspaper (invented for practice)

“Text-speak has a lot to answer for. My nephew’s thank-you note arrived last week: ‘thx 4 the pressie, ur the best!!!’ No capital letters, no full stops, and a number where a word should be. Is this what twelve years of schooling buys? We used to be a nation that cared about writing properly. If we do not teach our children the rules now, we will raise a generation that cannot write a job application. It is time to ban phones from classrooms and bring back the grammar test.”

Text B — a blog post by a university linguist (invented for practice)

“Every few years, someone discovers that teenagers write differently in messages and announces the end of literacy. But research on young people’s texting has repeatedly found little evidence that it damages spelling, and some studies suggest the opposite: you have to know a sound and a spelling well to play with them. ‘Thx’ and ‘4’ are not errors; they are choices made for speed and tone in a quick, informal mode. The same teenager who writes ‘ur the best’ to a friend can write a formal letter when it matters. What we are really seeing is people becoming skilled at switching styles.”

Questions

1. Identify one feature of lexis and one feature of grammar in Text A, and explain how each presents a view of young people’s writing. [4]

2. Explain how the writer of Text B constructs an identity as an expert. Refer to two language features. [4]

3. Identify the discourse about language that Text A draws on, and explain how Text B challenges it. [4]

4. Rewrite this sentence for a non-specialist audience of teenagers, keeping its meaning: “Orthographic variation in computer-mediated communication is a context-dependent stylistic choice rather than a deficit in literacy.” [3]

5. Analyse how Texts A and B use language to present ideas, attitudes and opinions about the way young people write in digital messages. [40]

6. Write an article for a school magazine, aimed at parents, in which you explore whether texting is harming young people’s writing. Use ideas from both texts and your own knowledge of language. [30]

7. Plan an introduction and three main paragraphs for a Section A-style academic essay responding to this statement: “Technology is the main cause of language change today.” [6]

Answers

1. Lexis [2]: for example “Text-speak” as a dismissive label, or “properly”, implying one correct way to write; these frame the nephew’s writing as a failure. Grammar [2]: for example the rhetorical question “Is this what twelve years of schooling buys?”, which invites the reader to share the writer’s disapproval; or the conditional “If we do not teach… we will raise…”, predicting decline; or the imperative-like proposal “It is time to ban…”.

2. Any two features with explanation [2 each]: reference to research (“research on young people’s texting has repeatedly found”) gives authority; hedged, cautious claims (“little evidence”, “some studies suggest”) signal academic care; technical framing of texting as “choices made for speed and tone” in an “informal mode”; a calm, measured tone with the confident final declarative “What we are really seeing…” positioning the writer as someone who understands the bigger picture.

3. Text A draws on a decline / deficit (prescriptive) discourse: digital writing is a sign that standards are falling and must be corrected [2]. Text B challenges it with a descriptive view: non-standard spellings are deliberate choices suited to mode and audience, and users can switch styles; it also cites research evidence against the claimed harm [2].

4. Credit an accurate, accessible version with an everyday example [3], for example: “When you write ‘ur’ or ‘thx’ in a message, you haven’t forgotten how to spell. You’re choosing a quick, casual style for a quick, casual situation, just as you’d talk differently to a friend than to a head teacher.”

5. Level-of-response. A high-level answer compares throughout and explores:

• Representation of language: Text A presents standard written English as the only correct form (“writing properly”) and text-speak as damage; Text B represents texting as a skilled, rule-aware variety (“you have to know a sound and a spelling well to play with them”).
• Producer identity: Text A’s writer is a concerned family member and citizen (anecdote of “My nephew”, inclusive “We used to be a nation”), using personal experience as evidence. Text B’s writer is a calm expert who cites research and uses linguistic concepts (mode, switching styles).
• Positioning: Text A uses a rhetorical question, a nostalgic “We used to be”, and a dramatic prediction to make readers feel alarm; Text B gently mocks the recurring panic (“Every few years, someone discovers”) and reassures readers.
• Graphology and quotation: Text A quotes the note with its exclamation marks to invite ridicule; Text B quotes the same kind of forms (“Thx”, “4”) but re-labels them as “choices”.
• Context and genre: a national newspaper column aims to provoke and entertain a general readership; a linguist’s blog aims to inform and correct popular myths.
• Discourse connection: Text A reproduces the decline / correctness discourse and proposes a policy (banning phones, grammar tests); Text B challenges it with a descriptive discourse of variation and code-switching. High-level responses support every point with quotation, use precise terminology (AO1), relate features to context and meaning (AO3), and make connections between the texts (AO4).

6. Level-of-response. A high-level article:

• has a headline and a clear form suited to a school magazine, with an engaging opening (for example an anecdote or question to parents);
• takes a clear, informed position, using ideas from both texts (worries about formal writing; research evidence; style-switching);
• explains linguistic ideas (such as mode, register and the difference between formal and informal writing) accessibly, with examples parents will recognise;
• addresses the audience directly and reassuringly or persuasively, as suits the position;
• is well organised and ends with a memorable conclusion or practical advice. It rewards linguistic understanding (AO2) and expertise and creativity in writing (AO5). Weak responses copy the source texts, use jargon without explanation, or ignore the form and audience.

7. [6] Credit a plan that:

• defines the issue and takes a clear evaluative line in the introduction [1-2];
• includes a paragraph on technology as a cause (for example new lexis such as “app” or “selfie”, new forms of written interaction) with examples [1-2];
• includes paragraphs on other causes, such as contact between languages and dialects, social change and attitudes, or changes in the media, with examples [1-2];
• plans to evaluate (for example, technology may speed up the spread of change rather than cause it) and refer to relevant research or theory.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing about texting in general instead of how the texts present it.
• Analysing one text fully before mentioning the other.
• Quoting without naming the feature or explaining its effect.
• In the directed writing, losing the audience (parents) or form (magazine article).
• In essays, describing changes with no evaluation of the statement.

Frequently asked questions

How long should I spend on Section B? Paper 2 lasts 2 hours 30 minutes for 100 marks. Section B carries 70 marks, so it deserves the larger share of time; plan your split with your teacher and practise to it.

Can I disagree with both texts in the directed writing? Yes, as long as you engage with their ideas and your position is linguistically informed.

Are real past papers like these texts? Real papers use published texts on a language topic linked to diversity and change. Use AQA’s past papers for the exact format.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level English Language (7701/7702) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021), A-level subject content 3.2.2 Methods of language analysis, 3.2.3 Language discourses and 3.2.4 Writing skills, assessed in Paper 2 Section B (and the academic essay skills in Section A).

Section numbers. This site follows the A-level (7702) subject content on aqa.org.uk, where Paper 2 content is 3.2 and the NEA is 3.3. The combined AS and A-level specification PDF (Version 1.2, 14 October 2021) puts the AS content in section 3, so the same A-level sections are numbered 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 there.