AQA GCSE English Literature: Modern Texts and Poetry (8702)

This guide covers Paper 2 Modern Texts and Poetry, the second of two papers in AQA GCSE English Literature (8702), first teaching September 2015. Like Paper 1, the exam is closed book, but Paper 2 is both longer and worth more of the overall grade.

Where this fits in 8702

Paper 1 tests two texts studied in full depth: a Shakespeare play and a 19th-century novel. Paper 2’s modern text section shifts to prose or drama written from 1914 onward, while its poetry sections range far more widely – the anthology clusters span poems written between 1789 and the present day, and the unseen poems can be from any period. Paper 2 also adds a skill Paper 1 does not require at all: analysing poetry never seen before the exam. Because Paper 2 is worth 60% of the GCSE against Paper 1’s 40%, and because unseen poetry cannot be prepared for with a quotation bank the way a studied text can, it deserves proportionally more revision time than a straight 40/60 split might suggest.

Syllabus coverage

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE (8702) — PAPER 2 MODERN TEXTS AND POETRY

• Section A: Modern Texts — one text studied in full, chosen by the centre from a prescribed list of 12 post-1914 prose and drama texts. Drama options include JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, Dennis Kelly’s DNA, Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, and (from first teaching 2023) Chinonyerem Odimba’s Princess & The Hustler and Winsome Pinnock’s Leave Taking. Prose options include William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the AQA anthology Telling Tales, Meera Syal’s Anita and Me, Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English, and (from first teaching 2023) Kit de Waal’s My Name is Leon
• Section B: Poetry — one cluster of 15 poems, studied in full, chosen from the AQA poetry anthology Poems Past and Present. The three clusters, each thematically linked and spanning poems written between 1789 and the present day, are Love and Relationships, Power and Conflict, and (from first teaching 2023) Worlds and Lives. Candidates must be prepared to write about any poem from their studied cluster
• Section C: Unseen Poetry — two compulsory questions, both on poems not seen before the exam: one analysing a single unseen poem in depth (24 marks) and a second comparing that poem with a further unseen poem (8 marks), focusing on content, theme, structure and use of language, built through wide reading of poetry across the course rather than through memorised content

How to approach it

Section A rewards the same integration of character, theme, context and writer’s method that Paper 1 demands, but with contemporary or 20th-century settings that make social and historical context especially important – know the world the play or novel was written into, not only its plot. Section B asks students to write about a named poem alongside a second poem of their own choosing from the same cluster, so revision needs to build genuine comparative fluency across all 15 poems, not just strong knowledge of two or three favourites. Section C, unseen poetry, is the one part of the whole GCSE that cannot be pre-learned: the only reliable preparation is regular timed practice analysing poems the student has never encountered, building the habit of noticing structure, form and language shifts within a single reading under time pressure.

Common mistakes

Treating Section A as a chance to retell the plot rather than analyse it – plot summary with little analysis scores in the lower levels of the mark scheme, which marks holistically rather than through a capping mechanism. Comparing poems in Section B only by theme while ignoring form and structure – the assessment objective covering this paper asks for analysis of the language, form and structure a writer uses, so attending to all three (not just theme) is what the mark scheme actually rewards. Leaving too little time for Section C because it feels the least prepared-for – Section A carries 34 marks, Section B 30 marks, and Section C 32 marks, so under-time on unseen poetry still costs a substantial share of the paper and is one of the most avoidable ways to lose marks.

Assessment at a glance

Paper 2 is a 2 hour 15 minute closed-book exam worth 96 marks – 60% of the GCSE. Candidates answer one question on their studied modern text (Section A), one question comparing a given poem with a second poem of their choice from the same cluster (Section B), and two compulsory questions in Section C: one analysing a single unseen poem (24 marks) and one comparing that poem with a second unseen poem (8 marks) – both compulsory, not one combined comparison question.

Worked example

A Section B question gives students a named poem from their cluster and asks them to compare it with one other poem of their own choice. What separates a strong response from a weak one?

WEAK: summarises the named poem, then summarises a second poem,
      with a single sentence at the end noting "both poems are about
      conflict."

STRONG: works through language, structure and form together across
        both poems from the opening paragraph, using connectives
        ("similarly," "in contrast," "whereas") to keep the
        comparison active throughout, not saved for a conclusion.
        Selects the second poem specifically because it offers a
        genuine point of contrast or connection worth exploring --
        not simply the poem the student remembers best.

Choosing the comparison poem well before the exam – rather than deciding in the moment – is one of the highest-value pieces of Section B preparation, since it removes a difficult decision from under time pressure.

Quick revision checklist

• Know the plot, characters, key themes and historical/social context of the studied modern text well enough to select relevant evidence under time pressure, not just recall it in sequence.
• For the poetry cluster, prepare at least three strong comparison pairings in advance rather than deciding which second poem to use in the exam itself.
• Practise annotating unseen poems within a fixed time limit, focusing on content, theme, structure and language rather than biographical guesswork about the poet.
• Use connectives of comparison throughout a Section B or Section C answer, not only in the introduction or conclusion.
• Check the timing split reflects the mark allocation: Section A carries 34 marks, Section B 30 and Section C 32, so give each section a broadly similar share of the time – Section C is not the same tariff as A or B, but it is too large a share to under-time just because it feels less prepared-for.

Related resources

• Modern Texts and Poetry revision notes
• Modern Texts and Poetry practice questions

Official syllabus

AQA GCSE English Literature (8702) specification, for first teaching 2015, section 3.2 Modern Texts and Poetry — aqa.org.uk.