AQA GCSE English Literature (8702): Skills – Study Guide

Studying a text for AQA GCSE English Literature is not only about knowing what happens. The marks are earned by skills: understanding what a text means, saying something thoughtful about it, explaining how a writer creates effects, linking the text to its context, and writing about all of this clearly and accurately. These skills apply to every text you study, whether it is a play, a novel, a poem you have not seen before or a collection from the anthology. This guide sets out the skills, shows what they look like in practice, and gives you a reliable method for essay paragraphs.

Where this fits in the specification

The skills in this topic sit behind the content of both papers. Paper 1 covers Shakespeare and the nineteenth-century novel, and Paper 2 covers modern prose or drama, the poetry anthology and unseen poetry. The specification expresses the skills as assessment objectives. In outline: you must read, understand and respond to texts, with a critical style, a personal response and well-chosen references (AO1); analyse the language, form and structure that writers use and the effects of their choices, using subject terminology (AO2); show an understanding of the ideas, perspectives and contexts of texts and their influence on meaning (AO3); and use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures with accurate spelling and punctuation (AO4). Not every question tests every objective, so read the wording of each question to see what it asks of you. Check the exact weightings in the specification or with your teacher.

Reading comprehension and reading critically

Understanding what the text says

Before analysing, be sure you know what is happening, who is speaking and what the situation is. For an unseen poem or an extract, read it at least twice. On the first read, get the basic sense: who, what, where and what is the feeling. On the second, notice details: repeated words, shifts in tone, striking images and the shape of the text.

Responding with an informed personal view

A critical reading goes beyond summary. It offers an interpretation, a view about what the text suggests or what a character or idea represents, and supports it with evidence. A personal response is welcome as long as it is justified by the text. Compare two sentences:

• Summary: “Mr Rivers decides to leave the village.”
• Interpretation: “Mr Rivers’ decision to leave suggests that he is more attached to his ambition than to the community that raised him.”

The second states a view that can be tested against the text. Use tentative, flexible language where meanings can be read in more than one way: “may suggest”, “could imply”, “perhaps shows”. Offering a second possible reading is often a mark of higher-level work.

Selecting and using references

Evidence is the basis of critical reading. Choose short, precise quotations, often just a key word or phrase, and embed them in your own sentences. Then comment on them. A quotation is not an explanation. A reliable pattern is point, evidence, explanation: make a point, support it with a short reference, and then explain what it shows and why it matters. Refer to events and ideas from across the text, not just one moment.

Analysing language, form and structure

• Language: word choice (connotations of key words), imagery (simile, metaphor, personification), sound (alliteration, assonance), tone and sentence types. Always ask what effect a choice has on the reader.
• Form: the type of text and its conventions, such as a play with stage directions and speeches, a sonnet with a set number of lines, or a novel with a narrator.
• Structure: how the text is organised, such as the order of events, changes of focus, shifts in time or tone, openings and endings, the use of contrasts, and the pattern of a poem’s stanzas.

Technical terms help only when they lead to an explanation. Naming a technique without discussing its effect earns little. Ask “so what?” after every term.

Using context

Context means the circumstances that shaped the text or that affect how it is understood, such as the time and society in which it was written, the writer’s background and the audience. Use context where it helps to explain an idea in the text, and avoid inserting facts about history or the author’s life that are not clearly linked to the question. Only include context you are certain about. A brief, relevant link is better than a long, general passage.

Comparing texts

When asked to compare, for example in the poetry questions, keep both texts in view throughout. Use comparative words and phrases such as “whereas”, “in contrast”, “similarly” and “both poets”. Compare ideas and methods, not just subject matter.

Writing

Organising a response

A strong essay has a clear line of argument. Start with an opening that answers the question directly in one or two sentences. Develop two or three main points, each in its own paragraph, with evidence and analysis. Finish with a short conclusion that returns to the question. Plan for a few minutes before writing: note the key words of the question, your main argument and the points and references you will use, in order.

Writing a paragraph

A reliable structure is:

1. A topic sentence that makes a point linked to the question.
2. A short, embedded quotation or precise reference.
3. Analysis of the writer’s methods, naming and explaining specific words or techniques.
4. An explanation of the effect on the reader and what it suggests about the text’s ideas.
5. If relevant, a link to context.
6. A closing sentence that links back to the argument.

Style and accuracy

Write in a formal, analytical style. Use precise vocabulary and a range of sentence structures. Keep to the present tense when discussing the text (“the writer presents”, “the poem shows”). Refer to the writer by name where you know it. Check spelling, punctuation and grammar, particularly the names of characters, writers and terms. Where marks are given for accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar and vocabulary, they are awarded on particular questions, so check the paper to see which, and leave time to proofread.

Managing time

Match your time to the marks available. If a question is worth about a third of the paper, give it about a third of the time. Leave a few minutes to plan and to check. If you run short, write a brief conclusion rather than leave an argument unfinished.

Worked example: improving a paragraph

Suppose a question asks how a writer presents loneliness in a short extract about a character walking home alone at dusk.

Weak version: “The writer shows loneliness. It is dark and the character is alone. This makes the reader feel sad.”

Improved version: “The writer presents loneliness through the setting. The fading light at dusk suggests that the character is cut off from warmth and company, and the empty street emphasises that there is nobody to talk to. The short, flat sentence which describes his footsteps may reflect his isolation, since it has no variety or movement, much like his evening. This could encourage the reader to feel sympathy for him and to wonder what has left him so alone.”

Notice the differences. The improved paragraph begins with a clear point, picks out specific details, names the effect of sentence length, uses tentative language (“suggests”, “may reflect”, “could encourage”), and explains the effect on the reader. It also addresses language and structure, which would earn credit under AO2. The example is invented to show the method, so use it as a model for your own text and quotations.

Common mistakes

• Retelling the story instead of analysing methods.
• Long quotations that are copied but not explained.
• Spotting techniques without explaining their effect.
• Writing about context in general terms with no link to the question.
• Using the wrong tense or referring to the character as though real, without noting that the writer shapes the text.
• Ignoring the question’s focus and writing everything you know.
• Failing to plan, so that the argument wanders.
• Running out of time and leaving no conclusion.
• Not proofreading.

Exam technique

• Underline the key words in the question before you plan.
• Use the bullet points in a question as prompts, not a checklist.
• Refer across the whole text or extract, including the ending.
• For unseen poetry, make a few notes on the poem’s meaning, language, form and structure before writing.
• Use command words correctly: “explore” invites a range of interpretations, “how does the writer present” focuses on methods, and “compare” requires both texts together.
• Leave time to proofread names and spelling.

Frequently asked questions

Which skills does AQA 8702 assess? Reading comprehension and critical reading, and writing: AO1 response and evidence, AO2 language, form and structure, AO3 context, and AO4 accuracy.

Is the exam closed book? Yes. Both 8702 papers are closed book, so learn short, flexible quotations.

Where is AO4 assessed? In the Shakespeare question on Paper 1 and the modern text question on Paper 2, 4 marks each.

Check your understanding

1. What is the difference between summary and interpretation? Answer: summary says what happens; interpretation suggests what it means and why it matters, supported by evidence.
2. What does the point, evidence, explanation pattern involve? Answer: make a point, support it with a short reference, then explain what it shows and its effect.
3. Why use tentative language such as “may suggest”? Answer: because literary meaning can often be read in more than one way, and it shows an exploratory approach.
4. Give an example of a structural feature. Answer: for example a shift in tone, the order of events, the ending, or the pattern of stanzas.
5. When should you include context? Answer: when it is relevant and helps explain an idea, and when you are certain it is accurate.
6. Which tense should you use when discussing a text? Answer: the present tense.
7. If a question is worth 30 of the 80 marks on a paper of 120 minutes, roughly how long should you spend on it? Answer: 30 / 80 x 120 = 45 minutes, including planning and checking.
8. Why is naming a technique alone not enough? Answer: it needs an explanation of its effect on the reader and what it shows about the text’s ideas.