OxfordAQA IGCSE English Language: Source-Based Reading and Directed Writing — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Source-based Reading and Directed Writing study guide.

Section A: reading modern-world sources

Paper 2’s sources deliberately shift away from Paper 1’s literary non-fiction toward current-affairs and issue-based writing — opinion pieces, reports, campaign material, and sources that may be “solely visual.” Two practical consequences for revision:

• Read outside the literary register: newspaper comment, charity appeals, infographics, adverts. The skill being tested is analysis of purposeful, real-world writing, not literary technique alone.
• Practise a visual or graphic source specifically — an infographic or chart requires reading explicit data and implicit framing (what is emphasised, what is omitted), which is a different skill from reading continuous prose.

You are not tested on prior knowledge of the topic itself. A source about an unfamiliar issue provides everything needed to answer well — do not let unfamiliar subject matter feel like a disadvantage.

AO1 reading skills (R1–R4) — what each actually asks for

• R1 — read and understand across purpose; don’t just paraphrase, show you grasp why the text does what it does.
• R2 — collate and synthesise detail, often across more than one source; a strong answer draws connections rather than treating sources in isolation.
• R3 — develop an interpretation of the writer’s ideas, going beyond the literal surface meaning.
• R4 — explain and evaluate linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features and their effect.

Section B: directed writing — audience and purpose first

Before drafting, write one sentence naming the audience and one sentence naming the purpose. Every subsequent choice — vocabulary, tone, structure, form — should be checked against those two sentences. AO2 (W1–W4) rewards adapting form and register to a specified audience and purpose, not producing generically well-written prose.

Element	Question to ask before writing
Audience	Who exactly is this for, and what tone will land with them?
Purpose	Persuade, inform, advise, entertain — which, precisely?
Form	What structural features does this form require (headline, greeting, sign-off, sub-headings)?

Reading and writing reinforce each other

Because Section A analyses how a writer achieves effect on an audience, and Section B asks you to achieve effect for a specified audience, the two sections train the same underlying skill. Revise them together: for every Section A technique you analyse (rhetorical question, direct address, the rule of three), ask whether you could deploy it deliberately in your own Section B writing.

Weighting to plan revision time around

Paper 2/NEA carries 20% AO1 and 20% AO2 of the full qualification — equal to each other, and lower per-paper than Paper 1’s 30%/30%, but still worth balanced revision time across both sections rather than favouring one.

Planning the directed writing task under time pressure

With Paper 2 split evenly between two demanding sections, allow no more than five minutes to plan Section B. A workable planning shape:

1. One sentence each for audience and purpose (see above).
2. Three or four content points, in the order they will appear.
3. One line noting the form’s required features (opening, sign-off, sub-headings, paragraphing style).

Skipping this in favour of starting to write immediately usually produces a response that drifts in register partway through, because the audience and purpose were never fixed before drafting began — a five-minute investment protects against a much larger loss of AO2 marks.

Exam traps

• Treating a visual or brief source as less significant than a longer prose text.
• Bringing Paper 1’s literary-analysis habits unchanged to a modern- issue source, without adjusting for its more direct style.
• Drafting Section B without first fixing audience and purpose in writing.
• Neglecting technical accuracy (W4) under time pressure, despite it carrying equal weight to content and organisation within AO2.
• Assuming unfamiliarity with a source’s topic is a disadvantage.

The non-exam assessment alternative

Paper 2 is not the only route through this part of the qualification — some centres instead enter candidates for an independent-research non-exam assessment (NEA) project covering the same overall skills. Confirm which route your centre has entered you for before revising further: NEA preparation is coursework-based and follows a different timeline and skill emphasis (independent research and sustained writing over time) from Paper 2’s timed, source-based exam format covered in these notes. The two are genuine alternatives, not variations on the same revision plan.

Self-test

1. How does Paper 2’s Section A reading material differ from Paper 1’s?
2. Name the four AO1 reading sub-skills (R1–R4) in your own words.
3. What two sentences should be written before drafting Section B, and why?
4. Why might a visual source carry as much assessable meaning as a prose source?
5. What is the AO1/AO2 weighting split for Paper 2, and how does it compare with Paper 1’s?

Answers: 1. Paper 2 uses modern-world, current-affairs style sources — including possibly solely visual ones — rather than Paper 1’s literary non-fiction. 2. R1: reading and understanding for purpose; R2: collating and synthesising detail, often across sources; R3: developing an interpretation of the writer’s ideas; R4: explaining and evaluating linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features. 3. One sentence naming the audience and one naming the purpose, so every writing choice can be checked against a fixed, specific target rather than drifting into generic prose. 4. Because it can carry explicit data and implicit framing (emphasis, omission) that is just as analysable as continuous prose, even without lengthy text. 5. 20% AO1 and 20% AO2 for Paper 2, compared with 30% AO1 and 30% AO2 for Paper 1 — together making an overall 50/50 AO1/AO2 split.

Related resources

• Source-based Reading and Directed Writing study guide
• Source-based Reading and Directed Writing practice questions