Cambridge O Level English Language: Paper 2 Writing — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Paper 2 Writing study guide.

Paper 2 at a glance

50 marks, 2 hours, 50% of the final grade. Weighted 80% Writing (AO2), 20% Reading (AO1) — the mirror image of Paper 1.

The five Writing objectives

Code	Rewards
W1	Articulating experience; expressing thought, feeling, imagination
W2	Organising and structuring ideas for deliberate effect
W3	Range of vocabulary and sentence structures for context
W4	Register appropriate to context
W5	Accurate spelling, punctuation, grammar

Section A tests all five (15 of its 25 marks) plus Reading (R3, R5; 10 marks). Section B tests four — W1, W2, W3, W5 — register (W4) is not separately assessed since there is no set audience.

Section A: Directed Writing (25 marks)

One compulsory question. Source text(s) ~400-450 words, printed on the paper itself. Produce a speech, email, report, letter or article, ~250-350 words.

• 15 marks: your own voice, organisation, vocabulary, register, technical accuracy.
• 10 marks: how well you analysed, evaluated and developed the source material’s facts/ideas.

“Directed” is the operative word — respond to the specific angle, audience and purpose set out, grounded in the source text(s). Draw at least one specific point from each source text, not just one. The most common mark loss: writing a general opinion essay instead of grounding every point in the given text(s).

Section B: Composition (25 marks)

Choose one of four: two descriptive, two narrative. No source text — ~350-450 words, the longest single piece of continuous writing in the qualification.

• Descriptive: person, place or situation — no plot required, the skill is controlled, vivid description.
• Narrative: a sequence of connected events with a beginning, development and resolution/turning point.

All 25 marks go to W1, W2, W3, W5 — no register (W4) since there’s no set audience.

Don’t under-plan Section B just because it feels “creative” — it carries the same 25 marks as Section A and rewards structure just as much.

Command words on this paper

• Consider — review and respond to given information.
• Describe — state points/give characteristics and main features.
• Explain — set out purposes or reasons, make relationships clear, support with evidence.

Misreading the command word is a common, avoidable source of lost marks.

Timing across the two hours

Roughly 55-60 minutes per section, including 8-10 minutes reading/annotating the source for Section A, and 5 minutes planning for Section B. Leave a short buffer for a final proofread.

Why the 80/20 split surprises candidates

That 20% of Reading marks on what looks like a “Writing” paper catches a lot of candidates off guard, but it comes directly from Section A, where you must use information from a printed source text to write your answer. You cannot access full marks in Section A by writing fluently in isolation from the text — you have to demonstrate you have read, selected from, and evaluated it. This is worth internalising early: a beautifully written Section A response that ignores the source material’s specific facts and ideas will lose the 10 Reading marks regardless of how strong its prose is.

Treating the two sections as genuinely different skills

Section A rewards disciplined use of someone else’s material for a stated purpose; Section B rewards your own controlled, structured expression with no material to lean on. Practising both regularly, and specifically checking your answers against the W1-W5 objectives rather than just “does this sound good,” is the most direct way to see where marks are actually being gained or lost. Past papers and specimen mark schemes, freely available from Cambridge International, show real examples of how examiners apply these objectives to full-length answers — use them alongside revision notes rather than as a substitute for understanding the assessment structure first.

Exam traps

• Writing a general opinion essay in Section A instead of grounding every point in the source text(s).
• Drawing on only one source text when two are given.
• Under-preparing Section B because it feels less structured than Section A.
• Skipping the final proofread — W5 (spelling, punctuation, grammar) is tested throughout and easy to lose marks on under time pressure.

The overview guide vs this deep dive

Marlbridge’s Reading and Writing overview guide maps the whole 1123 syllabus at a glance across both papers. This resource stays entirely inside Paper 2 and works through what each of its two sections actually asks you to do, which assessment objectives they test, and how the marks break down — the level of detail that matters once you are past the introductory stage and into focused, paper-specific exam preparation.

Self-test

1. What percentage split of Writing vs Reading does Paper 2 carry, and how does this differ from Paper 1?
2. Which two assessment objectives does Section A’s Reading component test?
3. Why is W4 not separately assessed in Section B?
4. What is the expected word count for Section A vs Section B?
5. Name the three command words most likely to shape a Directed Writing response.

Answers: 1. 80% Writing, 20% Reading — the reverse of Paper 1 (80% Reading, 20% Writing). 2. R3 and R5. 3. Because there is no set audience or format being tested in Section B. 4. Section A: 250-350 words. Section B: 350-450 words. 5. Consider, describe, explain.

Official syllabus

Cambridge O Level English Language (1123) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 (Version 2, December 2022) — official syllabus PDF.