OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language 9270: Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Literary Non-fiction and Composition study guide.

What literary non-fiction is

Factual writing that uses the techniques of imaginative writing: travel writing, memoir, biography, essays, speeches, opinion journalism, reportage.

True in content, crafted in style — which is exactly what makes it worth analysing.

Revise both sections independently. Section A tests reading, Section B tests writing — skill in one does not automatically transfer to the other, so build separate revision time for each rather than assuming strong analysis skills will carry over into strong composition, or vice versa. Reading widely in the genre (journalism, memoir, travel writing) helps Section A by making unseen texts feel less unfamiliar; regular timed composition practice builds the pacing Section B needs.

The analysis formula

1. IDENTIFY the feature, with correct terminology
2. QUOTE it briefly
3. EXPLAIN the EFFECT on the reader, tied to the writer's purpose

Step 3 is where the mark is. A point that stops at identification and quotation, without explaining the effect on the reader, typically earns only partial credit even when the terminology used is entirely correct.

Weak    "The writer uses a metaphor to describe the city."
Strong  "The metaphor 'a machine that never sleeps' presents the city
         as relentless and inhuman, making the narrator's exhaustion
         feel inevitable rather than personal."

What to analyse

Level	Look for
Language	Imagery, semantic fields, connotation, verb and adjective choice
Sentences	Short for impact · long for accumulation · minor for emphasis
Structure	Opening, shifts in time or focus, delayed information, closing
Tone	Admiring, wry, critical, nostalgic — and whether it shifts
Voice	First-person immediacy vs detached third person

Structure is part of the same overall mark, not a separate allocation. Where a writer places information — a withheld detail, a one-line paragraph — is a deliberate choice with an effect, and identifying it strengthens an answer even though structural, grammatical and presentational features are all assessed within a single combined objective.

Single text, no comparison

Section A is set on a single text for close study, divided into sections with questions – at least one question addresses the whole text. There are no two texts to compare on this paper; comparison is a Paper 2 skill instead.

Composition

Three tasks, choose one: descriptive, imaginative, and argumentative and/or discursive.

Type	The move that lifts it
Descriptive	One moment rendered fully through the senses — not a whole day thinly
Imaginative	Decide the ending first; keep characters few
Argumentative/discursive	Clear line of argument, 2–3 developed points, a genuine counter-argument answered

Vary sentence length deliberately — a short sentence after several long ones lands hard.

Hold register to the stated form and audience throughout; drifting halfway costs marks even when each sentence is correct.

Worked example. Opening a descriptive piece on a market at dawn.

Weak    "The market was busy and noisy and there were lots of people."
        -- abstract, general, one flat sentence

Strong  "Crates thudded onto wet stone. Somewhere behind the fish
        stalls a radio crackled into life, and the smell of diesel
        mixed with salt. The city was waking, one shutter at a time."

Why:  concrete sensory detail (sound, smell, touch)
      varied sentence lengths, short opener for impact
      a closing image that suggests rather than states

Technical accuracy — directly credited

Sentence demarcation (no comma splices) · consistent tense · subject–verb agreement · apostrophes for possession vs plurals · paragraphing that signals a shift in time, place or topic.

Range means varied structures and precise vocabulary — but ambition is only rewarded when controlled. A simple word used correctly beats a complex one used wrongly.

Exam traps

• Feature-spotting with no explanation of effect.
• Summarising content instead of analysing craft.
• Assuming Section A sets two texts to compare – it is a single text throughout.
• Describing an entire day rather than one moment.
• Beginning imaginative writing with no ending planned.
• Rhetorical questions used as filler.
• Leaving no time to check — a five-minute reread catches most accuracy errors.
• Treating strong Section A analysis as evidence that Section B composition will automatically be equally strong — the two sections test genuinely different skills and need separate practice.

Related: Literary Non-fiction and Composition practice questions for further worked analysis and composition technique.

Self-test

1. Define literary non-fiction and give three examples of the form.
2. State the three parts of an analytical point.
3. Why is structure worth analysing separately from language?
4. How many texts does Section A set, and is any comparison required?
5. Name three technical accuracy features that carry marks.
6. Why should Section A and Section B be revised independently rather than assuming skill transfers between them?
7. In the “market at dawn” worked example, what makes the strong version more effective than the weak one?

Answers: 1. Factual writing using the techniques of imaginative writing — travel writing, memoir, biography, essays, speeches, opinion journalism. 2. Identify the feature, quote it briefly, explain its effect on the reader in relation to purpose. 3. The placement and ordering of information — openings, delayed reveals, shifts, closings — are deliberate authorial choices producing effects, and commenting on them strengthens an answer even though structure is not a separately allocated mark. 4. A single text only, divided into sections with questions – no comparison is required on this paper. 5. Any three: sentence demarcation, consistent tense, subject–verb agreement, apostrophes, purposeful paragraphing. 6. Section A tests reading and Section B tests writing — they are different skills, so strong analysis does not guarantee strong composition, and each needs its own dedicated revision time. 7. It replaces a single flat, general statement with concrete sensory detail, varied sentence lengths (including a short opener for impact), and a closing image that suggests the scene rather than stating it directly.