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AQA · GCSE · English Language

Free AQA GCSE English Language
Practice Paper

8 mixed-difficulty practice questions in the style of real AQA GCSE papers — answers, mark-scheme-style explanations, and the official exam structure all on one page.

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What the real AQA GCSE English Language paper looks like

Paper 1
Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification.
Paper 2
Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification.
Paper 3
Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions.
Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Grading: Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass.

Mini practice paper: 8 questions

Mixed-difficulty questions from across the English Language syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.

Q1 · Difficulty 1/3

What is the term for a persuasive appeal to the reader's emotions?

  1. Sibilance
  2. Assonance
  3. Pathos
  4. Ellipsis
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Pathos
Award 1 mark. Pathos appeals to feelings such as pity, fear or pride. Sibilance and assonance are sound patterns; an ellipsis is a punctuation mark.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3

Autobiography, travel writing and biography are examples of which kind of text?

  1. Prose fiction
  2. Drama scripts
  3. Literary non-fiction
  4. Lyric poetry
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Literary non-fiction
Award 1 mark. Literary non-fiction is based on real events but uses crafted, literary techniques such as vivid description and narrative shape.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3

How does the Spoken Language endorsement affect the 9 to 1 English Language grade?

  1. It adds up to one grade to the overall result
  2. It replaces the marks for the Paper 2 writing
  3. It is reported separately and does not change it
  4. It counts for half of the overall final grade
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — It is reported separately and does not change it
Award 1 mark. The endorsement sits alongside the GCSE grade. It does not add to or subtract from the 9 to 1 result.
Q4 · Difficulty 1/3

Who assesses a student's Spoken Language presentation?

  1. An examiner visiting the school
  2. A panel of the student's classmates
  3. An automatic online marking system
  4. The student's own teacher
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — The student's own teacher
Award 1 mark. Teachers assess the presentations in school against AQA criteria, and recordings allow the assessment to be checked.
Q5 · Difficulty 1/3

How is the AQA GCSE Spoken Language endorsement graded?

  1. On the 9 to 1 scale
  2. From grade A to E
  3. As a mark out of 40
  4. Pass, Merit or Distinction
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — Pass, Merit or Distinction
Award 1 mark. The endorsement is graded Pass, Merit or Distinction (or Not Classified) and is reported separately on the certificate.
Q6 · Difficulty 1/3

Which feature is typical of a speech?

  1. A headline and subheadings
  2. A sign-off such as "Yours faithfully"
  3. Bullet points beside images
  4. Direct address to the listeners
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — Direct address to the listeners
Award 1 mark. Speeches speak to the audience directly ("you", "we") and use spoken signposts. Headlines belong to articles; sign-offs to letters.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3

What does a formal register mean in viewpoint writing?

  1. Short sentences with no punctuation
  2. Chatty language full of in-jokes
  3. A layout with bullet points only
  4. Serious language that avoids slang
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — Serious language that avoids slang
Award 1 mark. A formal register suits serious audiences such as head teachers or newspaper readers: standard grammar, no slang, measured tone.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3

The phrase "We all know that..." uses which technique?

  1. Onomatopoeia
  2. Personification
  3. Alliteration
  4. Inclusive pronouns
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — Inclusive pronouns
Award 1 mark. Inclusive pronouns such as "we" and "us" draw the reader onto the writer's side by suggesting shared views.
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AQA GCSE English Language FAQ

What does the AQA GCSE English Language exam look like?
The AQA GCSE English Language exam is structured across 3 components. Paper 1: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification. Paper 2: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification. Paper 3: Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions. Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Can I download a free AQA GCSE English Language past paper?
Real AQA past papers are published directly by AQA on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is AQA GCSE English Language graded?
Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.