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WJEC · GCSE · English Literature

Free WJEC GCSE English Literature
Practice Paper

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

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What the real WJEC GCSE English Literature 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 Literature syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.

Q1 · Difficulty 1/3

The people who watch a play are the:

  1. directors
  2. audience
  3. cast
  4. authors
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — audience
The audience watches the performance.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3

Instructions telling actors how to move or speak are:

  1. dialogue
  2. themes
  3. plots
  4. stage directions
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — stage directions
Stage directions guide movement, tone and action.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3

The people who perform a play are the:

  1. actors (cast)
  2. readers
  3. authors only
  4. audience
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — actors (cast)
Actors (the cast) perform the play.
Q4 · Difficulty 2/3

An 'aside' is a remark a character makes that is:

  1. the title
  2. heard by the audience but not the other characters
  3. shouted to everyone
  4. written, not spoken
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — heard by the audience but not the other characters
An aside is spoken to the audience, unheard by other characters.
Q5 · Difficulty 2/3

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that:

  1. a character does not
  2. no one knows
  3. the author forgot
  4. is in the title
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — a character does not
Dramatic irony: the audience knows more than the character.
Q6 · Difficulty 1/3

Which of the following BEST describes the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet?

  1. AABB CCDD EEFF GG
  2. ABAB ABAB CDCD EE
  3. ABBA ABBA CDC DCD
  4. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Award 1 mark for correct identification. C is incorrect — this is the Petrarchan/Italian sonnet form. A is incorrect — this represents rhyming couplets throughout. B is incorrect — this pattern does not match any standard sonnet form.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3

Words that imitate sounds (e.g. 'buzz', 'hiss') are examples of:

  1. metaphor
  2. rhyme
  3. onomatopoeia
  4. simile
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia uses words that sound like their meaning.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3

A major division of a play is a/an:

  1. stanza
  2. verse
  3. act
  4. chapter
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — act
Plays are divided into acts (and acts into scenes).
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WJEC GCSE English Literature FAQ

What does the WJEC GCSE English Literature exam look like?
The WJEC GCSE English Literature 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 WJEC GCSE English Literature past paper?
Real WJEC past papers are published directly by WJEC 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 WJEC GCSE English Literature 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.