AQA English Literature Paper 2: sections, marks and how to prepare

Key takeaways

• →Paper 2 lasts 2 hours 15 minutes, is worth 96 marks and counts for 60% of the GCSE. It is closed book. In 2027 it is on Wednesday 19 May, in the morning.
• →Section A is one essay on a modern prose or drama text (34 marks). Section B compares two poems from your anthology cluster (30). Section C is two unseen poetry questions (32).
• →Examiners mark in levels. Strong answers make a clear argument about what the writer does and why, with short, well-chosen evidence.
• →AQA publishes past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports. Practise with a clock, mark each answer properly and learn short phrases, not long chunks.

1. Paper 2 at a glance

Paper 2 is called “Modern texts and poetry”. It lasts 2 hours 15 minutes, is worth 96 marks and counts for 60% of the GCSE. It is closed book, so you cannot take in your texts or poems.^[1]

Section A is one essay on a modern prose or drama text, from a choice of two questions. Section B is one question comparing a named poem printed on the paper with one other poem from your anthology cluster. Section C is two questions on unseen poetry: one on a single poem, one comparing it with a second.^[1]

Paper 1 is the other 40% of the GCSE: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel, 1 hour 45 minutes, 64 marks.^[2]

A companion guide covers Literature Paper 1.

2. Set texts and poetry clusters

For Section A you study one of 12 set texts, chosen by your school. AQA’s specification also lists three older texts with a last exam in 2024. They are left out below, but older papers may still ask about them.^[2]

For Section B, AQA’s anthology is called Poems Past and Present. It has three clusters of 15 poems, and you study one. Worlds and Lives was first examined in 2025.^[2]

3. Sections, marks and timings

These marks come from AQA’s June 2023 question paper. Section A is out of 34: 30 for the essay and 4 for AO4, which rewards vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation. Section B is out of 30. Section C is out of 32: 24 for the first question and 8 for the second. The total is 96.^[3]

AQA’s paper gives no advice on time for each section. Our split is a suggestion, at a little under a minute and a half a mark.^[3]

AQA’s June 2023 report says some students spent more time on the 8-mark question than its marks warranted.^[6]

Section C has a 24-mark question and an 8-mark question. Do not let the small one take the time of the big one.

4. What the questions reward

AQA marks Paper 2 against four assessment objectives, or AOs: the skills each question tests. Examiners choose the level that best fits the whole answer, then a mark within it.^[4]

Sections A and B have six levels across 30 marks, where Level 6 is 26 to 30. The first unseen question has six levels across 24 marks and the second has four levels across 8. AO4 in Section A is marked separately, from 1 mark up to 4.^[4]

Comparison is part of the AO1 marks in Section B: simple comments on how the poems relate sit at the bottom level and exploring comparison at the top. In the second unseen question, comparing how the two poems use methods is the whole task.^[4]

AQA’s specification adds that AO1 includes an informed personal response and textual references, including quotations.^[2]

5. Summer 2027 layout changes

On 22 September 2026 AQA announced layout changes to its question papers from summer 2027. They apply to all question papers for all subjects except Modern Foreign Languages. That includes GCSE English Literature, though the page does not name it.^[8]

AQA lists three changes: fewer question formats, such as one tick-box style for multiple-choice questions; source texts in one left-aligned column with line numbers on the left; and less bold, italic, capital and underlined text.^[8]

AQA says it will put updated versions of some summer 2026 papers on its secure Centre Services website later in autumn term 2026. The page does not say which. Ask your child’s teacher.^[8]

6. Common mistakes and how to avoid them

AQA’s examiner reports for June 2025 and June 2023 show where students lost marks. This table turns their points into plain advice.^[5]

Plan a line of argument: Before you write, put your answer to the question in one sentence. Every paragraph should help prove it.

7. How to revise

Know your text and cluster really well. AQA’s June 2023 report says examiners do not expect memorised chunks, and a well-chosen word or phrase often works better than a long quotation. So learn short phrases linked to big ideas.^[6]

Comparing poems: for each poem, choose two partners that share an idea, such as power or loss. AQA’s June 2025 report says it is fine to introduce the comparison, write about each poem, then draw ideas together. Practise that shape.^[5]

Unseen poetry: practise on poems you have never read. Read each twice, then link each idea to a method, a short piece of evidence and its effect. In the second question, compare how the two poems use methods.^[4]

Timed essays: write one Section A essay in about 50 minutes and one Section B answer in about 40, then mark them against the mark scheme’s levels. Our lessons on reading the mark scheme like an examiner and on timing a paper show how.

Past papers: AQA publishes past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports on its website, with a finder you can search by subject and exam series. It says most stay online for about three years.^[9]

Teachers see the newest papers first: AQA lists the summer 2026 papers for its public website from 9 July 2027. Ask your child’s teacher which papers to use.^[10]

Older papers may not match your texts, as three ended in 2024 and Worlds and Lives began in 2025.^[2]

Our GCSE English Literature guide covers AQA, Edexcel and OCR and the marks needed for each grade. Our AQA English Language Paper 2 guide covers the other English GCSE.

8. When is Paper 2 in 2027?

AQA’s 2027 GCSE timetable has English Literature Paper 2 on Wednesday 19 May 2027, in the morning. Paper 1 is a week earlier, on Wednesday 12 May 2027, also in the morning.^[7]

AQA updates its timetables, so check your child’s personal timetable from school.^[7]

9. How Brainhub can help

Our GCSE students typically improve by 2 grades over 12 weeks of weekly lessons (Brainhub student records, 2021–2026). That figure is our own data, not independent research.

We teach one-to-one, live online across the UK, with online GCSE lessons from £30 an hour. Every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment, so we can see which Paper 2 section your child needs to work on first.

1. 1. How long is AQA English Literature Paper 2, and how many marks is it worth?

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2. 2. What are the three sections, and how many marks is each worth?

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3. 3. Which section carries the AO4 marks, and what are they for?

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Your next steps

• Find a Paper 2 past paper and its mark scheme on AQA’s website, or ask school for one, and time yourself on one section.
• Write one Section B answer on a pair of poems: a line linking them, a paragraph on each and a closing line.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to see which section to work on first.

Subject guides to go with this

Want one-to-one help? See how our online lessons work.