Edexcel English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2: questions, marks and how to prepare

Key takeaways

• →Paper 1 (Fiction and Imaginative Writing) is 1 hour 45 minutes, 64 marks and 40% of the GCSE. Paper 2 (Non-fiction and Transactional Writing) is 2 hours 5 minutes, 96 marks and 60%.
• →Reading and writing count equally. The two 40-mark writing tasks make up 80 of the 160 marks, and each is split 24 marks for content and 16 for technical accuracy.
• →Pearson’s printed advice is about 1 hour on Paper 1 reading and about 1 hour 20 minutes on Paper 2 reading, with about 45 minutes for the writing task on each paper.
• →In 2027, Paper 1 is on Monday 24 May and Paper 2 on Tuesday 8 June, both in the morning. Pearson says its past papers are free to use, though the newest are for teachers only.

1. The two papers at a glance

This guide covers Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Language (1EN0). It has two papers, each with a reading section (Section A) and a writing section (Section B). The reading texts are unseen, so students meet them for the first time in the exam.^[1]

Paper 1 is called Fiction and Imaginative Writing. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, is worth 64 marks and counts for 40% of the GCSE. Section A (24 marks) uses one 19th-century fiction extract. Section B (40 marks) is one creative writing task.^[1]

Paper 2 is called Non-fiction and Transactional Writing. “Transactional” means writing for a real purpose, such as a letter or article. It lasts 2 hours 5 minutes, is worth 96 marks and counts for 60%. Section A (56 marks) uses two non-fiction texts from the 20th and 21st centuries, one of them literary non-fiction. Section B (40 marks) is one writing task.^[1]

Marks from both papers are added together, out of 160, to give one grade from 9 to 1. The spoken language endorsement is separate: a presentation of up to 10 minutes, including questions, graded Pass, Merit or Distinction with no marks. It counts for 0% of the GCSE and appears on its own line of the certificate.^[1]

Pearson also offers GCSE English Language 2.0 (1EN2), as an alternative to 1EN0, not a replacement.^[16]

Its papers are different (80 marks each), and a student cannot enter both. Check with school which code your child is entered for. This guide is about 1EN0.^[17]

2. Paper 1: question by question

Pearson’s paper advises about 1 hour on Section A and about 45 minutes on Section B, which fills the 105 minutes. Pearson gives times for sections, not questions, so the times in the table are our own split.^[3]

3. Paper 2: question by question

Section A has Text 1 (Questions 1 to 3), Text 2 (Questions 4 to 6) and a question on both (Question 7). Pearson advises about 1 hour 20 minutes on Section A and about 45 minutes on Section B, which fills the 125 minutes. Again, the question times are our split.^[5]

4. What each question rewards

Pearson marks both papers against assessment objectives, or AOs: the skills being tested. The table shows where each is marked.^[1]

On Paper 1, Questions 1 and 2 earn a mark for each correct point. Questions 3 and 4 are marked in levels: examiners pick the level an answer fits best, then a mark within it. Question 3 is capped if an answer covers only language or only structure.^[4]

On Paper 2, Questions 1, 2, 4 and 5 are marked by points. Question 7b is capped at Level 2 if only one text is discussed in detail.^[6]

Reading and writing count equally: 80 marks each.

5. What holds marks back

Pearson’s Paper 1 report (November 2024, the latest we found) says short questions lost marks when students used lines outside those named, and weaker Question 4 answers retold the text.^[7]

The Paper 2 report (November 2023) says Question 7b answers often barely mentioned the theme, and weaker letters sounded too casual.^[8]

Stay inside the lines: Short questions name the lines to use. Take your answer from those lines only and keep it brief.

6. How Edexcel differs from AQA

AQA’s papers are equal: each is 1 hour 45 minutes, 80 marks and 50% of the GCSE. Edexcel’s are not. Both boards give each paper a 40-mark writing task, split 24 and 16, and both treat spoken language as a separate endorsement worth 0% of the grade.^[19]

The 19th-century text is in Edexcel’s Paper 1 fiction, but in AQA’s Paper 2 non-fiction. AQA’s Paper 1 uses 20th or 21st-century fiction.^[20]

Our exam boards guide explains how to check which board your child sits, and our AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 guides cover the other board.

7. What has changed, and the 2027 dates

Pearson’s English updates from August to October 2026 do not mention any change to the 1EN0 papers, marks or timings.^[13]

The latest change we found was to marking, from May/June 2024. Pearson adjusted how the 16 vocabulary and technical marks are spread across the levels, and said plans are not marked unless there is no other answer. The papers did not change.^[14]

Pearson’s onscreen assessment page lists GCSE English Language as subject to approval from Ofqual, the exams regulator, with no year.^[18]

Pearson’s final 2027 timetable has Paper 1 on Monday 24 May 2027 and Paper 2 on Tuesday 8 June 2027, both in the morning, with 9:00am as the published start time. Check your child’s own timetable.^[2]

8. How to practise

Start with Pearson’s past papers. Pearson says its past papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports are free to teachers and students. You choose GCSE, then English Language, then an exam series.^[10]

The newest papers are locked: papers from the last 12 months are for teachers only, so schools can set mocks.^[11]

Pearson removed the padlocks from its 2025 papers on 1 August 2026.^[12]

For marked examples, Pearson publishes Paper 1 exemplar scripts with examiner comments, from the 2019 series.^[9]

Practise to time. Do whole papers in one sitting and mark them against the mark scheme. Our lessons on reading the mark scheme like an examiner and on timing a paper show how.

Plan every writing task. Pearson’s examiners advise aiming for a complete short piece rather than a whole story, and leaving time to proofread.^[7]

Match the form on Paper 2. Tasks can ask for an article, letter, review, text for a speech or section of a guide. Underline the audience before you plan.^[15]

Read widely, because texts are unseen. Paper 1 uses 19th-century fiction, so include some. Our GCSE English Language guide covers the whole course.^[1]

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 whether reading or writing needs the most work first.

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

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2. 2. How are the 40 marks for each writing task split?

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3. 3. When are the Edexcel English Language papers in 2027?

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Your next steps

• Find a Paper 1 or Paper 2 past paper and its mark scheme on Pearson’s website, and sit it with a clock.
• Mark it against the mark scheme and note which question lost the most marks.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to see whether reading or writing needs the most work.

Subject guides to go with this

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