Guidance on administering GCSE English Literature Paper 1 exam

Published: Monday 28 Mar 2022

Because of the changes we’ve made to how GCSE English Literature will be assessed in 2022, the exam will be structured differently this year. This is to give schools and colleges options to reduce the amount of subject content that needs to be taught. This means there will also be some changes to how the exam for Paper 1 will be administered.

For 2022 only, Paper 1 students will sit two 50 minute papers from the following three options:

• Paper 1P: Anthology of poetry
• Paper 1M: Modern text
• Paper 1N: 19th-century novel.

Teachers can use the sample papers we’ve created for mock/practice exams to make sure students are familiar with the structure of the paper before the day of the exam.

Students will be issued with two separate question papers and blank answer booklets for each 50 minute exam paper. Your school or college can decide in which order students sit the papers.

In the exam

To make sure the exam runs smoothly, the first paper and answer booklet must be collected before giving students the second paper and new answer booklet. This means there will be a short break in-between papers. Students should be kept under controlled exam conditions during this transition.

Packaging up the scripts

When packaging up the scripts, please make sure only one component or option is included in each envelope and that the envelope is correctly labelled. Following this guidance will make sure the answer booklets are easily and efficiently distributed to the right examiners which ensures students get the right result, on time.

We know this is a change to students’ normal experience of taking GCSE English Literature exams, but this adaptation was needed to deliver the optionality for the summer 2022 exam series.

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