Specifications that use this resource:
Switching to AQA: from Edexcel
Compare our GCSE English Literature (8702) to Edexcel’s offering.
Although each exam board’s specification is different, the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual state that they all need to include the following:
- at least one Shakespeare play
- at least one 19th -century novel
- a number of unseen texts
- a comparison of unseen texts
- an assessment of students’ use of vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation (AO4).
Key similarities
- Both boards have two exams, one lasting 1hr 45min, one lasting 2hrs 15min.
- Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel questions are both extract based.
- Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel text choices are almost identical.
- Both boards include a question which asks students to compare two unseen poems.
- Both poetry questions print a poem from the anthology and require the student to choose the poem they’d like to compare.
Key differences
- We offer a wider choice of modern texts, increasing your chances of finding something to inspire your students.
- We recognise that skills of literature analysis are intertwined, and assesses AO1, AO2 and AO3 holistically in every question (except the unseen poetry).
- We assess AO4 in the first section of each paper, when students are freshest and writing at their best.
Assessment comparison
Paper 1
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
1hr 45 mins | 1hr 45 mins |
64 marks | 80 marks |
40% of GCSE | 50% of GCSE |
Section A
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
Section A: Shakespeare | Section A: Shakespeare |
One extract-based essay question. Students write about an extract from their chosen play, and the play as a whole - all within the same response. | One essay question, with two essay parts. Part one focuses on an extract. Part two focuses on the whole play. |
AO1, AO2 and A03 are assessed holistically across Section A and Section B. AO4 is only assessed in Section A (4 marks). |
Section A, Part A assesses AO2. Section A, Part B assesses AO1 and AO3. |
Section B
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
Section B: The 19th-century novel | Section B: Post-1914 Literature – British play or novel |
One extract-based essay question. Students write about an extract from their chosen novel and the play as a whole. | One essay question from a choice of two. Each question has a statement or quotation from the text. Students write about their chosen text. |
AO1, AO2 and A03 are assessed holistically across Section A and Section B. |
Section B assesses AO1, AO3 and A04. AO4 is only assessed in Section B (8 marks). |
Paper 2
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
2hrs 15 mins | 2hrs 15 mins |
96 marks | 80 marks |
60% of GCSE | 50% of GCSE |
Section A
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
Section A: Modern texts | Section A: 19th-century novel |
One essay question from a choice of two. Students write about their chosen text. | One question with two essay parts. Part one focuses on an extract. Part two focuses on the whole novel. |
Section A and Section B assess AO1, AO2 and AO3 holistically. AO4 is only assessed in Section A (4 marks). |
Section A, Part 1 assesses AO2. Section A, Part 2 assesses AO1.
|
Section B
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
Section B: Poetry | Section B: Poetry since 1789 |
One question comparing two poems from the AQA Anthology. One poem will be printed on the paper. Students choose the second poem from the anthology cluster. | Two parts, each with one question. Part one is one question comparing two poems from the Edexcel Anthology. One poem will be printed on the paper. Students will choose the second poem from the Anthology cluster. Part two is one question comparing two unseen poems. |
Section A and Section B assess AO1, AO2 and AO3 holistically. | Section B Part 1 assesses AO2 and AO3. Section B Part 2 assesses AO1 and AO2. |
Section C
AQA | Edexcel |
---|---|
Section C: Unseen Poetry | No Section C |
Two questions: one question on an unseen poem and one question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem. | n/a |
The first question assesses AO1 and AO2, the second question assesses AO2. | n/a |
Text comparison
Shakespeare
AQA | Edexcel |
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19th-century novel
AQA | Edexcel |
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Modern texts/Post-1914 British play or novel
AQA | Edexcel |
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Love and relationships
AQA | Edexcel |
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Power and conflict
AQA | Edexcel |
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Time and place
AQA | Edexcel |
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n/a |
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If you're thinking of switching to AQA, let us know you're interested.