AQA English Literature Paper 1
AQA English Literature Paper 1 covers Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel, Macbeth and A Christmas Carol. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and is worth 40% of your GCSE. Here is exactly how the paper is structured, and how to spend your time.
What's in AQA Paper 1?
Paper 1 has two sections, each on a different text, and you answer one question in each. It is a closed-book exam, so you cannot take the texts in, which is why learning your quotes matters so much. The whole paper is worth 64 marks.
Section A: Shakespeare
This is Macbeth. You are given a printed extract and asked to write about a character or theme both in that extract and across the whole play. It is worth 30 marks, with a further 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar, so 34 in total. Read the extract closely, then move outward to the rest of the play. Prepare with the Macbeth practice questions.
Section B: The 19th-century novel
This is A Christmas Carol. Again you get a printed extract and write about a character or theme in the extract and the whole novella. It is worth 30 marks, with no separate spelling and grammar mark on this section. Practise the extract-then-whole-text skill with the A Christmas Carol practice questions.
Timing strategy
You have 1 hour 45 minutes for two answers, so aim for around 50 minutes on each, leaving a few minutes to plan and to check. Do not let the first answer overrun and starve the second, because both are worth the same. Spend the opening minutes on the extract, but always develop out to the whole text, where much of the credit lies. Always check the exact marks and timings against the current AQA specification.
Prepare each text fully on the Macbeth and A Christmas Carol pages, and see the other paper on the Paper 2 hub.