Description
As you may know, the AQA English Language exams are going to be slightly different from 2026 onwards. That means that this second edition, published in February 2025, is being released in a transition period. If you’re sitting your exams in 2025, you need to use the papers provided from pages 3-25. If your exams are in 2026 or later, you need to use the papers from pages 26-45. After June 2025 I will update this guide again to contain only 2026 details onwards.
If you’re at this point, you must be getting ready for your English language exams, so we have a few words of advice for you:
- Exams aren’t bad. They’re your opportunity to show off just how much you know about English—and you have been studying it since you were five, so you definitely know a thing or two! Don’t worry about your exams—worry never changes anything—instead, try and see them as an opportunity to show off what you know.
- Practising exam papers is a good way to revise and, because this exam is still relatively new, there aren’t that many past papers out there. The papers in this book have been created to try and replicate the exam experience for you. Some people might suggest using your literature texts for practice, but the whole point of this exam is that it is unseen: it’s best to work on extracts you’ve never read before.
- There is more than one way to tackle an exam paper. You could sit it in one go and complete it in exam conditions from start to finish. You could go at the papers gently, with modelled examples in front of you to help (check out the videos at youtube.com/mrbruff). Another method is to try three question threes all in a row, slide tackling your way through the paper. You might want to complete all of the Section B questions before beginning Section A. However you do it, take your time, and use the indicative content at the end to check your work.
- The indicative content isn’t everything. You might make a point that we haven’t included. Marking your own work is quite difficult so, although these are good to practise on, you should share with someone who understands the marking system to mark your work and give you feedback.
- This book is not a guide to the exam: it is a set of practice papers. For a detailed question-by-question guide to AQA English language, you should pick up a copy of ‘Mr Bruff’s Guide to GCSE English Language’ in paperback on Amazon, or eBook at mrbruff.com.
Please note: we are not endorsed by or affiliated to the AQA exam board. We are simply two experienced teachers creating resources.
