Paper 1 will assess students’ ability to read fiction analytically and write creatively and accurately. The emphasis is firmly on skills, not memorised content.
Students must:
Select relevant, precise information
Show clear understanding of explicit ideas
Avoid inference or explanation
Skill focus: accuracy and efficiency.
Students must:
Analyse writer’s language choices
Focus on words and phrases
Explain effects on the reader
Skill focus: close language analysis, not feature spotting.
Students must:
Analyse how the text is structured as a whole
Comment on openings, shifts, focus, and endings
Explain how structure builds interest, tension, or meaning
Skill focus: understanding how texts are shaped, not just what happens.
Students must:
Develop a critical, personal response
Evaluate how effectively ideas are presented
Use well-chosen references
Maintain a clear argument
Skill focus: thoughtful judgement supported by evidence.
Students must:
Produce a descriptive or narrative response
Adapt writing to purpose and audience
Use language consciously and deliberately
Marks reward:
Content & organisation (ideas, structure, cohesion)
Technical accuracy (sentence control, punctuation, spelling)
Skill focus: control, clarity, and engagement — not overwriting.
Across all questions, students are rewarded for:
Clear, accurate reading of fiction
Explaining how writers create effects
Selecting precise quotations
Writing fluently with control and intent
Showing awareness of reader impact
For exams from 2026 onwards, Paper 1 remains a skills-based paper.
Students succeed by:
Analysing methods clearly
Evaluating thoughtfully
Writing creatively but controlled
No tricks — just strong reading, clear thinking, and confident writing.