About GCSE English Language 8700 Syllabus
A specification designed for you and your students
Our assessments have been designed to inspire and motivate students, providing appropriate stretch and challenge whilst ensuring, as far as possible, that the assessment and texts are accessible to the full range of students.
The specification will enable students of all abilities to develop the skills they need to read, understand and analyse a wide range of different texts covering the 19th, 20th and 21st century time periods as well as to write clearly, coherently and accurately using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Dynamic and engaging content
The specification offers the attraction of two equally-balanced papers, relating reading sources to the topic and theme of writing tasks. The reading sources act as stimulus for writing tasks, providing students with a clear route through each paper.
Each paper has a distinct identity to better support high quality provision and engaging teaching and learning. Paper 1, Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing, looks at how writers use narrative and descriptive techniques to engage the interest of readers. Paper 2, Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives, looks at how different writers present a similar topic over time.
Our approach to spoken language (previously speaking and listening) will emphasise the importance of the wider benefits that speaking and listening skills have for students. The endorsed unit will draw on good practice to suggest how engaging formative tasks can lead to a single summative assessment.
Skills-based approach
The specification offers a skills-based approach to the study of English Language in an untiered context. Questions are designed to take students on an assessment journey through lower tariff tasks to more extended responses.
Teach Language and Literature together
The specification is fully co-teachable with GCSE English Literature. Students who choose to study both will benefit from the transferable skills developed across the two subjects.
We’re behind you every step of the way
After careful consultation with practising teachers, subject associations and employers, we have designed the specification to meet the needs of students and teachers, providing high quality assessment and good provision for English. It offers excellent preparation for AS and A-level English, as well as equipping students with essential life-skills and the best progression route to future employment.
With AQA you can rest assured that your students will receive the grade that fairly represents their attainment and reflects the skills that they have demonstrated.
You can find out about all our English qualifications at aqa.org.uk/english .
Support and resources to help you teach
We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to find or develop good quality materials. So we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you with a range of resources that will help you confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.
Teaching resources
We have too many English Language resources to list here so visit aqa.org.uk/8700 to see them all. They include:
Good To Know 🙂
PapaCambridge provides English Language 8700 Latest Past Papers and Resources that includes syllabus, specimens, question papers, marking schemes, FAQ’s, Teacher’s resources, Notes and a lot more. Past papers of English Language 8700 are available from 2002 up to the latest session. It’s the guarantee of PapaCambridge that you will find the latest past papers and other resources of English Language 8700 before any other website. All the content offered here is absolutely for free and is provided in the most convenient way so that you don’t face any issue.
Updates
08 August 2019 : English Language 8700 past papers and other resources are now available.
English Language 8700 Yearly Past Papers
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AS & A Level, IGCSE and O Level October / November 2020 Past Papers Are Now Available. Click Here