At a glance
- Boards and codes
- AQA 8702, Edexcel 1ET0, OCR J352
- Assessment
- 2 papers, closed book, no coursework
- AQA timing
- 1h 45m (64 marks) + 2h 15m (96 marks)
- Tiers
- None: one paper for all, grades 9 to 1
- Text types
- Shakespeare, 19th-century novel, modern text, poetry
How each board assesses GCSE English Literature
All three boards examine the same four text types, but split them differently across the papers. Check the code on your child's exam entry or school course guide.
| Board | Paper | Content | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA 8702 | Paper 1 | Shakespeare play (extract plus whole play) and 19th-century novel | 1h 45m | 64 (incl. 4 for SPaG) | 40% |
| AQA 8702 | Paper 2 | Modern prose or drama, anthology poetry comparison, unseen poetry | 2h 15m | 96 (incl. 4 for SPaG) | 60% |
| Edexcel 1ET0 | Paper 1 | Shakespeare and a post-1914 British play or novel | 1h 45m | 80 | 50% |
| Edexcel 1ET0 | Paper 2 | 19th-century novel, poetry anthology and unseen poetry | 2h 15m | 80 | 50% |
| OCR J352 | Component 01 | Modern prose or drama and 19th-century prose | 2h | 80 | 50% |
| OCR J352 | Component 02 | Poetry (anthology and unseen) and Shakespeare | 2h | 80 | 50% |
All papers are closed book: students may not bring the texts into the exam. Durations and marks from the boards' specification pages, checked 6 October 2026.
Which texts will my child study?
The school chooses one text from each category on the board's list. On AQA the common choices are Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare, A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde or Frankenstein for the 19th-century novel, and An Inspector Calls, Blood Brothers or Animal Farm for the modern text. AQA students also study one of three anthology poetry clusters: Love and Relationships, Power and Conflict, or Worlds and Lives. AQA added Worlds and Lives and three modern texts (Leave Taking, Princess and the Hustler, My Name is Leon) for first teaching in September 2023, with first exams in summer 2025, so older revision guides may not cover them.
Ask the school for the exact list in Year 10. A tutor who knows the board but not your child's texts is far less useful than one prepared for those four texts.
GCSE or IGCSE: which one is your child taking?
Most British-curriculum schools in the Gulf enter students for International GCSE English Literature (Cambridge 0475 or 0992, or Pearson Edexcel International GCSE 4ET1) rather than the UK GCSE. Some schools follow the UK specifications above, and families moving from England usually arrive part way through one of them. The skills overlap heavily, but IGCSE courses can include open-book or coursework options and different set texts, so the right preparation depends on the code on the entry, not the word GCSE on the report.
England's Curriculum and Assessment Review (final report and government response, November 2025) plans a new national curriculum from September 2028 and less total GCSE exam time. Students now in Years 10 and 11 sit the current specifications described here.
Where students lose marks
- Retelling the plot instead of analysing how the writer creates meaning. Examiners reward method: language, structure and form, linked to the question.
- Too few remembered quotations, or long ones. Short, flexible quotations of three to six words can be used across many questions.
- Context bolted on as a history paragraph. Marks go to context that explains why the writer made a choice, woven into the argument.
- Spending all the time on the extract and neglecting the whole-text part of the Shakespeare and 19th-century novel questions.
- Running out of time on AQA Paper 2: three sections in 2 hours 15 minutes, with unseen poetry last.
- Losing the 4 AQA marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar on Shakespeare and the modern text through rushed writing.
How one-to-one Literature lessons work
A tutor starts by reading a recent essay of your child's and marking it against the board's assessment objectives, so the gaps are clear. Lessons then rotate through the four set texts: building a short quotation bank by theme and character, planning answers to past questions in five minutes, and writing timed paragraphs that the tutor annotates live on the shared whiteboard. For unseen poetry, the tutor brings poems your child has never seen and teaches a repeatable reading routine.
Students who start in Year 10 can cover each text properly before mocks. Starting in the January of Year 11 still works if lessons focus on the two texts carrying the most marks and on timed practice.
Quotations beat re-reading
Because every paper is closed book, ten well-chosen quotations per text that your child can explain from memory are worth more than reading the novel again.
Common questions
Is GCSE English Literature open book?
No. AQA, Edexcel and OCR all examine it closed book, so students rely on remembered quotations. AQA and Edexcel print an extract for the Shakespeare and 19th-century novel questions.
Does GCSE English Literature have Foundation and Higher tiers?
No. Everyone sits the same papers and can achieve any grade from 9 to 1.
Is there coursework?
Not in the UK GCSE. It is assessed entirely by exams at the end of Year 11. Some IGCSE routes do include coursework, which is one reason to confirm which course your child is on.
Can a tutor help if my child's texts are different from AQA's popular ones?
Yes. Tell us the board and the four set texts when you book, and we match a tutor who teaches those texts.
How much do GCSE English Literature lessons cost?
$15 a lesson, the same for every subject. Lessons are one to one and 60 minutes long, bought as a weekly plan of 1 to 5 lessons billed monthly, and the first lesson is a free trial.
Sources
Dates and figures on this page come from these official and published sources. Always confirm deadlines on the official page before acting on them.