5.2.1

Overview - Section A

Test yourself

Paper 2, Section A: Reading

In Section A of Paper 2, you will analyse the language of one non-fiction text and compare the viewpoints of the writers of two non-fiction texts.

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Texts in Section A

  • One text on Paper 2 will be from the 19th century (1800s), and one will be from the 20th or 21st Century (1900-present day).
  • The texts will be non-fiction – including written statements, accounts, newspaper stories, diaries, etc.
  • Questions will involve looking at how the writers manage to get their ideas/points of view across.
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Questions in Section A

  • Section A contains four questions:
    • Question 1 (4 marks).
    • Question 2 (8 marks).
    • Question 3 (12 marks).
    • Question 4 (16 marks).
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Timings for Section A

  • The exam is 1 hour, 45 minutes and worth 80 marks in total.
  • For Section A, you should try to spend:
    • 4 minutes (2 minutes reading + 2 minutes writing) on Question 1.
    • 18 minutes (8 minutes reading + 10 minutes writing) on Question 2.
    • 16 minutes (4 minutes reading + 12 minutes writing) on Question 3.
    • 23 minutes (5 minutes reading + 18 minutes writing) on Question 4.

Jump to other topics

1Key Terms

2Language Techniques

3Paper 1: Reading

4Paper 1: Writing

5Paper 2: Reading

6Paper 2: Writing

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