AS and A Level AQA English Language Practice Exams

What do teachers say about this resource? (8709)

This is an incredibly useful resource with some varied and interesting exam questions which clearly match the expectations of the exam board.

The texts chosen were interesting and diverse, providing a range of good material for discussion.

The clear links between AOs and the final responses are bound to enhance students' understanding of what they need to do to get the different levels. There is some excellent, yet achievable, exemplar material too.
I love the annotated sample answers.

Clear contents. Thorough and well designed. Totally in line with the spec.

This resource will save teachers of A Level English Language a huge amount of time - especially as there are such good sample answers in the package.

There are clear indications of how the students can write to match the specification. The two articles chosen are particularly good in the first paper. Responses are clearly annotated.

The links with the AOs are clear and this resource would be a useful addition to anyone teaching the AQA spec.

A very timely resource... Many teachers, including myself, will welcome the variety of questions offered... Each question is accompanied by clear steps which the students can access... The high-level answers provide a very important model that students can aim for... The mark schemes can operate as a student-friendly checklist so they can tick off the elements and reflect on their own content... The mid-level answers ensure that this resource is accessible for all and could be used as a starting point for students to develop and improve... A highly useful resource that would be highly valued by teachers of this paper. S Smith, Head of KS5 and Independent Reviewer

This is a comprehensive, well-put-together resource that is both time-saving and adds value... An excellent addition to any department! I really like the planning tasks which break down the steps in a logical and manageable way... This would be of particular use in the run-up to exams as revision on exam technique. The questions are broken down into step-by-step guides, and there is a wealth of guidance. The exemplars are of a very high quality and will be useful models for students to follow... It matches the specification very closely. The papers and mark schemes are very similar in both presentation and style, which will avoid confusion. The AOs have been transformed in order to be ‘student-friendly’ without losing any of the intricacies needed for moving up the bands... I would definitely purchase this resource – as an examiner I am very familiar with the paper but find it very labour-intensive to collate my own. This is a huge time saver and also a very useful resource for students.

A very useful pack ... written in a clear, easy-to-read way... The tips are useful and I also really like the range of revision/preparation activities throughout... The model responses are helpful, too... I really like the detailed references to AOs and the levels/grades that are provided for students. The range of texts is excellent and will save time for anyone using this resource. It is a great pack of materials useful for different stages of the course.

I was very impressed with the quality of this resource pack... A variety of topics are covered in the essay questions and articles, allowing students to revise all sections of the course... The examiner commentaries are very thorough and provide clear feedback on strengths and weaknesses following the same format as the AQA sample responses and commentaries... The student-friendly mark schemes are very detailed, offering excellent opportunities for self- and peer assessment. Students could also use these to mark the sample responses before they read the commentaries... The activities are great... they enhance learning and are tied explicitly to the assessment objectives. I’d be very happy to use this resource in my own teaching.

A very comprehensive resource comprising useful sample papers and answers: far better and more detailed than anything AQA have offered by way of exemplar material and greatly appreciated... Incredibly useful annotated answers at different levels with indicative content. The resource is organised well and very comprehensively structured... The annotated answers and relentless focus on answers at the higher levels ensures high expectations for students. It is hard to fault! The range of texts and questions is entirely appropriate and on par with actual AQA materials and the exemplar answers match the standards indicated, based on my experience of AQA marking. It's great!

What do teachers say about this resource? (8700)

The sheer work that has gone into this is astounding and more than makes up for the lack of exemplar papers and answers from the exam board. Whether an experienced or new teacher, if you want to know how to get top grades, this is the resource to help... The annotated answers are particularly useful for the learning of teachers, especially those new to marking this spec, as well... The papers match the specification well but provide challenging tasks/texts beyond any sample papers/textbooks.

It's a really useful resource with excellent exemplar material to be used with students and teachers alike.

The indicative content and student friendly mark schemes are great - totally accessible for students both prior to writing and after.

Massively time-saving for teachers! Student friendly mark schemes can be part of the learning towards exams and sample answers are incredibly useful after. 

Very thorough, closely linked to specification and requirements of the exam. Offers a wide range of pertinent resources with questions that would otherwise be unavailable given the new specification... The exemplar material is really useful in offering a structure to guide student responses. Exam commentary details precisely and accurately the skills covered... It is directly linked to the exam. There are so few similar resources available either from AQA or elsewhere... The student friendly mark schemes are ideal and offer greater guidance than that available from AQA. These are the resources the exam board should provide.

A very useful resource pack as the sample papers are exactly the kind of questions AQA will set and the sample answers provide really good-quality high-level responses to stretch and challenge students of all abilities... The activities before each model answer are very good and focus students on different skills/theories, etc. They allow opportunities for group and paired work so would be useful to set in class... The examiner commentaries are very thorough and provide clear feedback on strengths and weaknesses following the same format as the AQA sample responses and commentaries... The student-friendly mark schemes are very detailed, offering excellent opportunities for self- and peer assessment. Students could also use these to mark the sample responses before they read the commentaries... There is a range of linguistic theories, ideas and concepts referred to in the model answers and there is a wide range of linguistic terminology... I’m very impressed with the quality of the resource.

I really like the whole pack of revision resources for A Level English Language (AQA). The introductory sections are relevant and helpful; the data sets and exemplar responses are also really good and there is a lot to use, both as a teacher and a student. I also like the strengths and weaknesses section of each response as this is something teachers ask students to do when assessing each other's work... [About 8700:] I really like the clear, consistent approach with the questions, data sets and exemplar answers provided... This is a great resource.

A fantastic resource with very close similarity to a genuine past paper. Will help students and teachers alike in the run-up to exams. In such an unpredictable year to come, this resource will help equip students for the exam regardless if they are studying from home or in school.

Really clear outline of what is required of students and what is assessed in the exam in the first few pages.

Excellent 'exam tips' to help students get the best scores possible.

Very useful to have sample answers as high-level models for students to use to gauge what is required of them. With intricate linguistic details and references seamlessly integrated into the model answers, students can see how to incorporate the studies they have learnt and the terminology into their essay responses when oftentimes it is seen that they are not so fluent in their own responses.

Very beneficial to see the breakdown of how the model answers hit the relevant AOs which would particularly help students if using the practice exams for self-study.

[I like] the student-friendly mark schemes... Some of the texts chosen were very good.

What do teachers say about this resource? (8708)

A great resource which breaks down the mark scheme for students and provides sample responses which are hard to find! I like how the exemplars have the same ideas in them but one is high level while the other is less successful: this shows it's about what you do with the ideas! The best thing about this resource is the student-friendly mark schemes! The wording of the mark scheme is so hard for them to understand and this really breaks it down. Indicative content pages are also useful to students if they know how to structure an essay but aren't sure what to write about... I really liked this resource!

Extremely useful – this is an excellent pack to prepare students for the exam... The questions could be used at the end of each unit of work as mock exams, class essays or homework tasks... The preparatory activities give excellent ideas for teachers to use in class or to set as independent activities. The sample answers are an excellent way of preparing students for the exam and something that students always find very useful... The examiner commentaries are very detailed and I like the way they are broken down in terms of the assessment objectives to provide clear reasons why the mark awarded was given... The student-friendly mark schemes are excellent and provide great opportunities for students to carry out purposeful self- and peer marking as they are so clear and explicit... The indicative content on the student-friendly mark schemes is excellent. It is very clear, with explicit references to theories and concepts and ways that students can evaluate and challenge so as to access the higher marks... This is exactly the sort of resource that students need to make progress once they have learnt the course content in lessons.

A fantastic resource that is useful for both teachers and students and bears great similarity to the genuine AQA English Language papers.

The planning and assessment tasks are excellent especially for AS who may have less experience of completing past papers. They help build up confidence and independence without a huge amount of input from the teacher necessary - this means tasks could be completed outside the classroom.

The annotated model answers are fantastic - they not only model good practice but highlights exactly what a student should do to achieve the marks and reach each AO. Having the tiered responses helps students see what they need to do to upgrade their own essays.

Very good - clear and comprehensive.

The way it maps out what needs to be done to move from AS standard to A Level standard in relation to each paper and, in some cases, question, is excellent.

The different level responses, with annotation, will help students understand the fine nuances of the mark scheme and how they will be assessed for each component and each AO.

This is perfect for this specification and the questions used are very similar to those used in live exams.

All excellent - this has clear use in the classroom and could be utilised by students independent of their teacher if needed.

Thorough and insightful. Engaging and clear to understand. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

Really easy to follow and totally matched to the spec.

I liked the clear explanation of the papers and types of questions.

What do teachers say about this resource? (8577)

A very useful resource for exam preparation, with the right level of difficulty and a good range of sources... The papers closely match the style of the exam... I particularly liked the choice of subject matter and extracts. They were well matched... The activities were good and used requirements from the course in creative ways to expand student knowledge.