AQA’s GCSE English Literature specification (8702). NEO supports learners registered with AQA for this qualification through revision, prep, and curriculum delivery alongside their primary NEO programme.
NEO does not register learners with AQA. Registration sits with the LA, school, or commissioner.
Component structure
AQA GCSE English Literature is assessed via two papers, both written, both closed-text from June 2017 onwards (texts cannot be taken into the exam).
- Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel — 1 hour 45 minutes; 64 marks; 40% of GCSE
- Section A — Shakespeare — learners answer one question on their studied Shakespeare play
- Section B — The 19th-century novel — learners answer one question on their studied 19th-century novel
- Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry — 2 hours 15 minutes; 96 marks; 60% of GCSE
- Section A — Modern texts — learners answer one essay question from a choice of two on their studied modern prose or drama text
- Section B — Poetry — learners answer one comparative question on one named poem from the AQA poetry anthology and one other poem from the same cluster
- Section C — Unseen poetry — learners answer one question on an unseen poem and a comparative question on a second unseen poem
Set text choices (illustrative — confirmed against current AQA spec each year)
- Shakespeare — Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar
- 19th-century novel — A Christmas Carol (Dickens), Great Expectations (Dickens), Jane Eyre (Brontë), Frankenstein (Shelley), Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Stevenson), The Sign of Four (Conan Doyle)
- Modern prose / drama — An Inspector Calls (Priestley), Animal Farm (Orwell), Lord of the Flies (Golding), DNA (Kelly), Pigeon English (Kelman), and others
- Poetry anthology — Power and Conflict cluster · Love and Relationships cluster
Assessment Objectives
- AO1 — read, understand and respond to texts; use textual references including quotations to support and illustrate interpretations (40% across the qualification)
- AO2 — analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate (35%)
- AO3 — show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written (15%)
- AO4 — use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation (10%)
Tests canonical
- KS4 English — particularly the Comprehension, Language and structure analysis, Comparing writers’ ideas and perspectives, and Critical evaluation strands
Cross-overlay equivalents
- Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Literature — comparable assessment territory; different set-text catalogue
- AQA GCSE English Language (8700) is the natural sister-qualification — many learners sit both
NEO operational note
The closed-text nature of both papers makes English Literature one of the more memory-intensive qualifications in NEO’s offer territory. For learners with EBSNA / SEMH presentations and the working-memory difficulties that often accompany them, careful sequencing of revision and intelligent use of quotation banks (curated, learnt, used precisely) is the difference between attainment and frustration.
For NEO’s primary learners, AQA GCSE English Literature is supported as revision and prep alongside Edexcel International GCSE English Language A. A learner registered for both qualifications carries a substantial revision load — typically only learners with strong reading ability and stable engagement are supported on a dual-pathway literature load.
Source
AQA GCSE English Literature 8702 specification (publicly available). Population of AO-level pages and set-text-specific notes follows when a NEO learner is registered for AQA English Literature.