AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 4: evaluation
The largest reading question on the paper, and the only one that asks what you think. Answers that treat it as a longer language question lose the marks that make it worth twenty.
The essentials
| Board | AQA |
| Paper | Language Paper 1, Section A |
| Marks | 20 |
| Suggested time | about 20 minutes |
Mark totals here are read from real past papers ingested into Marked, not from a revision site: 20 marks on all 9 AQA Paper 1s where present. Timings are our own guidance rather than anything the board specifies.
What the question asks
You are given a statement about a section of the text and asked how far you agree, evaluating how successfully the writer achieves something.
A position is required. Sitting on the fence is itself a weak answer.
What it assesses
| Objective | What it means here |
|---|---|
| AO4: critical evaluation | All twenty marks. Evaluating the text critically with a developed personal response, supported by appropriate textual references. |
What costs marks
- Never actually evaluating. Analysis of method is the evidence, not the answer. The answer is how far the writer succeeded.
- Agreeing with the statement in the first line and then only finding support for it. A considered answer tests the statement.
- Running short on time. This question is worth more than both eight-mark questions together, and it sits last in the section, so it absorbs whatever time was overspent earlier.
- Evidence from outside the specified section.
How to practise it
Write the position first, in one sentence, before any analysis. If that sentence is not arguable, the answer will not evaluate.
Practise timing the reading section as a block. This question fails on the clock more than on ability.
Ask for feedback specifically on AO4 rather than on the answer overall, since it is the only objective in play here.
More on English Language, on AQA, or see all question guides.
Next, on the same paper or the same board: AQA Paper 1 Question 3: structure, AQA Paper 1 Question 2: language analysis.
Put one answer through it
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