AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 4

AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 4 EXPLAINED

Summary of Mrs Wear’s “Top Five Things to Know About AQA Paper 1 Question 4”

Mrs Wear explains how to tackle the evaluation question (Q4) on Paper 1 Section A.

What you need to do – You’ll be given a student’s statement about the text. Your job is to evaluate it — basically judge whether it’s true. And yes, it always is true. Your role is to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, like a lawyer building a case. Don’t ever fully disagree. Either completely agree or mostly agree, but always prove the point.

Marks and timings – It’s worth 20 marks — the same as Questions 1, 2 and 3 combined. That’s nearly half your Section A marks. You must give it proper time: about 25 minutes. A big mistake students make is running out of time by spending too long on Q2 or Q3. Ignore this at your peril; it can cost you grades.

Don’t forget to analyse – The student statement might tempt you into writing about characters as if they’re real people. Don’t drift into a “Jeremy Kyle” essay about family relationships! Stick to analysis of language and structure to prove the statement is correct.

Use evaluative language – Show the examiner you’re making a judgment. Use clear evaluative phrases like “the student is clearly correct because…” or “the writer successfully shows…”. It makes your evaluation obvious and earns you marks.

Depth over breadth – Sometimes the statement includes two ideas, like “the writer builds tension and shows Maria has a bad relationship with her father.” You don’t have to prove both. Pick one and prove it really well. Analyse several techniques in detail until there’s no doubt left. Better one point done brilliantly than two done half-heartedly.

She finishes by reminding students to subscribe for more lessons — she covers the whole Language and Literature exam, not just AQA.

Timestamp
0:00 What do you need to do?
2:18 Marks and timings
3:28 Don't forget to analyse
4:25 Use evaluative language
5:07 Depth over breadth