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Component 1: Language Concepts and Issues

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What is the language acquisition topic, and how do you argue critically about how children acquire spoken and written language?

Language acquisition (a Component 1 Section B language issues topic): the stages of children's spoken and written development, the major theories (behaviourist, nativist, cognitive, social interactionist), key evidence and concepts, and how children acquire language, argued critically with theory and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
How to argue the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) language acquisition topic for the Component 1 Section B language issues essay: the stages of spoken and written development, the major theories (behaviourist, nativist, cognitive, social interactionist), and how children acquire language, argued critically with theory and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
14 min answer →

What is the language and power topic, and how do you argue critically about how power is created and enacted through language?

Language and power (a Component 1 Section B language issues topic): instrumental and influential power, power in occupation and institutions, the concepts (synthetic personalisation, face and politeness, power asymmetry), and how power is constructed and enacted through language, argued critically with examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
How to argue the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) language and power topic for the Component 1 Section B language issues essay: instrumental and influential power, power in occupation and institutions, key concepts (synthetic personalisation, face, power asymmetry), and how power is constructed through language, argued critically with concepts and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
14 min answer →

What is the language and situation topic, and how do you argue critically about register, mode and how context shapes language?

Language and situation (a Component 1 Section B language issues topic): register and how context shapes language, the field, tenor and mode of discourse, the spoken-written continuum, formality and audience, and how situational factors construct meaning, argued critically with concepts and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
How to argue the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) language and situation topic for the Component 1 Section B language issues essay: register, field, tenor and mode, the spoken-written continuum, formality and audience, and how context shapes language, argued critically with concepts and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
13 min answer →

What is the standard and non-standard English topic, and how do you argue critically about accent, dialect and attitudes to variation?

Standard and non-standard English (a Component 1 Section B language issues topic): Standard English and its history, accent and dialect, regional and social variation, overt and covert prestige, and attitudes to non-standard varieties, argued critically with concepts and examples (AO2, supported by AO1 and AO3).
How to argue the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) standard and non-standard English topic for the Component 1 Section B language issues essay: Standard English and its history, accent versus dialect, regional and social variation, overt and covert prestige, and attitudes to variation, deployed critically with concepts and examples (AO2, with AO1 and AO3).
14 min answer →

How do you write the Component 1 Section B language issues essay, and how do you turn topic knowledge into a critical, evidenced argument?

The language issues essay (Component 1 Section B): how to answer the discursive essay from a choice of three across the four topics, building a critical argument (AO2) that deploys concepts and theories and grounds them in examples (AO1 and AO3) under time.
How to write the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) Component 1 Section B language issues essay: choosing from three questions across the four topics, building a critical argument (AO2) that deploys concepts and theories grounded in examples (AO1 and AO3), and structuring a discursive response under time.
13 min answer →

What is the Component 1 Section A spoken language question, and how do you analyse at least two transcripts across the frameworks under time?

The spoken language question (Component 1 Section A): analysing at least two transcriptions of real spoken language across the linguistic frameworks, reading transcript notation, and moving from feature to effect to construct an argument about the talk (AO1 and AO3).
How to answer the Eduqas A-Level English Language (A700) Component 1 Section A spoken language question: analysing at least two transcripts of real talk across the frameworks, reading the transcript's notation, and moving from feature to effect to build an argument about the interaction, the core AO1 and AO3 task of the paper.
14 min answer →