How do you read two unseen non-fiction texts from different times, draw ideas together, compare perspectives and write to argue a viewpoint?
Writing non-fiction to present a point of view for the Paper 2 Section B task (AO5 and AO6), including matching form, audience and purpose, building an argument and using rhetorical devices and accuracy.
How to tackle the non-fiction writing task on AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 Section B: matching form, audience and purpose, structuring a persuasive argument, deploying rhetorical devices for AO5, and securing the 16 accuracy marks for AO6.
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What this dot point is asking
Paper 2 Section B is the non-fiction writing task, worth 40 marks (half the paper). You write to present a point of view on a topic, in a stated form (such as a letter, article, speech or essay), for a stated audience. It is assessed on AO5 (content and organisation) and AO6 (technical accuracy). The skill is building a clear, persuasive argument matched to form, audience and purpose, written with control and accuracy.
Match form, audience and purpose
A speech to students sounds different from a formal letter to a council. Signal the form with appropriate conventions and pitch the tone and vocabulary to the audience.
Build an argument
A viewpoint piece needs a clear line of argument, not a pile of points. Decide your stance, plan three or four developed reasons, and order them for impact, often building to your strongest point.
Use rhetoric deliberately
Use the same persuasive devices you analyse in the reading section: direct address, rhetorical questions, emotive language, anecdote, statistics and the list of three (the rule of three). The reading and writing halves of Paper 2 are deliberately mirrored, so the methods you analyse in the sources are the methods that earn you AO5 content marks. Use them deliberately and sparingly; over-stuffed rhetoric reads as a checklist and the AO5 mark scheme rewards devices that genuinely advance the argument, not a parade of techniques. Invented statistics and anecdotes are acceptable and expected, since you cannot research in the exam; markers do not check the facts, they assess the persuasive craft.
Secure the accuracy marks
AO6 is a fixed sixteen marks, assessed independently of your argument. Vary your sentence types for effect, reach for ambitious but correctly spelled and appropriately formal vocabulary, and leave time to proofread for sentence boundaries, apostrophes and spelling. Because these marks do not depend on your ideas, the proofread is among the most reliable ways to lift your grade.
Try this
Q1. What three things must your Section B writing match? [3 marks]
- Cue. The form, the audience and the purpose named in the question.
Q2. How do the 40 marks split between AO5 and AO6? [2 marks]
- Cue. Twenty-four marks for AO5 (content and organisation) and sixteen for AO6 (technical accuracy).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 201920 marksPaper 2, Question 5 (content and organisation). 'Mobile phones should be banned in all schools.' Write a speech for a school debate in which you argue for or against this statement. (Twenty of the forty marks here assess the content and organisation strand of AO5.)Show worked answer →
The full Question 5 is forty marks (twenty-four AO5, sixteen AO6); this scopes the AO5 content and organisation strand. A strong answer matches the speech form (direct address, an engaged tone) and audience (peers), takes a clear stance, and develops a line of argument across ordered paragraphs with deliberate rhetoric (rhetorical questions, the rule of three) and a strong close. Markers reward a convincing, well-structured argument matched to form, audience and purpose; they penalise a pile of points with no line of argument, or a piece that ignores the speech form.
AQA 202216 marksPaper 2, Question 5 (technical accuracy). Write the opening of a formal letter to your local council arguing for better cycle lanes, then show how your sentence range, vocabulary and punctuation secure the AO6 marks. (Assesses AO6.)Show worked answer →
This isolates AO6, the fixed sixteen technical-accuracy marks. A strong answer demonstrates a range of sentence structures (a short sentence for emphasis, a complex one to develop a reason), precise and appropriately formal vocabulary, and a range of accurate punctuation suited to a formal letter, then explains the choices. Markers reward range plus accuracy together; ambitious vocabulary and punctuation only earn marks when correct and appropriate to the form, and comma splices or misspellings lose them. The formal register must suit a letter to a council.
Related dot points
- Selecting and synthesising evidence and ideas from two non-fiction texts (AO1), including the true-or-false retrieval question and the question that summarises differences across both texts.
How to answer the AO1 reading questions on AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: handling the true-or-false retrieval question and the synthesis question that draws inferences about differences across two unseen non-fiction texts.
- Comparing writers' ideas and perspectives and how these are conveyed across two non-fiction texts (AO3), including identifying viewpoint, methods and the integrated comparison structure.
How to answer the AO3 comparison question on AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: identifying each writer's viewpoint, comparing how they convey it through method, and writing an integrated, idea-led comparison across two unseen non-fiction texts.
- Analysing how a writer uses language in a non-fiction text to achieve effects (AO2), including persuasive and rhetorical devices, tone and word choice in one named text.
How to answer the AO2 language question on AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: analysing how a writer of non-fiction uses language, including rhetorical and persuasive devices, tone and word choice, to influence the reader of one named text.
- Planning and organising writing for clear, deliberate structure (AO5), including planning before writing, paragraphing, sequencing ideas and using structural and grammatical features to guide the reader.
How to plan and organise writing for AQA GCSE English Language: planning before you write, sequencing ideas, paragraphing and using structural and grammatical features so your writing is coherent and deliberate, the heart of AO5.
- Using a range of sentence structures and accurate punctuation for clarity, purpose and effect (AO6), including varying sentence forms deliberately and using a range of punctuation correctly.
How to vary sentences and punctuate accurately for AQA GCSE English Language: using simple, compound and complex sentences for effect, deploying a range of punctuation correctly, and avoiding common errors, the core of AO6.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE English Language (8700) specification — AQA (2015)