OCR GCSE English Language assessment objectives and exam strategy overview quiz quiz

Three (AO1 to AO3)

Nine (AO1 to AO9)

Six (AO1 to AO6)

Two (AO5 and AO6)

Evaluating a text critically and judging how well it achieves its purpose

Comparing the perspectives of two different writers across both source texts

Writing accurately with correct spelling, punctuation and varied sentences

Identifying and interpreting information and synthesising across texts

AO2 rewards analysing how a method creates an effect; AO4 rewards judging how well the text achieves something

They both reward exactly the same thing, so it does not matter which one you write about

AO2 is a writing objective, while AO4 is a reading objective tested in a different section

AO2 rewards comparing the two source texts, while AO4 simply rewards retrieving plain information out of each of them

AO1 retrieval (the larger share) and AO2 language analysis

AO4 evaluation (the larger share) and AO3 comparison

AO5 communication (the larger share) and AO6 accuracy

AO2 language analysis (the larger share) and AO3 comparison

An even split of 20 marks for AO5 and 20 marks for AO6 accuracy

16 for AO5 (content and organisation) and 24 full marks for AO6 technical accuracy

24 for AO5 (content and organisation) and 16 for AO6 (technical accuracy)

All 40 of the marks given to AO5, with none of them awarded to AO6

It adds extra length to the answer, and longer answers always score more highly

It impresses the examiner by showing how much care you have taken over your work

It is simply required by the exam rules, so you would be penalised for not ever doing it

AO6's 16 marks are guaranteed by accuracy, so fixing errors directly raises the band

2 hours, about an hour on Section A reading and an hour on Section B writing

1 hour 45 minutes in total, with all of the time spent on the reading section

2 hours in total, with all of the time spent on the Section B writing task

3 hours in total, divided evenly across the four questions on the paper

Spend exactly the same amount of time on every single question on the paper

Spend time in proportion to the marks available, so high-tariff questions get most time

Answer only the questions that you find easiest and leave the harder ones out

Spend precisely one minute per mark on every single question right across the whole paper

Finishing the whole paper early and leaving time spare at the end

Spending a few minutes planning the writing before you begin it

Letting reading overrun and starving the 40-mark writing task

Spending a little time proofreading the answer once it is finished

Locate and list the information found in a named part of the text

Combine and link information drawn from across both of the unseen source texts

Explain how a particular method the writer uses creates its effect

Judge how well a text achieves something, against a statement, with evidence

The focus (the subject your evidence must match) and the scope (the text or lines you must stay inside)

The font the question is printed in and the length the answer is expected to be

The name of the author of the source text and the date that it was first written

The detailed mark scheme the examiner will use to mark the answer and the final grade that the answer would earn

It earns extra bonus marks for showing wider reading of the text

It scores nothing, however good the point

It is simply marked under a different assessment objective instead

It improves the writing mark awarded for that part of the answer