Unit 1 Exploring Language overview: how to study the WJEC AS English Language unit
A complete overview of WJEC AS English Language Unit 1, Exploring Language: the two compulsory sections (analysing language and contemporary English), the language levels that underpin them, the 1 hour 45 minute exam, and how to revise for close textual analysis.
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This overview maps WJEC AS English Language Unit 1, Exploring Language. It is the foundation unit: it teaches the language levels and the habit of close analysis that every later unit builds on. The exam has two compulsory sections, so there is no choice of question and you must be ready for both.
What Unit 1 tests
Unit 1 is a written examination of 1 hour 45 minutes that tests your ability to analyse language closely and to discuss present-day usage. It rewards accurate linguistic terminology (metalanguage) and, above all, the explanation of effect: naming a feature earns little unless you say what it does for the text's audience and purpose.
The two sections
This module covers both compulsory sections, each with its own page.
- Section A: Analysing language. Close analysis of an unseen text using the language levels (lexis and semantics, grammar and morphology, pragmatics, discourse, and, in spoken data, phonology and prosodics), framed by genre, audience, purpose and mode.
- Section B: Contemporary English. A discussion of present-day language in use, very often electronic and digital communication, analysed as a blend of spoken and written features and judged descriptively.
How to study Unit 1
- Master the language levels. Learn each level and its key terms so you can name features precisely and fast.
- Analyse effect, not features. For every feature, ask "so what?" and tie the effect to audience and purpose.
- Read widely. Practise on adverts, articles, blogs, recipes, letters and transcripts so no genre is unfamiliar.
- Bank contemporary examples. Collect digital and present-day language and learn to discuss it descriptively.
- Work to time. Rehearse both sections within the 1 hour 45 minutes so neither is rushed.
Where this fits in the qualification
Unit 1 is paired with Unit 2 at AS, and the analytical skills it teaches feed directly into the A2 units on language over time and spoken language. For the official specification, past papers and mark schemes, see wjec.co.uk, and always revise from the current specification because question style is board-specific.