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WJEC GCSE English Language and English Literature (Wales): complete guide to the units, skills and assessment

A complete guide to the WJEC GCSE English Language and English Literature qualifications for Wales. Covers the Language oracy NEA and the two reading-and-writing exams (description, narration, exposition; argumentation, persuasion, instruction), the Literature prose, poetry, Shakespeare and drama units, the assessment objectives, and how to study each part for the top grades.

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This is a combined study hub for the two WJEC (Wales) qualifications most learners sit together: GCSE English Language (specification 3700) and GCSE English Literature (specification 3720). They are separate GCSEs, but they share transferable reading, writing and analysis skills, so they are revised together here. This page is the index: below is a map of both qualifications, their units, the assessment objectives, and how to study each part.

WJEC GCSE English Language: the three units

English Language is built around oracy, reading and writing. Every reading text in the exams is unseen, so the real subject is transferable skill, not memorised content.

Unit 1, Oracy
A non-examination assessment worth 20 percent, with two equally weighted tasks: an individual researched presentation on a WJEC-set theme, and a group discussion responding to a stimulus. Spoken Standard English and register carry half the marks.
Unit 2, Reading and Writing: Description, Narration and Exposition
A two-hour exam worth 40 percent. Section A reads unseen description, narration and exposition texts (continuous and non-continuous) and includes an editing task. Section B is one extended writing task and a proofreading task.
Unit 3, Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion and Instructional
A two-hour exam worth 40 percent. Section A reads unseen argumentation, persuasion and instructional texts. Section B is two compulsory writing tasks, one argumentation and one persuasion.

WJEC GCSE English Literature: prose, poetry and drama

English Literature groups your reading into prose, poetry and drama, each assessed on the four objectives. The exams print extracts and poems to work from, but much of your evidence comes from memory.

Prose
A prose text from a different culture and a 19th-century or literary-heritage novel, each examined by an extract-based question and a whole-text question.
Poetry
A studied poetry anthology, examined by a comparison essay, and unseen poetry, where you compare two poems you have never seen.
Shakespeare
One play studied in full, examined by an extended critical essay that engages with the whole play.
Drama
A post-1914 or literary-heritage play, examined through extract-based and whole-text questions.

The assessment objectives

Language and Literature use different objective sets, but both reward the same core moves: precise reading, analysis of how a writer works, and controlled, accurate writing.

  • Language oracy - AO1: present information and ideas, listen, respond and interact, using spoken Standard English and an appropriate register.
  • Language reading - AO2: retrieve, interpret and analyse; AO3: compare and synthesise across texts and evaluate critically; AO4: understand texts at word, sentence and text level, including editing.
  • Language writing - AO5: communicate clearly and imaginatively, organising for purpose and audience; AO6: technical accuracy in spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence variety.
  • Literature - AO1: informed personal response with textual reference; AO2: analyse language, form and structure; AO3: relationship between texts and their contexts; AO4: accurate, purposeful writing.

How to study these qualifications

Both subjects reward transferable skill over memorised content.

  1. Drill the unseen reading skills. Locate and infer for AO2, compare and synthesise across two texts for AO3, evaluate critically, and edit accurately at word, sentence and text level.
  2. Rehearse every writing purpose. Practise description, narration, exposition, argumentation and persuasion, matching form, purpose and audience (AO5), and protect proofreading time for accuracy (AO6).
  3. Master the literature method move. Go from a quotation to the writer's method to its effect on the reader (AO2), the foundation of every Literature answer.
  4. Drill the literature structures. Practise the extract-to-whole-text structure for prose and drama, the extended essay for Shakespeare, and the idea-led comparison for poetry.
  5. Prepare oracy and use context precisely. Prepare the presentation and group discussion early, and weave context in only where it changes the reading of a moment (AO3).

The seven study modules

This hub is organised into seven modules: oracy, language reading skills, language writing skills, literature prose, literature poetry, literature Shakespeare, and literature drama. Each module has specification-level answer pages with practice questions and cross-links, plus a deep-dive overview guide and a quiz. Browse the full set at /wjec-gcse/english-language-and-literature/syllabus.

For the official specifications

WJEC publishes the full English Language (3700) and English Literature (3720) specifications, set text lists, past papers and mark schemes at wjec.co.uk. Always revise from the current WJEC specification and WJEC past papers, because set texts and question wording are board-specific.

English Language & Literature guides

In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.

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English Language & Literature practice quizzes

Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.

The WJEC-GCSE system, explained

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Common questions about English Language & Literature

What does this WJEC GCSE English Language and English Literature page cover?
This is a combined study hub for the two separate WJEC (Wales) qualifications most learners take together: GCSE English Language (specification 3700) and GCSE English Literature (specification 3720). English Language is assessed by an oracy non-examination assessment (Unit 1) and two reading-and-writing exams (Unit 2 on description, narration and exposition; Unit 3 on argumentation, persuasion and instruction). English Literature is assessed by units covering prose from different cultures and 19th-century prose, poetry (a studied anthology and unseen poetry), Shakespeare, and drama. The two qualifications share many transferable skills, so they are revised together here.
How is WJEC GCSE English Language (Wales) structured?
WJEC GCSE English Language has three units. Unit 1 is Oracy, a non-examination assessment worth 20 percent, with an individual researched presentation and a group discussion, assessed for spoken communication and Standard English. Unit 2, Reading and Writing: Description, Narration and Exposition, is a two-hour exam worth 40 percent, with a reading section on unseen description, narration and exposition texts (including an editing task) and a writing section. Unit 3, Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion and Instructional, is a two-hour exam worth 40 percent, with a reading section on unseen argumentation, persuasion and instructional texts and a writing section of two compulsory tasks. All reading texts are unseen.
How is WJEC GCSE English Literature (Wales) structured?
WJEC GCSE English Literature is built around prose, poetry and drama. The prose study covers a text from a different culture and a 19th-century or literary-heritage novel, each examined by an extract-based question and a whole-text question. Poetry covers a studied anthology, compared in an essay, and unseen poetry, where two poems are compared. Shakespeare is examined by an extended critical essay on a studied play. Drama covers a post-1914 or heritage play examined through extract and whole-text questions. The qualification is assessed against four objectives: AO1 personal response, AO2 analysis of method, AO3 context, and AO4 written accuracy.
What are the assessment objectives?
English Language uses six objectives. Oracy is assessed under AO1 (present, listen, respond and interact in spoken Standard English). Reading is assessed under AO2 (retrieve, interpret and analyse), AO3 (compare and synthesise across texts and evaluate critically) and AO4 (understanding at word, sentence and text level, including editing). Writing is assessed under AO5 (communicate and organise for purpose and audience) and AO6 (technical accuracy). English Literature uses four objectives: AO1 informed personal response with textual reference, AO2 analysis of language, form and structure, AO3 the relationship between texts and their contexts, and AO4 accurate, purposeful writing.
What is the WJEC oracy assessment?
Unit 1 of WJEC GCSE English Language is Oracy, a non-examination assessment worth 20 percent of the Language qualification. It has two tasks of equal weight: an individual researched presentation on a WJEC-set theme, which may include responding to questions and feedback; and a group discussion responding to a written or visual stimulus. For each task, half the credit rewards content and ideas and half rewards appropriate register, grammatical accuracy and a range of sentence structures, so spoken Standard English carries real marks.
How should I revise these WJEC GCSE English qualifications?
Because every reading text in the Language exams is unseen, revise transferable skills rather than set content: locating and inferring information, analysing language and structure for effect, comparing and synthesising across texts, evaluating critically and editing accurately. For writing, rehearse description, narration, exposition, argumentation and persuasion, matching form, purpose and audience and proofreading for accuracy. For Literature, master the quotation-to-method-to-effect move, drill the extract-to-whole-text structure for prose and drama, practise the poetry comparison, and learn flexible quotations for closed-book essays. Prepare the oracy tasks early and practise to time on WJEC past papers.