AQA GCSE English Language · Paper 1
Question 4: evaluation
You’re given a statement about part of the source and asked how far you agree. It’s the biggest reading question on the paper: half of the reading marks. Marks go to a clear opinion you can defend, not to spotting techniques.
- Marks
- 20
- Minutes
- 20
- Tests
- AO4
Changed from 2026. From 2026 the statement no longer comes from “a student”. You can agree and/or disagree, the question always says which part of the source to use, and it adds a comment you can respond to.
What the question looks like
For this question, focus on the second part of the source, from ‘Halfway’ to the end.
In this part of the source, Mara’s decision seems brave rather than foolish. The writer wants us to admire her.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could: consider your impressions of Mara; comment on the methods the writer uses to present her; support your response with references to the text.
Practice source: The CausewayRead it
Written by LycoLearn for practice. It’s from the middle of a novel.
The tide table had promised her an hour. Mara checked it again, though she knew the numbers by heart, and then she looked at the causeway.
It was thinner than it had been. That was the only word for it: thinner. The long grey spine of stones that joined the island to the mainland had been wide enough for a cart when she set out, and now it was barely wider than her shoulders. Water slid in from both sides, unhurried, as if it had all the time in the world and knew she did not.
She walked faster. Her boots slapped on the wet stone. Behind her, the lighthouse had shrunk to a white tooth on the horizon; ahead, the village lights blinked on one at a time, small and warm and impossibly far away.
Halfway, the old marker post leaned out of the mist. Somebody had painted a line on it years ago, and beneath the line, in careful white letters, a single word: TURN.
Mara stopped.
Her father had walked this road every day for thirty years. He had laughed at that post. He had told her, at breakfast, with his mouth full, that the sea had never once hurried for anybody.
The water touched her heel. It was so cold that for a moment it felt like nothing at all.
She did not turn.
How to answer it
Box the part you’re allowed to use
The question tells you which lines. Everything else is out of bounds, and writing about it wastes time.
Decide your view in one sentence
Most good answers say “partly”: agree with one half and push back on the other. Write that view first, so the examiner knows where you’re going.
Plan three points in 2 minutes
Each point is one reason for your view, with one or two short quotations. Then order them so that the argument builds.
Argue, then show how the writer does it
Start each paragraph with your opinion on the statement. Then use the writer’s methods, of language or structure, to prove it. Methods are your evidence, not the point.
Keep coming back to the statement
Use its exact words: “brave”, “foolish”, “admire”. And use the language of judging: “convincingly”, “it’s hard to agree that”, “the more telling detail is”.
How it’s marked
- Level 416 to 20 marks
- A convincing and critical view. You really weigh up the ideas, understand the writer’s methods with insight, and judge their impact in detail, using well-chosen references.
- Level 311 to 15 marks
- A clear, relevant view. You explain the ideas and the writer’s methods and their impact, with relevant references.
- Level 26 to 10 marks
- Some attempt at judging, usually with general comments on ideas and methods, and some references.
- Level 11 to 5 marks
- Simple comments and impressions, with little evidence.
In our own words. Your teacher can show you AQA’s full mark scheme.
You don’t have to disagree to get top marks. A fully agreeing answer can reach the top if it’s really argued. And you can reach Level 4 by exploring one or two ideas in depth.
A model answer
The answer
Why it scores
I partly agree. Mara’s decision has the shape of bravery, but the writer undercuts it so carefully that I think we’re meant to be frightened for her more than we admire her.
A clear overall view in two sentences, using the statement’s own words. It tells the examiner this will be an argument.
There’s certainly courage here. The word ‘TURN’ on the post is a direct command in capital letters, and it has been ‘painted’ in ‘careful’ letters by someone who wanted to save people. To go on past that takes real nerve, and the short, flat statement ‘She did not turn’ gives her a kind of dignity: no drama, no hesitation, just a decision. On that line alone, it’s hard not to admire her.
This paragraph agrees. Each detail is a reason. “Takes real nerve” and “a kind of dignity” are the student’s own judgements.
However, I think the flashback changes how we should judge that decision. Her reasons belong to her father, not to her. He ‘laughed at that post’ and he spoke ‘with his mouth full’, a detail so careless that his confidence begins to look like arrogance. By placing this memory directly before she walks on, the writer suggests she isn’t making a brave choice at all: she’s repeating his. That seems less like courage than a refusal to think for herself.
The turn in the argument. Structure and language are used as evidence for the opinion, not as a list. “With his mouth full” is a judicious detail: most students would miss it.
The writer’s final method is the most telling. The water at her heel is ‘so cold that for a moment it felt like nothing at all’, a chilling detail, because it suggests that she can no longer properly feel the danger she’s in. So when the text ends, we’re not cheering her on. The writer has shown us someone numb, following her father’s careless advice into rising water. I’d call that brave only in the way that walking off a cliff with your eyes closed is brave.
Ends on a strong judgement with a memorable image of the student’s own. It’s still about the statement, and shows confidence.
What a weaker answer looks like
I agree that Mara is brave because she carries on. The writer uses a short sentence ‘She did not turn’ which shows she is brave. The word ‘TURN’ is in capitals which makes it stand out to the reader.
Why it stays low: There’s a view and evidence, but it agrees without testing anything, and the comments on methods are general. That’s Level 2.
How to lift it: Ask what the writer’s method does to your opinion: “The short sentence gives her dignity, but the flashback before it makes me doubt that she’s thinking for herself.”
Exam tips
- Spend 2 minutes planning and about 18 writing. Four paragraphs is a great target.
- Write as yourself. “I think” and “I’d argue” are fine here, and they push you into judging.
- Your strongest idea can go last: it’s what the examiner reads before they decide on a mark.
What loses marks
- Treating it as a language question with “I agree” at the start.
- Using the first half of the source when it asked about the second.
- Saying the same thing in each paragraph: agreeing three times isn’t three ideas.
- Running out of time because you overspent on Questions 1 to 3.
Now try it
Questions people ask
- Do I have to disagree in AQA Paper 1 Question 4?
- No. You can agree, disagree or do some of each. Partly agreeing usually makes it easier to show real judgement, but what gets the marks is how well you argue your view.
- How long should I spend on AQA Paper 1 Question 4?
- About 20 minutes. It’s worth 20 marks, as much as Questions 1, 2 and 3 together.
- Do I need quotations for Question 4?
- Yes, but keep them short and from the lines named. References to details in your own words count too.