AQA GCSE English Language · Paper 2
Question 5: writing your viewpoint
You’re given a statement and a form, such as a speech, article or letter, and you argue your view. It’s half the paper. The top marks go to writing that sounds like a real person with a real point, not a list of techniques.
- Marks
- 40
- Minutes
- 45
- Tests
- AO5 and AO6
24 for content and organisation, 16 for technical accuracy
What the question looks like
‘Exams tell us almost nothing about what a young person can really do. It’s time to get rid of them.’
Write a speech for a meeting of your local council in which you argue your point of view on this statement.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
How to answer it
Underline form, audience and purpose
A speech to a council needs to sound different from an article for teenagers. You must fit the form you’re given.
Decide what you really think, then plan 5 points
You can argue either side. A clear plan, with one idea per paragraph and a good final thought, is worth 5 minutes.
Hook them
A short story, a strong statement or a surprising image. Skip “Today I will be talking about”.
Argue with reasons and examples
Give a real reason, then a real-seeming example. One counter-argument, taken seriously, makes you sound far more convincing.
Finish well, and check
End by returning to your opening or calling on your audience to do something. Then check your full stops, spelling and paragraphs for 5 minutes.
How it’s marked
- Level 419 to 24 (content) and 13 to 16 (accuracy) marks
- Compelling and convincing, with tone assuredly matched to the audience. Ambitious vocabulary, crafted rhetoric, complex ideas in fluently linked paragraphs. A wide range of accurate punctuation and sentences.
- Level 313 to 18 and 9 to 12 marks
- Consistently clear and engaging, with a tone that fits. Chosen vocabulary and devices, connected ideas and mostly accurate.
- Level 27 to 12 and 5 to 8 marks
- Some success at matching the audience, some devices, some paragraphs, with errors that show.
- Level 11 to 6 and 1 to 4 marks
- Simple ideas, simple vocabulary, little structure and frequent errors.
In our own words. Your teacher can show you AQA’s full mark scheme.
If you don’t address the task (for example, it isn’t really an argument about the statement), your content mark is capped at 12.
A model speech (opening, middle and ending)
The answer
Why it scores
Last June, in a sports hall in this town, my brother was given a number. He’s a boy who can strip down a motorbike and rebuild it before lunch. He can talk any frightened animal out from under a shed. And he’s a 3.
A hook with a story: no “Good evening, I am here to talk about”. The final short sentence lands hard. It’s personal, so it’s persuasive.
Councillors, I’m not here to tell you that exams are evil. Some of you will say, reasonably, that employers need some way of comparing young people, and that a test is at least the same for all of us. It isn’t. It’s the same paper, I’ll give you that. It’s not the same bedroom to revise in, or the same night’s sleep, or the same number of tutors at forty pounds an hour.
Addresses the audience directly. Takes the opposing view seriously, then turns it. The list of three builds up, and the tone stays polite and adult, matching a council.
What do we lose by trusting a single morning? We lose my brother, for a start: all those people who are good at something a pen can’t measure. Keep your tests if you must, but let them be one part of the picture, alongside the work that young people actually do over time.
A rhetorical question that’s answered at once, which sounds natural in a speech. Offers a real solution rather than just complaining: a more sophisticated argument.
Next June, another sports hall will fill up. Before you decide what those numbers mean, I’d ask you to do one thing. Bring your motorbike round to my brother’s. Then tell me he’s a 3.
A circular ending returning to the opening. It closes on a clear challenge. That’s what “fluently linked” and “compelling” look like.
What a weaker answer looks like
Exams are bad because they are stressful. Did you know that lots of students get stressed? This is bad and it is not fair. In conclusion exams should be stopped because of all the reasons I have said.
Why it stays low: There’s an opinion, but nothing to believe it with: no examples, no real reasoning and a tone that doesn’t fit the audience. That’s Level 1 to 2.
How to lift it: Add a real-seeming example and one reason you could defend under questioning. Then answer the best argument against you.
Exam tips
- Know your forms. Letter: Dear…, Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully. Article: headline and a strong opening. Speech: talk to your audience. Leaflet: headings, but full paragraphs.
- You may make up examples and statistics, as long as they sound believable and you don’t overdo them.
- Vary your paragraph lengths: a two-word paragraph can make a point better than a long one.
What loses marks
- Writing a list of techniques: rhetorical question, statistic, rule of three, all in a row.
- Ignoring the audience: slang in a letter to a headteacher.
- Three identical paragraphs that begin “Firstly”, “Secondly” and “Thirdly”.
- Forgetting to check: a sixteen-mark accuracy score is easy to lose.
Now try it
Questions people ask
- Can I make up facts for AQA Paper 2 Question 5?
- Yes. Examiners don’t check them. Keep them believable: one convincing made-up example is better than five wild statistics.
- Do I have to agree with the statement in Question 5?
- No. You can agree, disagree or argue for something in between. Choose the side you can argue best.
- How long should my answer be for Question 5?
- Aim for about 450 to 600 words, in about 35 minutes of writing. Allow 5 minutes to plan and 5 minutes to check.