Language Paper 2 Checklist & Sentence Starters

GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q1-4 checklist: step-by-step methods, sentence starters & mark scheme breakdowns for both sources.

A 7-page exam technique guide for GCSE English Language Paper 2, covering Questions 1 to 4 in full. The perfect companion to the Language Paper 1 checklist, this resource focuses on the specific skills Paper 2 demands: synthesis, comparison, and evaluating two linked sources rather than a single extract.

What’s included:

Question 1 (choose four true statements)

Step-by-step method: box off, read twice, check against the extract, shade correctly

Question 2 (summarise similarities/differences across both sources)

AO1 mark scheme breakdown, including what a Level 4 response looks like
Method for identifying explicit and implicit information and synthesising across two texts
A comparison planning table (Source A / Source B)
Sentence starters structured around point, evidence and inference from each source

Question 3 (analyse language in one source)

AO2 mark scheme breakdown
Step-by-step method for identifying and annotating language techniques
PQEAT-style sentence starters (Point, Quotation, Explore/Analysis, linking quotation)

Question 4 (compare writers’ perspectives/methods across both sources)

Mark scheme breakdown and method for comparing viewpoints, attitudes or methods across two non-fiction texts
Sentence starters built specifically for cross-text comparison

How to use it:

As a wall display or exercise-book insert used throughout the course
As a step-by-step guide during timed practice papers
As a revision tool in the final weeks before the exam
To standardise approach and vocabulary across a department, so all students use the same shared method language
Paired with the Language Paper 1 checklist as a matching set covering the whole Language Language qualification’s reading questions

Supplied as an editable Word document, so you can adjust wording, exam board terminology, or formatting to suit your own students.