AQA Paper 2 Question 5: make your argument work
Choose a view. Develop a reason. Write for the audience and form in the question.
Paper 2 is Thursday 5 November 2026, morning, 1 hour 45 minutes for AQA 8700. Make my dated plan
24 for content and organisation. 16 for technical accuracy.
Try 5 minutes to plan, 35 to write and 5 to check.
Try the task
“Young people should have a say in how local public spaces are used.”
Write a speech for a local council meeting in which you argue your point of view on this statement.
- Plan for 5 minutes
- Write for 35 minutes
- Check for 5 minutes
Choose your view. Give a reason, develop an example and answer a likely objection.
Read a model argument
A model speech opening
Councillors, a public space should serve the people who use it. That includes the teenagers who wait for buses, meet their friends and walk home through our parks. A teenager asking for a lit path is not asking for a luxury; they are asking to get home safely. You may worry that listening means promising every request. It does not. Invite young residents to explain their priorities, publish what can be funded and tell them why. A voice in the decision need not be the final vote.
The example develops a reason to listen. It connects a young person's request to the council's responsibility.
Explain why your example supports your view. Then answer an objection without losing that view.
Questions people ask
What does Paper 2 Question 5 ask me to write?
A viewpoint in the form named by the task, for its audience and purpose. Read those instructions before you plan.
Do I need facts or statistics?
You can develop an argument with reasons and plausible examples. Avoid invented statistics presented as facts.
How are the 40 marks divided?
Content and organisation carry 24 marks. Vocabulary, sentence control, spelling and punctuation carry the other 16.