Paper 1 and Paper 2 timing planner
AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1
1 h 20 min answering, 1 min per mark
- Read
- Q1
- Q2
- Q3
- Q4
- Plan Q5
- Write Q5
- Check
| Start | Task | Min | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Read Read the extract and all five questions. | 15 | |
| 09:15 | Q1 Four multiple-choice parts on stated lines | 4 | 4 |
| 09:19 | Q2 Language in stated lines | 8 | 8 |
| 09:27 | Q3 Structure across the whole extract, for one named effect | 8 | 8 |
| 09:35 | Q4 Evaluate a statement about part of the extract | 20 | 20 |
| 09:55 | Plan Q5 Choose your task and plan its shape before writing. | 5 | |
| 10:00 | Write Q5 A description or the opening of a story | 40 | 40 |
| 10:40 | Check Reread Q5 for sentence endings, apostrophes and spelling. | 5 |
Questions people ask
How long is AQA English Language Paper 1?
1 hour 45 minutes for 80 marks: 40 for reading (Q1 to Q4) and 40 for writing (Q5). Paper 2 is the same length and value.
How long should I spend on Q5?
Q5 is half the paper's marks. With 15 minutes of reading and 5 minutes of checking, 45 minutes is a common plan: 5 to plan and 40 to write.
Is there separate reading time?
No. AQA's sample papers suggest spending about 15 minutes reading the source and the questions, but that time comes out of the 1 hour 45 minutes.
How much time do I get with 25% extra time?
25% of 105 minutes is 26.25 minutes, so about 2 hours 11 minutes in total. Your school confirms the exact arrangement.
More free tools
How we work this out
What it does
Split the 1 hour 45 minutes of each AQA English Language paper by the marks, with time to read, plan Q5 and check.
AQA GCSE English Language (8700) Paper 1 and Paper 2, each 1 hour 45 minutes and 80 marks, in the question format first sat in June 2026. It also works with 10%, 25% or 50% extra time.
Method
- We start from the paper's 105 minutes, or 105 plus your extra time, rounded to the nearest minute.
- We take off your reading, Q5 planning and final checking time. AQA's sample papers suggest about 15 minutes of reading; we start from 15, 5 and 5.
- We split the minutes left across the five questions in proportion to their marks, in whole minutes that add up exactly.
- With the starting settings that is one minute per mark: Q5's writing gets 40 minutes after 5 minutes of planning.
Published figures
The two papers at a glance
| Question | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Four multiple-choice parts on stated lines (4 marks) | Choose four true statements about Source A (4 marks) |
| Q2 | Language in stated lines (8 marks) | Summary of differences across both sources (8 marks) |
| Q3 | Structure across the whole extract, for one named effect (8 marks) | Language in one named source (12 marks) |
| Q4 | Evaluate a statement about part of the extract (20 marks) | Compare the writers' perspectives and methods (16 marks) |
| Q5 | A description or the opening of a story (40 marks) | Your viewpoint in a set form (40 marks) |