AQA GCSE English Literature 2026 Predicted Practice Paper — Paper 2

Answer ALL questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided. You must write down all the stages in your working.

Section A: Modern Texts

Essay question on a modern prose or drama text. Answer ONE question from Section A, ONE question from Section B, and BOTH questions in Section C. Extract-safe note: StudyVector does not reproduce copyrighted exam-board or set-text extracts here. Use your clean copy, class extract or the original unseen poem printed in the relevant question.

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  Question SECTION-A-MODERN-TEXTS1 (34 marks)

  AQA-style extract-safe literature task (34 marks). Use the prose, drama or 19th-century text you have studied. Choose a moment where a character faces inequality, fear, moral pressure or responsibility. Starting with that moment, write about how the writer presents modern texts and what the reader is encouraged to think or feel. In your answer, write about the chosen moment, the text as a whole, writer methods and relevant context where it supports the argument.

  (Total for Question SECTION-A-MODERN-TEXTS1 is 34 marks)

Section B: Poetry Anthology

Comparative poetry analysis. Answer ONE question from Section A, ONE question from Section B, and BOTH questions in Section C. Extract-safe note: StudyVector does not reproduce copyrighted exam-board or set-text extracts here. Use your clean copy, class extract or the original unseen poem printed in the relevant question.

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  Question SECTION-B-POETRY-ANTHOLOGY1 (30 marks)

  Answer the 30-mark literature task on Poetry Anthology. Use a studied text or the original practice material on this page. Build a clear argument about methods, meaning and relevant context where it helps the interpretation.

  (Total for Question SECTION-B-POETRY-ANTHOLOGY1 is 30 marks)

Section C: Unseen Poetry

Analysis of unseen poem(s). Answer ONE question from Section A, ONE question from Section B, and BOTH questions in Section C. Extract-safe note: StudyVector does not reproduce copyrighted exam-board or set-text extracts here. Use your clean copy, class extract or the original unseen poem printed in the relevant question.

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  Question SECTION-C-UNSEEN-POETRY1 (24 marks)

  Read this original StudyVector practice poem, then answer the 24-mark question on Unseen Poetry. The Last Light The bus stop glass holds one pale square of sun, then lets it slide across the empty road. I fold your note until the corners split, and wait for evening to admit what it knows. Explore how the poem presents memory and uncertainty. Write about language, structure and the effect on the reader.

  (Total for Question SECTION-C-UNSEEN-POETRY1 is 24 marks)
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  Question SECTION-C-UNSEEN-POETRY2 (8 marks)

  AQA-style extract-safe literature task (8 marks). Use the prose, drama or 19th-century text you have studied. Choose a moment where a character faces inequality, fear, moral pressure or responsibility. Starting with that moment, write about how the writer presents modern texts and what the reader is encouraged to think or feel. In your answer, write about the chosen moment, the text as a whole, writer methods and relevant context where it supports the argument.

  (Total for Question SECTION-C-UNSEEN-POETRY2 is 8 marks)