The difference between a grade 3 and a grade 9 English Language GCSE essay! ✍️

GCSE Language Paper 2 is the MOST ignored, neglected, overlooked paper. Teachers and students get so obsessed with Paper 1.. creative writing.. description.. how to analyse “language”, what does “structure” mean – that they overlook Language Paper 2. It’s an afterthought. It falls by the wayside.

Then students end up doing poorly and losing easy marks – especially in Question 2, the first comparison question. Now as you know – AQA changed the Language Paper 2 exams and Question 2’s wording changed to ask students to INFER!

PS: if you can’t be bothered to read the rest of my article, I go over Question 2 in just 12 minutes in my newest YouTube video:

🎥 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRateTutors

So what I want to share with you is the difference between a Grade 3 and a Grade 9 student response. Read them both. Learn from them. I’ve colour coded them so you can see where each student made a POINT, then added EVIDENCE, EXPLAINED and LINKED back. (Spoiler alert: the Grade 3 response completely ignores the “explanation” and “link”).

🚨So firstly, before you go any further – DOWNLOAD THE LANGUAGE PAPER 2 2026 EXAM PAPER HERE: https://www.firstratetutors.com/offers/t9xSaKVM 

This is a FREE Paper 2 exam paper in the new 2026 format. Read the sources first. THEN look at the Question 2 essays below:

 

GCSE EXAM QUESTION: You need to refer to Source A and Source B for this question. What can you infer about the differences in the purposes of the two texts?

✨ PS: In my Sunday GCSE Masterclass – I’ll be going over Language Paper 2, writing model answers, answering any questions you have. Join us – we’re on the road to getting a grade 6, 7, 8 & 9 in October mock exams: https://www.firstratetutors.com/masterclass ✨

Let’s look at the Grade 3 paragraph first. I’ve colour coded POINT (blue), evidence (red):

 

Let’s look at the Grade 9 paragraph:

 

What did the Grade 9 student include that the Grade 3 student missed?

1️⃣ They follow a robust PEEL paragraph structure which EXPLAINS, ANALYSES and LINKS BACK to the question

2️⃣ They seamlessly move between Source A & B showing they are COMPARING

3️⃣ They use analysis and comparison buzzwords: “whilst”, “evidently”, “interestingly” – this shows a real grasp of the question

4️⃣ They write more: it’s impossible to do well in English if you don’t write enough

5️⃣ They use the word “infer” a lot: obvious but lots of students FORGET to mention the question’s key words, meaning they are not answering the question!

I hope you found this helpful.

✨ PS: In my Sunday GCSE Masterclass – I’ll be going over Language Paper 2, writing model answers, answering any questions you have. Join us – we’re on the road to getting a grade 6, 7, 8 & 9 in October mock exams: https://www.firstratetutors.com/masterclass