Paper 1: How to Answer Question 4 (AQA GCSE English Language)

Each question in Paper 1 Section A (reading) is worth a different number of marks, and you are being tested on specific skills for each. However, your approach to each question should be the same; the only difference is how you write each answer.

This guide will provide you with the information you need to answer Paper 1 Question 4 to a high standard.

This page includes:

• Overview of Paper 1 Question 4
• How to approach Question 4
• Understanding the wording of the evaluation question
• Steps to success for the evaluation question
• Exam tips for the evaluation question
• Things to avoid in the evaluation question

Question 4 is the evaluation question. It is also sometimes called the “agree” or “opinion” question. It assesses AO4:

In Question 4, you will be given a statement about the source text given to you in the insert. The question will ask you to comment on a certain section of the extract. The text will always be a prose text from either the 20th or 21st century. You will be asked to respond to and evaluate the statement about that section of the passage.

Question 4 assesses your ability to evaluate the effectiveness of a text. This means you must come to an informed, evidence-based personal judgement about the text and the choices made by the writer.

Evaluation is the interpretation of content (the what) and analysis of method (the how) in relation to a given statement. It’s important, therefore, that you evaluate the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ in your answer.

When you reach Question 4, you will already have read the source and annotated it with language features for Question 2 and structural features for Question 3. You will now want to look at the extract again and evaluate the ideas within the text. This means you are being asked to:

• evaluate the effects of the writer’s methods used to convey these ideas
• support with textual references
• focus on the given statement.

Here is an example of Question 4:

• Question 4 tests your ability to evaluate the text critically and support this with appropriate textual references:
  • This question assesses your ability to evaluate the effects of the writer’s methods used to convey ideas
• The quality of the evaluation of both ideas and methods is the most important part of this question
• The question will ask you to respond to a certain area of the extract:
  • It will provide you with a statement and will invite you to respond to and evaluate it
  • The intention of the statement is to prompt your thinking, giving you a starting point or a steer
• This focus of the question: “To what extent do you agree” will always be the same:
  • This allows you the freedom to choose your own examples, but it should also remind you to consider the effects on you as a reader
• The challenge in this question is that you need to maintain a critical distance:
  • You can agree, partially agree or disagree entirely with the statement, as long as your views are appropriately supported by the text
  • It is not essential to include a counter-argument, or to cover both halves of the statement
• The examiner is looking for a personal judgement which is informed and evidenced through references to the text
• You will always be given three bullet points to help structure your answer:
  • The bullet points provide a helpful guide and prompt you to concentrate on how the writer leads the reader through the text
  • The final bullet point intentionally prompts you to go beyond the guide in the previous two bullet points and to bring in any features that you feel are relevant to the question

It is important that you understand the wording of each part of the question so that you know how to respond to it accurately. An explanation of each part of the question is explored below:

Following these steps will give you a strategy for answering this question effectively:

1. Grab your highlighter and read the question first:
   • Read the question carefully
   • Highlight the focus of the question
2. Scan the section of text:
   • Highlight only the information directly relevant to the focus of the question
   • Annotate in the margins
3. Start your answer using the wording of the question:
   • For example: “I agree with the first half of the statement that Zoe is slow to react to the warning signs…”
   • This demonstrates to the examiner that you have understood both the question and the text
4. Go into detail:
   • Now you need to make as many points as possible, ranging throughout the section of text
   • It is a good idea to make your points in chronological order, if possible
   • Use the annotations you have made in the margins to form the basis of each point
   • For a full example of this, please see Paper 1: Question 4 Model Answer
5. Sum up:
   • Finish your answer with a “So overall…” statement
   • Your finishing statement should sum up your evaluation

• The key skill for Question 4 is the evaluation of both the ideas in the source in relation to the given statement, and the methods used by the writer to convey these ideas
• Make sure you make developed comments based around both of these things
• Begin with a sense of your own evaluation and construct an argument with a focus on the what and the how
• Separate the different elements of the statement, re-read the source, select relevant evidence and then draw evaluative conclusions accordingly
• Consider your own impressions in relation to the statement before you begin to write, rather than forming an opinion during the course of writing your response
• Thinking before writing encourages students to provide a clearly structured argument, incorporate a range of ideas from the text, explore methods and embed references
• Contextualise your selected quotations 
• It is not essential to include a counter-argument or to cover both halves of the statement

• Avoid writing alternate paragraphs which swap between agree and disagree
• You should aim to write a clear answer that is straightforward in its argument
• If you have an alternative view, you will need to support it with clear evidence from within the text
• Opting to take an opposite view, but without a secure idea, can lead to speculative or confused ideas 
• Avoid making suppositions
• Only comment on the details that pertain to the question and are present in the text
• It is not essential to cover both halves of the student statement
• If you have nothing relevant to say about part of the statement, then concentrate on the other half