OCR A-Level English Language Past Papers & Mark Schemes

OCR A-Level English Language (H470) is a linguistics-focused specification that examines how language works at every level — from phonetics and morphology to discourse and sociolinguistics. It balances textual analysis with an independent research project, making it one of the most academically rigorous English specifications available. Component 1: Exploring Language (H470/01, 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks, 40%) presents students with two unseen texts in Section A and requires detailed linguistic analysis using the frameworks of lexis, semantics, grammar, phonology, pragmatics, and discourse. The texts span a wide range of genres and modes — spoken transcripts, digital communication, literary extracts, advertising copy, and journalistic writing. Section B is a directed writing task where students produce an original text for a specified audience and purpose, then write a linguistic commentary explaining their language choices. Component 2: Dimensions of Linguistic Variation (H470/02, 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks, 40%) tests knowledge of language change, child language acquisition, and sociolinguistics. Section A focuses on language in its social context — how language varies by region, social group, gender, and power dynamics — using data from a resource booklet. Section B addresses either child language acquisition (analysing transcripts of children's speech) or language change (analysing historical texts and discussing attitudes to language change). Component 3: Independent Language Research (non-exam assessment, 40 marks, 20%) is a 2,500–3,000 word investigation into a linguistic topic of the student's choice, using primary data they have collected. Past topics have ranged from code-switching in bilingual families to politeness strategies in online gaming communities.