Practice Paper: Edexcel AS English Language
and Literature 8EL0/02 (Paper 2)
Literary varieties: themes and texts
Question paper
Written by AcePapers
Independent practice paper written for revision. Not an official Pearson paper and
not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.
Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes Total: 50 marks
Instructions
• Choose ONE theme. Answer one question from Section A and one question from
Section B, both on that theme.
• In Section A, write about an anchor text. In Section B, write about one of the
other texts listed for your theme. Each answer must be on a different text.
• You may use clean, unannotated copies of your prescribed texts. Section A asks
you to choose a passage from your own copy: note its chapter and page at the
start of your answer.
• Each section is worth 25 marks. Spend about 45 minutes on each.
• Answer in the lined spaces. You may not need all of them.
• Each question’s mark is given in brackets. Plan your time with this in mind.
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 1
, Section A: Exploring a chosen passage
Answer ONE question, on an anchor text from the theme you have chosen.
Theme: Society and the Individual
1 F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
Choose a passage of about a page in which Gatsby uses his wealth or possessions to
try to impress another character.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Fitzgerald uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how the novel links wealth with identity and belonging
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 1 total: 25 marks]
OR
2 Charles Dickens: Great Expectations
Choose a passage of about a page in which Pip becomes aware of the gap between
his own social class and that of another character.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Dickens uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how Pip’s ideas about class and gentility change across the novel
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 2 total: 25 marks]
Theme: Love and Loss
3 Christopher Isherwood: A Single Man
Choose a passage of about a page in which George is alone, either at home or
travelling through the city.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Isherwood uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how grief shapes George’s view of himself and of other people
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 3 total: 25 marks]
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 2
, OR
4 Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Choose a passage of about a page set at Talbothays dairy that shows the growing
feeling between Tess and Angel Clare.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Hardy uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how the novel links love, and its loss, to the natural world
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 4 total: 25 marks]
Theme: Encounters
5 E M Forster: A Room with a View
Choose a passage of about a page in which Lucy meets, or is confronted by, a
person or place that challenges the rules she has been brought up with.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Forster uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how encounters push characters to question social convention
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 5 total: 25 marks]
OR
6 Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights
Choose a passage of about a page in which an outsider arrives at, or is received
into, one of the two houses.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Brontë uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how meetings between outsiders and the two households are presented in the
novel
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 6 total: 25 marks]
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 3
and Literature 8EL0/02 (Paper 2)
Literary varieties: themes and texts
Question paper
Written by AcePapers
Independent practice paper written for revision. Not an official Pearson paper and
not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.
Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes Total: 50 marks
Instructions
• Choose ONE theme. Answer one question from Section A and one question from
Section B, both on that theme.
• In Section A, write about an anchor text. In Section B, write about one of the
other texts listed for your theme. Each answer must be on a different text.
• You may use clean, unannotated copies of your prescribed texts. Section A asks
you to choose a passage from your own copy: note its chapter and page at the
start of your answer.
• Each section is worth 25 marks. Spend about 45 minutes on each.
• Answer in the lined spaces. You may not need all of them.
• Each question’s mark is given in brackets. Plan your time with this in mind.
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 1
, Section A: Exploring a chosen passage
Answer ONE question, on an anchor text from the theme you have chosen.
Theme: Society and the Individual
1 F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
Choose a passage of about a page in which Gatsby uses his wealth or possessions to
try to impress another character.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Fitzgerald uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how the novel links wealth with identity and belonging
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 1 total: 25 marks]
OR
2 Charles Dickens: Great Expectations
Choose a passage of about a page in which Pip becomes aware of the gap between
his own social class and that of another character.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Dickens uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how Pip’s ideas about class and gentility change across the novel
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 2 total: 25 marks]
Theme: Love and Loss
3 Christopher Isherwood: A Single Man
Choose a passage of about a page in which George is alone, either at home or
travelling through the city.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Isherwood uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how grief shapes George’s view of himself and of other people
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 3 total: 25 marks]
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 2
, OR
4 Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Choose a passage of about a page set at Talbothays dairy that shows the growing
feeling between Tess and Angel Clare.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Hardy uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how the novel links love, and its loss, to the natural world
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 4 total: 25 marks]
Theme: Encounters
5 E M Forster: A Room with a View
Choose a passage of about a page in which Lucy meets, or is confronted by, a
person or place that challenges the rules she has been brought up with.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Forster uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how encounters push characters to question social convention
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 5 total: 25 marks]
OR
6 Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights
Choose a passage of about a page in which an outsider arrives at, or is received
into, one of the two houses.
With close reference to your chosen passage, discuss:
• how Brontë uses language, structure and literary techniques in the passage
• how meetings between outsiders and the two households are presented in the
novel
• the contexts in which the novel was written and has been read.
(25 marks)
[Question 6 total: 25 marks]
Practice Paper 8EL0/02 (Paper 2) – Question paper Written by AcePapers | Page 3
