This course follows the GCSE English Language AQA (8700) specification, ensuring full coverage of the exam board requirements. Developed, reviewed and approved by subject experts, it covers everything you need to know to ace your exams.
Course Content
1. Language
- Abstract Noun -
A noun that names ideas, emotions, or qualities that cannot be sensed with the five senses.
- Action Verb -
A verb that shows a physical or mental action performed by the subject.
- Adjective -
A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, adding detail.
- Adverb -
A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; often tells how, when, where, or to what extent.
- Alliteration -
Repetition of the same consonant sound at the starts of nearby words.
- Anthropomorphism -
Giving animals/objects human behaviours or roles (sustained, story-level personification).
- Articles (Determiners) -
The words a, an, the used before nouns to show specificity or introduce something.
- Auxiliary (Helping) Verb -
A verb that supports a main verb to form tenses, voices, moods, or emphasis.
- Cacophony -
A harsh mixture of sounds; deliberate noisy diction for effect.
- Clause -
A group of words with a subject and a verb; forms a whole sentence or part of one.
- Clause -
A group of words containing a subject and a verb.
- Cliffhanger -
An ending that cuts off at a moment of tension or mystery.
- Collective Noun -
A singular word that refers to a group acting as one unit.
- Colon -
(:) Introduces something that follows from a complete clause: a list, explanation, quotation, or emphatic ending.
- Comma -
(,) Separates items, clauses, or add-ins to clarify meaning and create brief pauses.
- Comma Splice -
Incorrectly using a comma to join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction, full stop, or semicolon.
- Comparative Adjective -
An adjective form used to compare two things, usually with -er or more/less.
- Comparison -
Identifying similarities and/or differences between texts.
- Complete Sentence -
At least one independent clause that expresses a full thought.
- Complex Sentence -
One independent clause plus at least one dependent (subordinate) clause.
- Compound Adjective -
Two or more words (often hyphenated) acting together to modify a noun.
- Compound Sentence -
Two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.
- Concrete Noun -
A noun naming something that can be sensed with the five senses.
- Conjunction -
A word that links words, phrases, or clauses.
- Connotation -
Ideas/feelings a word suggests beyond its dictionary meaning.
- Contractive Apostrophe -
Shows missing letters in a contraction.
- Coordinating Conjunction -
Joins independent clauses or equal elements (e.g., and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor).
- Countable Noun -
A noun that can be made plural and counted.
- Counter-Argument -
Recognising or refuting an opposing view in writing.
- Cyclical Structure -
An ending that echoes the opening to create symmetry or finality.
- Dependent (Subordinate) Clause -
Has a subject and verb but doesn’t express a complete idea; cannot stand alone.
- Determiner -
A word placed before a noun to indicate which one, whose, or how many.
- Effect on the Reader -
The impression or response created by a writer’s choices.
- Ellipses -
(…) Exactly three dots showing omission, hesitation, trailing off, or suspense.
- Em Dash -
(—) Creates a strong break for emphasis, interruption, or added information; can stand in for commas, brackets, or a colon.
- Emotive Language -
Words chosen to provoke an emotional response.
- En Dash -
(–) Shows ranges or connections (e.g., 1999–2003, London–Paris); read as “to”.
- Evaluation -
Making judgements about how effective a text or technique is.
- Exclamation Mark -
(!) Ends sentences showing strong emotion, urgency, or command; use sparingly in formal writing.
- Explicit information -
Details directly stated in the text.
- Explode a Quote -
Analyse a short quotation in depth (word class, definition, connotation, device, effect).
- Feature-Spotting -
Identifying a technique without explaining its effect.
- Figurative Language -
Language not meant literally (e.g. metaphor, simile, personification).
- Flashback -
A jump to past events that interrupts the present timeline.
- Fluency -
The ability to speak smoothly, clearly, and without excessive pauses or hesitation.
- Focus -
What the writer draws attention to at a given moment (e.g., setting, character, detail).
- Full Stop -
(.) Marks the end of a complete sentence.
- Gerund -
A verb form ending in -ing used as a noun to name an activity.
- Hyperbole -
Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
- Hyphen -
(-) Links words or parts of words, especially in compound modifiers before a noun (e.g., well-known author).
- Imagery -
Language appealing to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste).
- Implicit Information -
Ideas implied but not directly stated.
- Independent Clause -
Has a subject and verb and expresses a complete idea; can stand alone.
- Inference -
A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text.
- Interjection -
A word/short phrase expressing emotion or reaction, often standing alone.
- Intransitive Verb -
A verb that does not take a direct object; the action stands alone.
- Irregular Verb -
A verb whose past forms do not follow the regular -ed/-d pattern.
- Juxtaposition -
Placing contrasting ideas/images side by side to highlight difference.
- Language Analysis -
Explaining how specific word choices create meaning and effect.
- Language Device -
A technique at word/phrase level that shapes meaning (e.g., metaphor, alliteration).
- Language Technique -
A device used to create meaning or effect (e.g. alliteration, emotive language).
- Line Range -
Specific section of the text to focus on for a question.
- Linking Verb -
A verb that connects the subject to a description or state, not an action.
- Listing -
A series of items/details to build emphasis, pace, or overload.
- Main Clause -
Another term for an independent clause.
- Metaphor -
Saying one thing is another to create a vivid comparison.
- Method -
How a writer presents perspective or viewpoint through language/structure.
- Minor Sentence -
A purposeful fragment lacking a full clause, used for effect.
- Modal Verb -
A type of auxiliary that expresses ability, possibility, permission, necessity, or obligation.
- Motif -
A recurring element (such as an image, idea, word, or symbol) that reinforces a theme in a text.
- Multiple-choice format -
Question style with options where only one is correct.
- Narrative Voice -
The narrator’s viewpoint and distance (e.g., 1st person, 3rd person).
- Narrative Writing -
Storytelling with characters, setting, and conflict.
- Noun -
A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
- Onomatopoeia -
Words that imitate the sounds they describe.
- Oxymoron -
Two contradictory words placed together (e.g., “deafening silence”).
- Paragraph Length -
Using short/long paragraphs to control pace, emphasis, and tone.
- Parentheses -
( ) Enclose non-essential additions or clarifications; the sentence should still work without them.
- PEEL -
Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link – a paragraph structure.
- Personal Pronoun -
Refers to specific people/things; subject forms (I, you, he, etc.) and object forms (me, him, them, etc.).
- Personification -
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
- Perspective -
A writer’s viewpoint or stance.
- Planning -
The process of preparing ideas, structure, and possible answers before delivering the spoken presentation.
- Possessive Apostrophe -
Shows ownership.
- Possessive Pronoun -
Stands alone to show ownership.
- Practising -
Rehearsing the presentation, often by recording yourself or answering questions, to improve confidence and fluency.
- Preposition -
Shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word, often about place, time, or movement.
- Proper Adjective -
An adjective formed from a proper noun; capitalised.
- Proper Noun -
Names a specific person, place, or thing; capitalised.
- Purpose -
The reason for writing (to inform, persuade, describe, etc.).
- Question Mark -
(?) Ends a direct question (including rhetorical questions).
- Questioning -
Follow-up questions asked by the teacher during the assessment to test understanding and response skills.
- Quotation -
A short extract used to support analysis.
- Reflexive Pronoun -
Refers back to the subject; ends in -self/-selves.
- Regular Verb -
Forms past tense/past participle by adding -ed or -d.
- Relative Clause -
A clause beginning with who, which, that, adding detail about a noun.
- Relative Pronoun -
Introduces a relative clause giving more information about a noun.
- Repetition -
Reusing words, motifs, or structures for emphasis or pattern.
- Retrieval Skills -
The ability to locate and extract information.
- Rhetorical Question -
A question asked for effect, not an actual answer.
- Run-on Sentence -
Two or more independent clauses joined with no proper punctuation or conjunction.
- Semicolon -
(;) Punctuation that can join two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction; also separates list items that already contain commas.
- Sentence Fragment -
An incomplete sentence, often just a dependent clause.
- Sentence Structure -
The way words, clauses, and punctuation are arranged to form sentences.
- Sentence Variety -
Mixing sentence types/lengths to shape pace and mood.
- Shift in Focus -
A change of attention (e.g., from setting to character, wide to close).
- Shift in Mood/Atmosphere -
A change in emotional tone (e.g., calm to tense).
- Shift in Rime -
Movement across time (e.g., flashback/flashforward).
- Shift in Setting -
Movement to a different place or scene.
- Show, Don’t Tell -
Writing technique that reveals through description or action rather than blunt statements.
- Simile -
Comparing one thing to another using like or as.
- Simple Sentence -
One independent clause; may be short or long.
- Simple Sentence -
A sentence with one independent clause.
- Spoken Language Assessment -
An assessed presentation where students speak on a chosen topic and respond to questions from their teacher.
- Structure -
The organisation and order of information in a text.
- Structure Analysis -
Explaining how a text’s organisation creates meaning and effect.
- Structure Device -
A technique of ordering/arranging content to guide the reader.
- Subject -
The person, place, thing, or idea the clause is about; performs or experiences the verb.
- Subordinating Conjunction -
Introduces a dependent clause and links it to a main clause (e.g., because, although, if, when, while, since, after).
- Summary -
A concise account of the main points, focusing on key differences or similarities.
- Superlative Adjective -
Shows the highest/lowest degree among three or more.
- Syndetic Listing -
Listing with repeated conjunctions (e.g., and…and…and) to affect pace or tone.
- Synthesis -
Combining information from more than one text to show comparison.
- Tone -
The writer’s attitude expressed in the text (serious, humorous, angry, etc.).
- Topic -
The subject chosen by the student to speak about in the spoken language assessment.
- Transitive Verb -
A verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning.
- Turning Point -
A decisive change in direction, tone, or action.
- Uncountable Noun -
A noun not used in the plural and measured with a unit/quantity word.
- Verb -
A word expressing an action, state, or process; essential for forming a sentence.
- Viewpoint -
A writer’s opinion or stance on a subject.
- Zoom In/Zoom Out -
Moving between a wide view and a close detail to steer attention.
- Zooming In -
Analysing the effect of a specific word or detail.
Subject Lead
Amaan Ahmed
Amaan Ahmed is the English Subject Lead at Knowness, guiding learners through everything English with clarity and enthusiasm. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham and completed his PGCE at the University of Hull, achieving Qualified Teacher Status with Teach East. Rooted in interests spanning dystopia, philosophy, and religion, Amaan champions English as the subject that equips students with real-world tools to tackle challenges inside and outside the exam hall. He’s driven to inspire the next generation, reduce stress by making English feel approachable, and share practical, exam-smart strategies to “beat the examiner” while building confidence and curiosity in every learner.
GCSE
English Language