New · Free · Edexcel GCSE English

English Language, Component 1: a free revision guide, built from Edexcel’s own papers

Written for Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Language (1EN0), Component 1. Four original extracts, every question answered and marked exactly as Edexcel marks it — including the rule that caps a language or structure answer at Level 1 if it only covers one of the two — a full response marked line by line, and a full practice paper worth all 64 marks. Print it as a class set and use it from tomorrow.

40 pages · free to every school

Or look inside first: read the first eight pages

Cover of the English Language Component 1 revision guide, Edexcel edition, on a navy page below the title

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The first eight pages, free to read here with no watermark. Click a page to read it larger.

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A guide that asks pupils to do something

1

Learn it

Every topic opens with sixty seconds of the skill, then the facts to know. Each fact has a circle to colour: know it, shaky, missed. The key words sit beside them with a box to tick, and a Spot it question on a sticky note tests one idea.

2

Use it

Then the page turns to the extract that skill needs, a real-tariff question answered and marked exactly as Edexcel marks it, how it could be asked, and a box to write the answer from memory.

3

Test it

All 45 key words in one glossary, a full response marked at the strong and the weak end side by side, and a page of what Edexcel’s examiners saw students get wrong. Then a full practice paper — Section A and Section B together, worth all 64 marks — with marked answers and a tracker.

Every topic, and the skills

Finding one explicit detail
Finding several things, in your own words
Language, word by word
Structure, and combining it with language
Evaluating the whole extract
Choosing EITHER or OR
Using an image without just describing it
Openings that do real work
Shape across the whole piece
Showing a feeling instead of naming it
Sentence variety for effect
Spelling, grammar and proofreading

That is Component 1 in full: reading a 19th-century fiction extract (topics 1 to 5), then imaginative writing (topics 6 to 12). Component 2 (Non-fiction and Transactional Writing) is a separate paper and is not covered by this guide.

Built from Edexcel’s own documents

The structure, marks and assessment objectives follow Pearson Edexcel’s GCSE English Language specification (1EN0, Issue 6, August 2024).
The exam technique comes from Edexcel’s own Component 1 papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports (June 2022 and June 2023).
No Edexcel question, extract or mark scheme wording is reproduced. Every extract, question and sample answer was written fresh for this guide.
It is an independent resource, not produced or endorsed by Pearson Edexcel.

This is the first edition, and a serving English teacher has not read it through yet. If you teach Edexcel GCSE English Language and spot anything that should change, tell us at info@empowereducators.co.uk and we will fix it.

Why it is free

We write exam board books for heads of department, and we sell them. This guide is one we give away. It shows how we work: the structure follows the exam board’s own specification, the exam technique comes from its own papers, and nothing is there to pad the page count.

If it helps your pupils, the rest of the English shelf is below. If it does not, you have lost nothing.

For the teacher printing it

Print it double-sided. Black and white works, though the cover is navy. Use it as a class set, or put it on your school’s own system.

Please do not pass it to other schools or put it on public websites.

Questions teachers ask

Is it really free?: Yes. We ask for a name and an email address, and one question: would you like to hear about new resources? Yes or no, you get the guide either way.
Which course does it cover?: Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Language (1EN0), Component 1 in full: reading a 19th-century fiction extract and imaginative writing. Component 2 (Non-fiction and Transactional Writing) is a separate paper and is not covered here.
Is it tiered?: No. Edexcel GCSE English Language is untiered: the same paper for every student.
Is it for AQA?: No, this guide is for Edexcel (1EN0) specifically — the question types, mark tariffs and the Level 1 cap rule are Edexcel’s own. We also have a free guide for AQA GCSE English Language.
Is it written by Edexcel?: No. It is independent and is not produced or endorsed by Pearson Edexcel.

The rest of the English shelf

See all the English resources →