English Language Paper 2 Question 5 Article Example
Staring at a blank page with the clock running is the worst part of Question 5 you know the format matters as much as the ideas, and one vague plan can cost you a full grade boundary. This guide walks through a genuine English Language Paper 2 Question 5 article example, marked the way an AQA examiner actually reads it, so you can see exactly which sentences earn marks and which ones just take up space. By the end you’ll have a model to imitate under timed conditions, not just a list of tips to remember.
What Is AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5?
Question 5 sits at the end of Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives, and it’s worth 40 marks half the entire paper. You’re given a statement on the paper’s theme and asked to write a piece of non-fiction, usually an article, letter, or speech, giving your point of view. The exam board specifies the format in the question itself, so the first thing to check isn’t what you think about the topic it’s what format you’ve been told to write in.
Get the format wrong and you lose marks before you’ve made a single argument, no matter how sharp your ideas are. An article needs a headline and, often, subheadings; a letter needs a greeting, sign-off, and address; a speech needs direct address to an audience. Spend the first thirty seconds reading the question just identifying: theme, format, and purpose (argue, discuss, or persuade).
Assessment Objectives and Mark Distribution for Question 5
Question 5 is marked against two Assessment Objectives, and understanding the split changes how you spend your time. AO5 covers content and organisation 24 marks for how clearly and imaginatively you communicate, and how well you structure ideas. AO6 covers technical accuracy 16 marks for vocabulary, sentence variety, spelling, and punctuation.
That 24:16 split means content and structure carry more weight than technical polish, but both are assessed continuously through the piece, not in separate sections. A brilliant argument riddled with basic punctuation errors will still lose marks, and a technically flawless piece with a thin, repetitive argument caps out well below the top band. Aim for both, but plan your argument first.
Key Terms and Formats You’ll See in the Question
Every Question 5 prompt hides three things you need to underline before you write a word: the theme (what you’re writing about), the format (article, letter, speech, leaflet), and the aim (argue, discuss, or persuade). Some questions ask you to argue one clear side; others ask you to discuss, meaning you’re expected to acknowledge both sides of the debate before landing on your own view.
Misreading “discuss” as “argue” is one of the most common ways students lose marks in the organisation category, because a one-sided answer to a “discuss” prompt looks unbalanced to an examiner regardless of how well it’s written. Circle the instruction verb every time, and let it shape your paragraph plan before you touch your opening line.
English Language Paper 2 Question 5 Article Example
Sample question: “Some people believe that social media does more harm than good to young people’s mental health. Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement.”
Model article:
Scroll, Compare, Repeat: How Social Media Is Quietly Reshaping a Generation
Open any teenager’s phone and you’ll find the same thing: a feed engineered to hold attention for as long as humanly possible. We call it connection. Increasingly, it looks more like erosion.
I’m not writing this as someone who’s never enjoyed social media I have. But enjoyment and harm aren’t mutually exclusive, and pretending otherwise does young people a disservice. The evidence linking heavy social media use to anxiety, disrupted sleep, and declining self-esteem in teenagers isn’t fringe science anymore; it’s a pattern researchers keep finding, study after study, platform after platform.
Consider the comparison trap. A fifteen-year-old scrolling through curated holiday photos and filtered selfies isn’t comparing herself to reality she’s comparing herself to a highlight reel, edited and re-edited until it bears little resemblance to anyone’s actual life. Is it any wonder that rates of body dissatisfaction climb in lockstep with time spent online?
Then there’s the sleep. Blue light and late-night notifications don’t just delay bedtime; they actively degrade the deep sleep teenagers need for memory, mood regulation, and growth. Ask any parent negotiating a phone curfew how that battle usually ends.
None of this means social media should be banned outright that ship has sailed, and frankly, it ignores the genuine good it can do: communities found, distant friendships sustained, causes discovered. But “does more good than harm” and “is currently unregulated and unmonitored” are two very different claims, and right now, we’re defending the second by hiding behind the first.
What would meaningful change look like? Screen-time defaults built into devices, not bolted on as an afterthought. Platforms held to the same duty of care as any other product marketed at children. And, yes, honest conversations at home about what a feed is actually designed to do.
We didn’t let unregulated substances near children and call it freedom of choice. It’s worth asking why we’re still willing to do exactly that with the apps shaping how an entire generation sees itself.
Why This Article Example Hits Top Marks
Look at what the piece is actually doing, not just what it says. The headline uses a triadic structure and a colon for impact an immediate structural signal to the examiner that this is deliberately shaped, not just typed. The opening paragraph poses an implicit contrast (“connection… erosion”) rather than a flat statement of opinion, which is a stronger AO5 move than simply announcing “I think social media is bad.”
Notice the rhetorical question in paragraph three (“Is it any wonder…”) and the direct address to the reader (“Ask any parent…”) both are structural techniques that examiners specifically credit under AO5’s “adapting tone, style and register.” The piece also acknowledges a counter-argument before dismissing it, which satisfies the more sophisticated end of a “discuss/argue” response rather than a one-note rant. Sentence length varies deliberately: short sentences land for emphasis (“That ship has sailed”), longer ones build an argument that variety is exactly what AO6 rewards under “range of sentence structures.”
How to Approach Question 5 in the Exam
Spend five minutes planning before you write a single sentence of your answer this is not optional time, it’s the highest-leverage five minutes of the whole paper. Note down your three or four main points in the order you’ll use them, and jot one persuasive device against each (a rhetorical question here, a statistic there, emotive language somewhere else) so you’re not inventing technique on the fly mid-paragraph.
Write a strong opening and a strong closing first if you’re running low on confidence examiners weight first and last impressions heavily, and a piece that starts and ends with intent reads as controlled even if the middle is more workmanlike. Keep checking your format markers (headline, subheadings, greeting, sign-off) as you go; it’s easy to forget them once you’re absorbed in the argument itself.
Timings for Question 5
Paper 2 runs 1 hour 45 minutes for 80 marks total, and Question 5 alone is worth 40 of them so it deserves roughly half your remaining time after the reading questions. A sensible split is 5 minutes planning, around 35–40 minutes writing, and 5 minutes proofreading at the end.
Don’t shortchange the proofread. Technical accuracy is 16 of the 40 marks, and a fast final read-through checking for missing capital letters, comma splices, and repeated words is often where students recover marks they’d otherwise lose to rushing.
Top Resources to Practise Paper 2 Question 5
Beyond this article example, the most useful next steps are past-paper practice under real timed conditions and marking your own attempts against the AQA mark scheme, since seeing where real answers gain or lose marks trains your eye faster than reading model answers alone. BBC Bitesize and AQA’s own past papers are solid, freely available starting points; video breakdowns (search “AQA Paper 2 Question 5” on YouTube) are useful for seeing the planning process happen in real time rather than just the finished product.
Conclusion
Writing a strong English Language Paper 2 Question 5 article becomes much easier when you understand what the examiner is looking for. A clear structure, engaging opening, relevant ideas,andaccurate vocabulary can make your response stand out. The example also shows how simple points can be developed into a convincing and well-organised article without using overly complicated language.
Remember to keep your audience and purpose in mind throughout your writing, and leave a few minutes to check spelling, punctuation, and grammar. With regular practice and careful planning, you can approach Question 5 with greater confidence and turn your ideas into an effective, polished article on exam day.
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