Paper 1: translation, reading, and the research question

Paper 1 is worth 80 marks and 40% of the qualification, in three sections. No dictionary, and no notes on your research.

Section A — Translation into English (20 marks)

An unseen Arabic passage, translated into English. It rewards precision over paraphrase: read for the whole sentence before you commit to a rendering, and don’t drop the small grammatical words that carry the meaning.

Section B — Reading (20 marks)

Comprehension questions across a range of text types and genres. The reading here is authentic, not graded — the same skill you build by reading real Arabic weekly across Years 12 and 13.

Section C — The research question (40 marks)

You read an unseen text on an aspect of the research subject you chose, then write a response drawing on both that text and your own research findings.

Section C is half of Paper 1 on its own — 20% of the whole A-Level. A student who prepares Sections A and B well and treats the research as an afterthought has capped themselves at a low grade before walking in. How the research question works →

← Back to the specification · Paper 2 →