G2 English Paper 2: comprehension

Paper 2 is comprehension — 50 marks, 35% of G2 English, 1 hour 50 minutes. It runs across texts totalling about 1,000 words in three sections: short and visual texts, a narrative passage, and a non-narrative text ending in an 80-word summary.

Section A: short and visual texts

Tests purpose, tone and a visual text, including a “Both / Neither” item that asks which of two texts a statement fits. Close, literal reading and attention to how wording and design signal purpose earn these marks.

Section B: the narrative text

A narrative passage is tested with inference, “language for effect” (the impact of a chosen word or image), matching, and quotation-with-explanation. The aim is to show you understand not just what happens but how the writer makes it land.

Section C: non-narrative text and summary

A non-narrative text (an issue or science article) is tested, ending with an 80-word summary in your own words, bounded to named paragraphs and usually with a given opening. Lifting from the passage is penalised, so selection and paraphrase are the trained skills. LearnUp's BOIL drills exactly this.

How to score Paper 2

Answer the question asked, in your own words for open-ended items; quote precisely then explain the effect; and for the summary, pick only relevant points and compress without copying. Manage time so the summary — worth real marks — isn't rushed at the end.