how long is english language paper 2

For most UK students asking “how long is English Language Paper 2?”, the AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 exam is 1 hour 45 minutes long (105 minutes) in total.

Exam length overview

• AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 is a 1 hour 45 minute exam.

• The paper is worth 80 marks and usually has a reading section (questions on two sources) and a writing task.

Typical time split in the exam

Teachers and revision sites often suggest using the 1 hour 45 minutes roughly like this for AQA Paper 2:

• About 45 minutes for the writing question (including a few minutes to plan and check).

• About 60 minutes in total for the reading questions (Q1–4), divided into short chunks per question.

If you mean a different course

“English Language Paper 2” exists in different systems, so the length can vary:

• IB English Paper 2 (Literature) is typically 1 hour 30 minutes, focused on a comparative essay.

• Some national exams (like Ireland’s Leaving Cert) have different timings and structures, even though they may also call it Paper 2.

If you say which board or country (e.g. AQA GCSE, Edexcel, OCR, IB, Leaving Cert), a more exact timing and structure breakdown can be given for your specific “English Language Paper 2”.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.