English as an Additional Language (EAL) develops students' ability to analyse and create texts in English for a range of purposes and audiences. In Units 3 and 4 students study issues, ideas and attitudes in literary and non-literary texts, then make a close study of literary texts. The external assessment is one analytical essay on an unseen question about a prescribed literary text. This resource is original and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).
English as an Additional Language 2025 v1.3 General senior syllabus · guide last reviewed . Always check the current syllabus on the QCAA site ↗.
The external assessment contributes 25% of the subject result; three internal assessments (an extended response examination, a persuasive response and an imaginative response) contribute 25% each. The external paper allows 15 minutes planning and 120 minutes working time and is marked out of 45: Knowledge application 18, Organisation and development 16, Textual features 11. Students choose one question on one of eight prescribed texts and may not bring the text or notes. Multiple-choice activities in this hub are revision drills, not part of the real paper.
Past papers on this subject span more than one syllabus. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the units and topics they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the syllabus it was set under.
Each area below lists the concepts named in the syllabus, what the QCAA exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
Students analyse how literary and non-literary texts, including media texts, represent contemporary issues, ideas and attitudes, and how language, purpose, context and audience shape meaning. They respond to a literary text and create persuasive texts.
Internally assessed (IA1 extended response examination; IA2 persuasive response).
Students experiment with language, style and structure to create imaginative texts that reimagine perspectives from literary texts and position readers to respond emotionally and critically.
Internally assessed (IA3 imaginative response).
Through close study of a literary text and its interpretations, students develop their own analytical argument about perspectives and representations, the values that underpin the text, and the effects of the writer's stylistic choices.
Externally assessed: one 45-mark analytical essay on an unseen question.
All the Light We Cannot See, Never Let Me Go, Othello, Pride and Prejudice, The Dry, The Namesake, The Yield and Twelfth Night. The Namesake and Twelfth Night are new in 2026; Macbeth and Burial Rites have been retired.
The external paper sets two unseen questions on each text.
High marks depend on a discriminating thesis, well-chosen evidence that is interpreted rather than recounted, logical sequencing and cohesion, and accurate grammar, vocabulary, register, punctuation and spelling in the literary present tense.
Organisation and development (16 marks) and Textual features (11 marks) in the external marking guide.
One analytical essay answering an unseen question on one text from the external assessment section of the prescribed text list. The question book gives two questions for each of eight texts and you answer one.
15 minutes planning and 120 minutes working time. It is marked out of 45 against three criteria: Knowledge application (18), Organisation and development (16) and Textual features (11).
All the Light We Cannot See, Never Let Me Go, Othello, Pride and Prejudice, The Dry, The Namesake, The Yield and Twelfth Night.
No. Students must not bring the studied text or notes, so learn short, accurate quotations and detailed references to key moments.
Papers from 2021 to 2025 asked for 800–1000 words. From 2026 QCAA's conditions no longer mention word length; QCAA says this has no material effect, so aim for a complete, well-developed essay within the time.
EAL is an English subject designed for students learning English as an additional language. The external assessment format and marking guide are shared with English, and both use the same prescribed text list.
No. Every question, essay and activity in this hub is original practice material. Links to the official QCAA papers, marking guides and subject reports are provided separately.
Knowing the syllabus is the first half. The other half is seeing how QCAA actually asks it — every official paper for English as an Additional Language is indexed by the same areas above.
Past papers by topic →English as an Additional Language practice exams →