EL8 Technical accuracy and editing personal learning checklist

AQA GCSE English Language 8700 · Paper 1 & 2

Short checks support knowledge; demonstrate extended reading, writing and spoken communication with actual work and teacher feedback.

Name ____________________ Class __________ Date __________

Tick one box per statement. Red: need help. Amber: partly confident. Green: can do independently.

I canRedAmberGreen
Words and phrases
Identify word classes using their behaviour in a sentence
Distinguish pronoun reference from noun-phrase detail
Explain how auxiliaries and modal verbs affect meaning
Distinguish an adverb word class from an adverbial function
Identify prepositions and conjunctions in context
Clause relationships
Identify subjects and objects without assuming both are people
Recognise complete commands with an unexpressed subject
Distinguish main and subordinate clauses
Use relative clauses to identify or add information
Distinguish finite and non-finite constructions
Classify sentence structures by clause relationships
Choose sentence functions for communicative purposes
Control and effect
Apply subject–verb agreement to expanded subjects
Distinguish tense forms from the time they refer to
Use active and passive constructions to change focus
Repair ambiguous modifiers and sentence boundaries
Choose sentence variation for a specific context
Explain how grammar presents events in a text
Recognise formal demands and hypothetical subjunctive constructions
Boundaries
Mark sentence beginnings and endings accurately
Identify and repair comma splices without changing meaning
Use commas for lists and introductory material
Delimit supplementary information and avoid stray commas
Possession and speech
Distinguish omitted letters from possessive apostrophes
Choose its or it's using meaning and grammar
Punctuate dialogue and distinguish speaker changes
Convert between direct and reported speech
Other choices
Use colons and semicolons for appropriate grammatical relationships
Distinguish sentence dashes, brackets and compound hyphens
Use ellipses and end marks purposefully
Proofread punctuation while preserving intended meaning
Word choice
Use context and reference tools to learn unfamiliar vocabulary
Choose synonyms and antonyms with attention to nuance
Distinguish multiple senses, homophones and figurative meanings
Recognise and use appropriate collocations
Word construction
Identify roots and affixes in meaningful word families
Use etymology cautiously to explain spelling or meaning
Spelling
Apply regular and irregular plural patterns
Apply suffix changes and consonant doubling
Learn confusable suffixes and exceptional letter patterns
Choose homophones from grammatical and contextual clues
Use a personal record to improve recurring errors
Check historical vocabulary in context
Apply adjective, noun and adverb suffix patterns with checked exceptions
Use stress and meaning to check difficult spellings and hyphens
Varieties
Distinguish Standard English from accent and dialect
Use multilingual comparisons to develop language awareness
Explain register and tone in relation to context
Mode and situation
Distinguish spoken or written mode from formal or informal register
Explain how shared context supports reference in speech
Read transcript conventions and analyse spontaneous speech
Standard forms
Use subject–verb agreement and irregular verb forms in Standard English
Apply Standard English negation and pronoun forms where appropriate
Use comparative forms and precise formal vocabulary
Analyse deliberate character voices and historical language
Adapt a message while preserving its meaning
GCSE technical accuracy and editing
Repair sentence boundaries while preserving the intended relationship.
Use grammatical range and vocabulary under sustained control.
Proofread spelling, agreement, reference and register in separate passes.
Describe language variation accurately and adapt to formal context.

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