Lesson 5.2.4

5.2.4 AO4: explore connections across literary texts Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 4

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 5.2.4, AO4: explore connections across literary texts: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 4: Assessment objectives, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which assessment objective requires students to explore connections across literary texts?

    • AO4
    • AO2
    • AO5
    • AO3

  2. What is the overall weighting of AO4 in the AS and A-level English Literature A assessment?

    • About 24 per cent
    • About 6 per cent
    • About 12 per cent
    • About 28 per cent

  3. What is AO4's approximate weighting on each component of AS English Literature A?

    • 24 per cent on each paper
    • 12 per cent on each paper
    • 6 per cent on Paper 1 and 6 per cent on Paper 2
    • 14 per cent on each paper

  4. According to the specification, what do connections under AO4 involve?

    • Only the price of the editions studied
    • Only the publication dates of different texts
    • Links between texts, and the possible meanings and interpretations arising from those links
    • Only the number of chapters in each text

  5. What does the specification say about even an individual text under AO4?

    • It should be read only in its original language
    • It should still be seen as framed by a wider network of texts and contexts to which it connects
    • It should be compared only to its author's biography
    • It should be studied in complete isolation from other texts

  6. Which of these is an AO4 connection between two texts?

    • Two texts that were both sold in airport shops
    • Two texts that were printed by the same publisher
    • Two texts that have the same number of pages
    • Two texts that both use the figure of a haunted house to explore guilt

  7. Which descriptor best reflects a top-band AO4 response?

    • Simple listing of the texts studied
    • Perceptive exploration of connections across literary texts
    • Personal feelings about the texts with no textual link
    • Generalised statements that the texts are similar

  8. How does AO4 relate to the comparative study in Texts across time?

    • It requires students to write about only one text
    • It requires students to avoid all connections
    • It requires students to summarise each text separately
    • It requires students to explore connections between the two texts in their comparison

  9. Which skill is most directly tested by AO4?

    • Memorising the names of characters
    • Identifying the typeface used in each edition
    • Connecting texts through shared ideas, forms or contexts
    • Calculating the length of each text

  10. What is the effect of a weak AO4 response in a comparison?

    • The essay describes two texts separately without exploring their connections
    • The essay is excused from comparison
    • The essay gains extra marks under AO1
    • The essay is automatically given full marks

  11. Which statement best describes the relationship between AO4 and AO3?

    • AO4 replaces AO3 in every essay
    • AO4 draws on wider contexts, which the specification notes arise from the study of period
    • AO4 is only about the author's biography
    • AO4 has no connection to the wider contexts of a text

  12. Why does the specification say a text should be seen as 'framed by a wider network' of texts?

    • To require students to read the whole library
    • To make the text harder to understand
    • To encourage students to see individual texts as part of a larger literary and cultural tradition
    • To prevent students from using any context

  13. Which of these is a strong AO4 comparison?

    • Noting that both novels were written in English
    • Showing how two novels present a character's self-deception in different ways, and why this matters for their readers
    • Noting that both novels are about the same number of pages
    • Noting that both novels have a similar cover colour

  14. What kind of connection is the strongest AO4 link?

    • A connection that is merely mentioned in passing
    • A connection that repeats the question wording
    • A connection that reveals something new about both texts through their comparison
    • A connection based only on the title of each text

  15. Which of these best illustrates the AO4 idea of connections across genre?

    • Comparing the font sizes used in two editions
    • Comparing a poem's treatment of loss with a novel's treatment of the same theme
    • Comparing the number of paragraphs in two essays
    • Comparing the paper stock of two editions

  16. What does 'exploring' connections require of the student beyond identifying them?

    • Listing the connections in a table
    • Analysing what the connections reveal about the texts' meanings and the reader's understanding
    • Counting how many connections there are
    • Simply stating that the connections exist

  17. Which skill is shared by AO4 and AO5?

    • Engaging with a range of perspectives on the texts and their connections
    • Calculating the weight of each text
    • Describing the physical features of the books
    • Memorising the publication history of the texts

  18. What is the effect of AO4's low weighting on the planning of a response?

    • Students still need to address AO4, as all AOs must be covered in all tasks
    • Students should write only about AO4
    • Students should focus on AO4 at the expense of all others
    • Students can ignore AO4 altogether

  19. Which of these is an example of an AO4 connection built on form?

    • Noting that two texts have the same ISBN
    • Noting that two texts are both sold online
    • Noting that two texts were printed in the same city
    • Noting that two texts use the same dramatic structure to explore the same kind of conflict

  20. Why might a student choose texts whose connections can be explored in depth?

    • Because the bibliography must list only connected texts
    • Because the comparison must maximise opportunities for writing about similarity and difference
    • Because the word count requires texts of the same length
    • Because the examiner prefers texts with fewer connections

All AQA English Literature A quizzes