The Cambridge AS Level Language and Literature in English (8695) May/June 2026 papers and mark schemes are out, and they’re free. Both papers, 8695/12 and 8695/22, can be downloaded and printed on the Tutopiya Learning Portal. Below is every task and set text question, how you choose between them, and how the mark scheme levelled answers, taken from the papers themselves.

Key points from the 2026 8695 papers

• Two very different papers. Paper 1 is your own writing, marked as language. Paper 2 is literary essays on set texts, marked as literature.
• Word counts are part of the task. The Paper 1 mark scheme says keeping to the limit is assessed under “achievement of task”, even though there is no direct penalty.
• You analyse your own writing. The 10-mark reflective commentary on Paper 1 is marked like a language analysis of someone else’s text.
• Paper 2 sections A and B matched 9695 Paper 1. The drama and poetry questions were the same as those on Cambridge A Level Literature 9695/12. The prose section had its own questions.
• No content lists. Neither mark scheme lists expected points. Both place your answer in a level using descriptors.

All May/June 2026 8695 papers

Paper	Code	Duration	Marks	What it tests
Paper 1 Writing	8695/12	2 hours	50	Shorter writing and commentary, then one extended piece
Paper 2 Drama, Poetry and Prose	8695/22	See syllabus	50	Two set text answers from two different sections

Paper 1’s timing and marks are from its front cover. The published copy of 8695/22 doesn’t include its front cover, so its total of 50 comes from the mark scheme; check the syllabus for its timing. For the full list of set texts, see the Cambridge International AS Level Language and Literature in English 8695 syllabus.

Which variant is this? Cambridge sets different versions of each paper (variants) for different time zones. The papers here are variant 2: 8695/12 and 8695/22. All variants cover the same syllabus at the same difficulty, so variant 2 is just as good for practice as the one your school sat.

Download the 8695 May/June 2026 papers →

What came up in 8695 Paper 1 (Writing), May/June 2026?

You answer two questions: Question 1 in Section A (compulsory) and one of Questions 2, 3 or 4 in Section B.

Question	Task	Words	Marks
1(a)	The opening of a story for your teacher, starting as John stands at a slowly opening door he feels he shouldn’t enter. Create drama and suspense	Up to 400	15
1(b)	Reflective commentary on how your language choices fulfil the task	—	10
2 (choice)	A review, for an environmental website, of a TV documentary about plastic waste	600 to 900	25
3 (choice)	A descriptive piece called Departures, set in a busy airport departure lounge, focusing on sound, movement and colour	600 to 900	25
4 (choice)	A school magazine article on whether children should be taught about money at school	600 to 900	25

Watch for: each Section B task names a form (review, descriptive piece, article) and an audience. Question 3 also named the senses to focus on. The mark scheme rewards writing that fits these exactly.

What came up in 8695 Paper 2 (Drama, Poetry and Prose)?

There are three sections. You answer two questions, each from a different section, so you choose which two of drama, poetry and prose to write on. For each text, choose either (a), an essay on the whole text, or (b), a passage question.

Question	Section	Set text	(a) Essay	(b) Passage
1	Drama	Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	How families are made significant	George in an Act 2 extract
2	Drama	Errol John, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl	Desire and its effects	Tension in an Act 3, Scene 2 extract
3	Drama	Shakespeare, The Tempest	Miranda through her relationships	Alonso and his companions, Act 2, Scene 1
4	Drama	Webster, The Duchess of Malfi	Different kinds of conflict	Bosola and Ferdinand, Act 3, Scene 1
5	Poetry	Maya Angelou, And Still I Rise	The natural world in two poems	Attitudes to work in One More Round
6	Poetry	Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience	Social injustice in two poems	A Little Boy Lost
7	Poetry	Plath, Ariel	Settings in two poems	The journey in Getting There
8	Poetry	Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2	Journeys in two poems	Edward Taylor’s Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold
9	Prose	Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss	Cho Oyo, the Judge’s house	Jemubhai’s marriage (Chapter 16)
10	Prose	Stories of Ourselves, Volume 1	Unlikeable characters in two stories	Da-duh in Paule Marshall’s To Da-duh, in Memoriam
11	Prose	Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust	Characters’ responses to others in pain (quoted comment)	Dr Messinger’s death
12	Prose	Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad	How the past is presented (quoted comment)	Cora’s recapture by Ridgeway

What made it hard: Questions 11(a) and 12(a) gave you a critic’s view to work with. Question 10(a) asked which characters you find unlikeable, so a clear personal response is part of the task.

How the 8695 May/June 2026 mark scheme gives marks

The two papers use different grids. Here is how each one works.

1. Paper 1 writing is marked on five levels for AO2. Section A Question 1(a) runs 13 to 15, 10 to 12, 7 to 9, 4 to 6 and 1 to 3. Section B runs 21 to 25, 16 to 20, 11 to 15, 6 to 10 and 1 to 5. The mark scheme says marks go equally to your expression (range of language and accuracy) and your development (organisation and relevance to task and audience).

2. What lifts writing into the top band. The top band asks for “sophisticated expression”, complex structures and less common vocabulary, a high level of accuracy, a fully achieved task and a “fully engaged” audience. The band below has “effective” expression, a few minor errors and an engaged audience. For Question 4, the school magazine article, that means writing that sounds like a strong student voice talking to other students, not a general essay about money.

3. The word count sits inside the task bullet. The mark scheme says there is no direct penalty for going over 400 words in 1(a), or outside 600 to 900 in Section B. But it counts towards “achievement of task” and “relevance to purpose”. So a 1,200-word airport description is likely to lose marks on that bullet.

4. The commentary is marked for AO3 analysis. Question 1(b) is out of 10 on five levels: 9 to 10, 7 to 8, 5 to 6, 3 to 4 and 1 to 2. Top answers give “sophisticated analysis” of form, structure and language, and of how your choices relate to audience and meaning. So name what you did in your suspense opening (short sentences, delayed reveal, sensory detail) and explain the effect each one creates.

5. Paper 2 uses the literature grid out of 25. There are six levels: 22 to 25 “perceptive and assured”, 18 to 21 “confident and thorough”, 14 to 17 “sound and competent”, 10 to 13 “straightforward and partial”, 6 to 9 “basic and limited” and 1 to 5 “generalised and restricted”. Four assessment objectives, knowledge, analysis, personal response and communication, are weighted equally.

6. Perception separates the top two levels. In Paper 2 Question 6(b), on A Little Boy Lost, a thorough answer would explain what happens to the child and the priest’s role. A perceptive one would show how Blake’s choices, such as the repeated weeping parents and the closing question about Albion, shape your response, supported with well-chosen quotation.

7. Retelling the story limits your mark. Level 3 mentions “occasional reliance on narrative summary or paraphrase”. Level 1 describes knowledge that “may be narrative-based”. Keep every paragraph tied to the question’s focus.

8. There is no single right answer. The mark scheme says level descriptions are not “hurdle statements” and that examiners should reward what is there. You can take your own line on a text as long as it is relevant and supported.

Which papers should you sit?

8695 is an AS Level qualification, and the 2026 series had these two papers. Paper 1 gives you a free choice of Section B task. On Paper 2, pick the two sections that match the set texts you studied, then choose (a) or (b) for each.

How to use the 2026 papers as a mock

1. Write to the word count. For Paper 1, draft the 400-word opening and one 600 to 900-word piece, then count. Cut or add until you are inside the limits.
2. Write the commentary straight after. Note three or four specific choices from your story and explain their effect, as Question 1(b) asks.
3. Try all three Section B forms. A review, a description and an article each need a different voice. Practise the one you would least choose.
4. For Paper 2, do one (a) and one (b). Use the set texts you know and split your time evenly between the two answers.
5. Level your own work. Compare each answer with the top two levels of the right grid and write down one change that would move it up.

More AS Language and Literature resources

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Frequently asked questions

Are the 8695 May/June 2026 past papers free? +

Yes. Both question papers (8695/12 and 8695/22) and their official mark schemes are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

What were the 8695 Paper 1 writing tasks in May/June 2026? +

Section A asked for the opening of a suspense story (up to 400 words) beginning at a door John feels he shouldn't go through, plus a reflective commentary. Section B offered a review of a TV documentary on plastic waste, a descriptive piece called Departures set in an airport lounge, or a school magazine article on teaching children about money.

How is 8695 Paper 1 marked? +

Your writing is marked for AO2 on five levels, split equally between expression (range and accuracy) and development (organisation and fit to task and audience). The Section A commentary is marked separately for AO3, your analysis of your own form, structure and language choices.

Does the word limit matter on 8695 Paper 1? +

There is no direct penalty, but the mark scheme treats keeping to 400 words (Section A) or 600 to 900 words (Section B) as part of achieving the task, so it affects your AO2 mark.

Why can't I find 8695/11 or 8695/13 for 2026? +

Only variant 2 of the May/June 2026 papers is on the portal at the moment. Cambridge sets different variants for different time zones; variants 1 and 3 test the same syllabus in the same format, so variant 2 prepares you just as well.

When will the October/November 2026 8695 papers be available? +

Cambridge usually releases the October/November papers in the new year. We add them to the Learning Portal once they are published.

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