Select your exam year and paper route
Choose the correct syllabus version and distinguish shared skills from year-specific assessment rules.
Section Papers 2 and 4 · Evidence, argument and applied reasoning
Original StudyForA scenarios and formative model answers; no Cambridge marks, predicted grades or certified mastery. Alternative reasoned answers may be valid. Full-length unseen papers, a wider mixed-problem bank and calibrated specialist teacher marking remain outstanding.
Before you begin
- Read an English passage closely
- Distinguish a statement from its supporting reason
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Before evaluating support, what should you identify?
What you will learn
- Distinguish the 2026–2027 and 2028–2030 requirements
- Select the AS or full A Level component route without assuming carry-forward eligibility
Shared content, different demand
Both AS and A Level study all the problem-solving and critical-thinking content; the difference lies in assessment demand. AS uses Paper 1 Problem Solving (90 minutes) and Paper 2 Critical Thinking (105 minutes), each 50 marks and 50% of AS. Full A Level adds Paper 3 Problem Analysis and Solution (120 minutes) and Paper 4 Applied Reasoning (105 minutes), each 50 marks; each of all four papers contributes 25% of the A Level.
For 2026–2027 Version 2, Paper 3 has four compulsory questions and there are three assessment objectives. For 2028–2030 Version 2, Paper 3 begins with a 5-mark question followed by four longer questions, and the revised syllabus has two assessment objectives. Use the updated specimen materials; Version 2 clarifies 3.3 as complex deductions and corrects specified specimen mark-scheme wording/answers.
What changes in reasoning assessment
The older objectives separately cover understanding information, evaluating/processing it, and constructing explanations, arguments or solutions. From 2028 they are reorganised into using/evaluating information and creating/communicating reasoning. Practise both the quality of the evidence and the chain of support, rather than memorising objective labels.
Paper 4’s final argument is 27 marks before 2028 and 24 marks from 2028. Three marks move to an earlier part-question, keeping the paper total at 50. In revised Paper 3 the longer questions carry 10, 10, 10 and 15 marks; the 15-mark question is not necessarily last. Cambridge explicitly permits eligible 2027 AS marks to carry into 2028, subject to the Handbook and carry-forward supplement.
Check the route before planning practice
June and November entries are available, including private candidates. Confirm the exam year, administrative-zone timetable and centre entry with your exams officer. AS uses Papers 1 and 2 in the same series; full A Level uses all four papers, either together or through an authorised staged route. Carry-forward rules and time limits must be checked for the relevant series.
Calculators are allowed in every paper; Paper 3 requires one. The newer syllabus strongly recommends one for Paper 1. Papers and related assessment materials are in English. These original short tasks practise skills but do not constitute a full unseen exam or award official marks. The map prefixes 26- and 28- distinguish the two syllabus versions; these prefixes are StudyForA navigation labels, not Cambridge’s own section numbering.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Does AS omit the A Level subject-content skills?
Worked example
A learner takes full A Level in 2029. Which Paper 3 structure should they prepare for?
Show the worked solution
- 2029 belongs to the 2028–2030 syllabus.
- Use Version 2 and its revised specimen corrections.
- Prepare for five compulsory questions, with a 5-mark opener.
Answer Use the revised five-question Paper 3, starting with a 5-mark question followed by four longer questions. Its duration remains 120 minutes and total 50 marks; the older four-question structure is not the correct 2029 guide.
From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: A 2027 learner takes standalone AS. Identify their papers and weighting.
Give me a hint
Choose the AS route for the earlier version.
Compare my reasoning
- Paper 1 is 90 minutes and 50 marks.
- Paper 2 is 105 minutes and 50 marks.
- Each contributes half of AS and both are in one series.
The learner takes Papers 1 and 2 in the same series, with 90 and 105 minutes respectively,50 marks each and 50% each of the AS result. They still study all the subject-content skills.
Look for these in your work
- Selects the AS components
- States timing and weighting
- Preserves shared content
Independent: Explain the Paper 3 difference between a 2027 and 2029 full A Level candidate.
Give me a hint
Keep unchanged duration and marks separate from changed structure.
Compare my reasoning
- 2027 uses four compulsory questions.
- 2029 uses five, beginning with a 5-mark question.
- Both remain 120 minutes and 50 marks.
The 2027 paper has four compulsory questions; the 2029 paper has a 5-mark opener followed by four longer questions. Both are 120 minutes and 50 marks, so the changed question structure must not be mistaken for a changed duration or total.
Look for these in your work
- Uses the correct versions
- Identifies the changed structure
- States unchanged rules
Application: A student completed AS in an earlier series and wants to add Papers 3 and 4. What must be checked before calling the staged route valid?
Give me a hint
Syllabus availability is not individual carry-forward approval.
Compare my reasoning
- Check the relevant-year Cambridge Handbook rules and time limits.
- Confirm the exact entry option and series with the exams officer.
- Check the syllabus version and eligible carried-forward result.
The exams officer must confirm carry-forward eligibility, time limits, entry option and series under the applicable Cambridge rules, including any cross-version requirements. The existence of a staged route does not prove that every earlier AS result can be used.
Look for these in your work
- Checks eligibility
- Checks time and entry option
- Avoids automatic approval
Common mistakes
- Teaching only half the content to AS learners
- Using the old Paper 3 structure from 2028
- Assuming carry-forward is automatic
- Treating formative responses as official marks
What can you explain now?
Does AS omit the A Level subject-content skills?
Compare with the explanation
No, both study all content, with different task demand
The official content is shared; assessment complexity distinguishes the levels.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Does AS omit the A Level subject-content skills?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.