Paper 2 Structured Question Patterns

What Section A tests

Section A carries 60 of Paper 2's 100 marks across eight compulsory questions, so it is answered by everyone and forms the largest single share of the paper. Each question is usually broken into several sub-parts, often moving from a simple recall step to a more demanding explanation, comparison or calculation.

Because every candidate answers the same eight questions, this section rewards accuracy and completeness more than any other part of Paper 2.

Recurring sub-question formats

How to approach Section A

1. Work through the sub-parts of a question in order, since later parts often build on the answer or context of earlier ones.
2. Refer directly to the diagram, data or passage given rather than answering from memory alone.
3. Match your answer length to the marks shown, a two-mark sub-part needs about two distinct points.
4. Move on if a sub-part is difficult, and return to it after finishing the rest of the section.

Common mistakes

How Section A rewards precision

The structured section carries Section A: 60 marks, spread across 8 questions (answer all), and is answered by every candidate, the largest single share of 100 marks. Each sub-part is marked against specific points, and partial answers still earn partial marks, so an attempt at every sub-part is worthwhile even when you are unsure of the whole thing.

The marks reward precise terms and clear cause-and-effect links rather than general statements. A sub-part that asks you to explain wants both the observation and the reason that connects it; naming a structure but omitting its function, or describing a result without its cause, leaves marks behind.

Because everyone answers the same questions, small differences in precision decide the score.

Which topics recur in Section A

Reading across past papers, the compulsory questions sample the core of the syllabus rather than obscure corners. Cell structure and transport across membranes, nutrition and the digestive system, the transport and respiratory systems, coordination and response, reproduction and genetics, and ecology all recur regularly, usually anchored to a diagram, a photograph or a set of data.

Questions often pair a recall sub-part with an explanation or data-handling sub-part on the same topic, so the same content is tested at two levels within one question. Revising each core topic to the point where you can both label its structures and explain how they work prepares you for either demand.

A worked structured question (in the style of Section A)

Question. The diagram shows a nephron. (a) Name the process by which small molecules are forced out of the blood at the glomerulus.

(b) Explain why glucose is present in the filtrate but absent from normal urine. (c) A patient's urine contains protein.

Suggest what this indicates about the nephron.

Model answer. (a) Ultrafiltration. (b) Glucose is small enough to be filtered into the filtrate at the glomerulus, but it is then reabsorbed into the blood by active transport along the proximal convoluted tubule, so none remains in normal urine.

(c) Protein molecules are normally too large to be filtered; their presence suggests the filtration membrane (or glomerular capillaries) is damaged and is letting large molecules through. Notice how part (b) needs both the filtering step and the reabsorption step to score fully, a single-step answer would lose a mark.

Source:SRC-FORMAT

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