GCSE Spanish Writing: Photo, 50-word and 90-word Tasks

The writing paper of the reformed GCSE in Spanish (first exams in 2026) rewards writing that answers every part of the task, uses a range of language and time frames, and is accurate. In AQA's paper, for example, the Foundation tier starts with five sentences about a photo and a short text of about 50 words on five bullet points, and both tiers share a task of about 90 words on three compulsory bullet points, with a choice of two questions. Examiners look for each bullet to be covered, for opinions with reasons, and for past, present and future references where the bullets ask for them.

This material trains those structured tasks. The quiz checks the decisions you make while writing: recognising which time frame a sentence or a time phrase belongs to, choosing the sentence that actually addresses a bullet point, pairing an opinion with a justification, spotting a complex structure, combining three time frames in one sentence, making a photo sentence accurate, planning a 90-word answer, agreement with las vacaciones, forming the perfect tense, reporting someone else's opinion and, at Higher tier, cuando with the subjunctive.

The flashcards collect the techniques and phrases that raise a structured answer: how to cover the bullet points, time phrases for the past and future, opinions and other people's opinions, conditions with si, wishes with me gustaría, connectives, the perfect tense, photo sentences, a final accuracy checklist, and two Higher-tier structures.

The written sheet is the core of the material: eight tasks to write by hand. You write five sentences about a photo, a 50-word message about your school, four 90-word answers (free time, holidays, where you live and technology), a Foundation-style grammar task, and a rewrite that turns a simple answer into a developed one. Each task has a complete model answer in Spanish, written to the length of the task, and a list of the points a marker would look for: every bullet covered, the tenses the bullets ask for, reasons, connectives and accuracy.

Use the flashcards and quiz to secure the techniques, then write the tasks under timed conditions and compare your answer with the model point by point. The Higher-tier extended task of about 150 words has its own material.

• Write five accurate sentences about a photo and a 50-word text on five bullet points (Foundation)
• Plan and write a 90-word answer that covers three compulsory bullet points
• Match each bullet point with the right time frame: past, present or future
• Develop answers with opinions, reasons, other people's views and connectives
• Check writing for agreement, verb endings, gustar and accents

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE modern foreign languages subject content (2022), writing, and on the writing tasks as described, for example, in AQA's GCSE Spanish specification (8692, version 1.0), Paper 4. All tasks and model answers are original.