Othello AQA Tragedy Grade Boundaries Explained

Firstly, it’s important to note that grade boundaries change a bit each year - so if you want to secure a specific grade, for example, an ‘A’, then I would recommend getting to a point where your writing is consistently at least 3-4 marks into an A standard, just in case the boundaries shift a bit on the year of your specific exam. 

If you’re looking for more help with the text, click the ‘Learn More’ button for our Complete GCSE + IGCSE Othello course!

You have two questions on Othello in this paper, so you need to know it very well!

Othello is part of the ‘AQA Aspects of Tragedy’ Paper (English Literature B 7717). You can read more about what they want you to think about the text HERE.

Ok so here’s the breakdown of grade boundaries for this paper: 

Total Mark for Paper: 75 

A* 59 

A 52 

B 43 

C 34 

D 25 

E 17

To understand how this applies to specific questions, you need to convert it to percentages: 

A* 79% 

A 69% 

B 57%

C 45% 

D 33% 

E 23% 

So, as each question is out of 25, you want to figure out the percentage that you got for that question, and using the list above that will give you the exact grade. 

Example: 19/25 = 76%, which is an A Grade. 

---

Thanks for reading!

Need more help? Our Complete Othello Bundle includes the following:

• A breakdown of the story

• Themes, context, critical ideas

• Key quotations + analysis

• Form, structure + language analysis

• Essay writing support

• A range of student examples, including full-mark essays, with teacher feedback

• Video lessons, digital study guides, printable workbooks + more!

• Perfect for GCSE + iGCSE, suitable for all exam boards: AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC

• Adaptable for teaching and independent revision or study