Remember, you know the structure of the questions. You’ve been practising them. Simply identify the questions you’re weakest at, (the bug-bears)and practise those. Examine exemplar responses alongside the exam marking criteria. All these can be found on your exam board website.

PAPER 1 QUESTION 3 – A WEAKNESS FOR MOST. Structure of a text is simply about how the plot develops from beginning, middle to end. THIS IS NOT ABOUT LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES. Structural techniques are: focus at the beginning, middle and end, plus other structural techniques such as: paragraph lengths, sentence types, choice of punctuation, flashbacks, flashforwards, tense, dialogue etc.

The above response was awarded full 8 marks with the notes below.

MORE GUIDANCE ON QUESTION 3

QUESTION 4 IS ALSO ANOTHER BUG-BEAR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS QUESTION IS WRITING TO ARGUE/PERSUADE: To what extent do you agree? You MUST find the words and phrases in the part of the text directed, that would support the views presented in the statement, but you can also present an opposing view (AO1). You cannot simply disagree. REMEMBER to explore the effects of language and/or structural techniques (AO2) used in the quotes you use.

The above responses are real GCSE marked responses. Response 7 was awarded 17 of the 20 marks. Response 6 below was awarded 16 of the 20 marks with comments that follow.

MORE GUIDANCE WITH QUESTION 4

How do I structure a response to the Macbeth question? Firstly, all questions on the English Literature paper require essay-style responses, regardless of the text (modern prose, poetry or drama). So just as you did in your response to An Inspector Calls, a clear structure is important in expressing your ideas clearly and logically. Follow my advice and examine the exemplars. These WILL help you to achieve or exceed your target grade.

Structure your response as a 6-paragraph essay; an introductory paragraph, followed by 4 paragraphs (the main body that responds to the focus of the question in PEA paragraphs), then a conclusion that briefly summarizes your main points in response to the essay focus.

Remember to identify and highlight the focus (what you are asked to write about) of the essay in the task. You are never expected to write everything you know about a text. The task will have a CLEAR focus on either, how a character and/or theme is presented. This applies to ALL the literature texts you will be tested on. For example:

Hi Guys, no need to worry about an exam.

Choose to revise, review, practice and repeat. How do you revise for this English exam?

Practice the questions you are weakest at. Peruse the resources below. Follow the guidance. Examine the structure and skills demonstrated in the sample responses. Watch the suggested video clips. Most importantly, spend your reading-time wisely, to read, highlight and annotate the text, to ensure you fully understand the story being told. Only then can you give relevant inference that reflects the context of the plot.

READING PREP

20 MARKS FOR THIS QUESTION – 4-5 PARAGRAPHS. Examine the skills in the examples.

If you’re struggling on questions 2, 3 or 4, your struggle is over! Examine my models. Follow the tips. Practice, and ace that exam.

These 3 questions test your understanding of the story told in the text; that is, how the writer uses explicit details, to infer implicit ideas. The only way you can explain the writer’s craft and give logical inference is if you read the text and ensure you know the story. Remember to use your reading time to read, highlight the main points, language and structural techniques noticed, as well as summarise (in a word or short phrase in the margin) what each paragraph is about. This is time wisely spent.

Question 5 of paper 1 – WRITING TO DESCRIBE. This is the task that you should really capitalise on, to achieve or exceed your target grade on this paper. We can all write a story. We can all use a range of descriptive techniques.

Don’t tell. Show through descriptive detail. The simplest way to do this is to remember to start your sentences with verbs, adverbs or imagery, and ensure every single sentence uses two or more descriptive techniques. Examine my tips and model. You can get 26 and above of the 40 available marks for this question easily. Manage your time to ensure you write a fully developed description or story.

There is no such thing as LUCK in exams. Success depends on how much you revise and practice.

Revise. Review. Repeat. Resilience reaps rewards.

Struggle no longer! Let’s break it down

First step is to make sure you have read, highlighted and annotated the two texts. You now know both stories – their key points and ideas. Does your reading prep look like mine below? It should!

The sample answer above demonstrates the skills of a level 4 writer from the get-go. a final grade of 13 or 16 then depends on the consistency throughout the full response. Examine the colour-coding to see how it meets the Level 4 Key Words descriptors.

Be resourceful! Do not wait on your teacher. Stay ahead. Find two sources on the AQA website or online. Many schools have published booklets with sample questions and sources. Practice.

This paper tests both your reading and writing skills. It values 50% of your final English Language GCSE grade. Many of you find it the more difficult of the two papers; particularly questions 2 and 4, but there is no need to struggle. Revisit previous blogs of exemplar responses, video tutorials etc. The structure of the questions remain the same.

The key to success in this paper is how well you spend your 15 minutes reading time ensuring you read and understand the two texts given. You are being tested on your ability to read a text for the first time and show your understanding [comprehension] by your responses to questions 1-4.

Hi Guys. 2020 so far has definitely been a difficult year for us all. Some of us may have lost loved ones or suffered ill health. This is one of the many trials in life, but as difficult as it is, life goes on. Think of the positives. We are breathing. We have overcome. We will continue to overcome. We never ever give up.

For those of you who did not get the chance to sit your exams this year, and are not satisfied with the grades you’ve been given, you will have the opportunity to sit them next year if you wish. We all need to start thinking about our next steps. If it’s GCSEs, revision and practice starts now. If it’s A level, pre-reading starts now.

Use the resources to guide you, and you can always send me a message and I will respond.

Best Wishes.

Hi Guys,

Hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. You may have suffered ill health or even lost loved ones, but be encouraged, stay positive. One never gives up. Despite this coronavirus crisis, life and learning goes on. You have survived and is a part of history.

You may be going on to 6th form or college, or hoping to start year 11 in September. Use the archive of posts and resources to keep on track with you knowledge and skills so that you are ready for the next stage in your learning journey.

I will update new resources at the start of the new school year.

How are you writing history? How will you record and tell the coronavirus story?

A diary? A Vlog? A blog? Poetry? Newsletters?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzxEaqvOrls