Download How to revise… GCSE English Literature

How to revise…
GCSE
English
Literature
GCSE English Literature (9-1)
•
•
•
•
•
First year of students to take this GCSE
As important as English language
100% examination
Grades work from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest)
The same number of students awarded a C+
and an A+ will get a 4 or 7 respectively
• The government are moving towards grade 5
being the benchmark
• The exams are closed text; this means students
need to remember quotations
Paper One - Monday 22 May (am) 1 hour 45 minutes
Section A: Shakespeare - Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet
Section B: 19th Century Novel - Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, The Sign of Four
or Jekyll and Hyde
Paper Two - Friday 26 May (am) 2 hours 15 minutes
Section A: Modern Novel/Play - Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, DNA, Animal Farm
or An Inspector Calls
Section B: Anthology Poetry - Comparing two poems based around Power and
Conflict. These 15 poems have been studied in class. One is named and printed,
the other students will need to remember.
Section C: Unseen Poetry - Analysing one poem and then comparing it to another.
How can students revise?
- Read and re-read the set texts. There are downloadable copies through iTunes,
Audible etc too
- Use the CGP guides many students purchased through the school at the start of
the year
- Use PixLit (see Show my Homework or the student pages of the school website
for log-in details)
- Visit websites such as BBC Bitesize, www.sparknotes.com or www.shmoop.com
- Use youtube to find revision guides/vlogs or film adaptations for the set texts,
'Thug Notes' etc
- Practise past papers in timed conditions (one on desk with mark scheme)
- Go back to notes in exercise books
- Create storyboards
- Make sure context is understood
How can students remember quotations?
- cue cards/post-its (3-5 for each poem, 5 for each theme or main characters in
each text)
- mindmaps
- images
- putting quotations to song; the rhythm and repetition aid the memory
- use colour
- repetition is key - lots of quizzes, displays in key areas of the house: bedroom,
bathroom door...
- read aloud
- Testing
- Use PixLit app (see school website for log-in details)
Short quotations are fine and easier to remember
Identify quotations that can be used for several characters/themes
Students are assessed on their ability to:
- answer the question
- use relevant quotations/evidence
- analyse language and structure
- use literary terminology
- link points to context (except unseen poetry)
-explore the writer's intentions
- compare (poetry only)
Essay Technique:
- Start off by placing the scene/question in the context of the
whole novel e.g. This scene is significant because it.... and it
links to....
- Aim to write at least five analytical (PEE) paragraphs on
language and structure
- For Shakespeare and the 19th Century novel, students must
link to the whole text (using memorised quotations), not just
the extract given
- End with how the question's/scene's significance: how does
it link to other parts of the text? Aim to identify the writer's
intentions: what are they trying to tell you about life, linked to
the question set?
How can students improve the quality of their answer and their grade?
- Get the timings right: spend equal amounts of time on each section of
the exam
- Write an answer around the words of the question e.g. how is tension
created?
- Refer to both LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE
- Analyse how a writer uses language precisely, looking at the effects of
individual word choices rather than using long quotations e.g. why has the
writer used the word 'mob' instead of 'group'?
- Explore effects in detail, rather than just a simplistic statement like 'this
makes you feel sorry for.....'
- Go beyond the obvious
- Make sure context is explored
- Make sure everything written is relevant to the question and not
retelling the plot or going off on a tangent