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How do you revise for English Literature?

Thanks guys
Struggling at the mo

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Reply 1
Original post by nisha.sri
Thanks guys
Struggling at the mo


Which books are you doing?
Original post by luciie
Which books are you doing?


LOTF, OMAM , AVFTB
I just don't know how to collect quotes ?!
Reply 3
Original post by nisha.sri
LOTF, OMAM , AVFTB
I just don't know how to collect quotes ?!


Which exam board is this for? (just trying to make sure I tell you the right thing :biggrin:)
Original post by nisha.sri
Thanks guys
Struggling at the mo



Hi, I've recently found some great ways to revise my English Literature as before I used to struggle. I don't know about you but for my English Literature I have to do:
Section A: Unseen Poetry
Section B: Journeys End Question

For Section A, I usually find Unseen Poetry questions online and have a go at them. Then look at the mark scheme on how I could improve and what I did well. In addition to this I look at youtube videos online on how to analyse an unseen poem. They are very useful and have lots of tips on how to plan for it and what to look out for.

For Section B, I personally have Journeys End. But you can apply this to any book your studying. I recently purchased the York Notes for Journeys End on Amazon (if you get it used its like £1.50 and in amazing condition). Its fantastic, it has imformation on all the characters, themes and it analyses quotes in the book. Then at the end it has typical exam questions. It has absoloutely everything you need in one book. I use this to do fact files on characters, mind maps etc. Would definitely recommend!
Original post by nisha.sri
Thanks guys
Struggling at the mo


You're doing Gcse :smile: I managed to get an A* at GCSE without revising much, I did OMAM, Inspector calls and poetry that I can't seem to remember.

I remember what me and my friends did was look up context of the texts before the exam, we also really knew how to analyse. What you have to be able to do in the exam is look at a quote and be able to interpret it in two to three ways, it's not necessary to remember quotes because it is an open book exam, although of course pick some you think will be helpful. But just try and come up with as many interpretations and link back to the question ALL the time after every paragraph.
Original post by luciie
Which exam board is this for? (just trying to make sure I tell you the right thing :biggrin:)


Haha ok WJEC
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
You're doing Gcse :smile: I managed to get an A* at GCSE without revising much, I did OMAM, Inspector calls and poetry that I can't seem to remember.

I remember what me and my friends did was look up context of the texts before the exam, we also really knew how to analyse. What you have to be able to do in the exam is look at a quote and be able to interpret it in two to three ways, it's not necessary to remember quotes because it is an open book exam, although of course pick some you think will be helpful. But just try and come up with as many interpretations and link back to the question ALL the time after every paragraph.


Well done :smile: Mine isn't open book :frown: :biggrin: THANKS
Original post by nisha.sri
Well done :smile: Mine isn't open book :frown: :biggrin: THANKS


Oh it isn't? :redface: That's awful.

Well the same thing applies, practice on your interpretations, be very innovative and make them exciting for the examiner to read, that is all you need for gcse if I'm honest, just make sure you evaluate and refer back to the question.

Good luck!

When is your exam? :tongue:
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
Oh it isn't? :redface: That's awful.

Well the same thing applies, practice on your interpretations, be very innovative and make them exciting for the examiner to read, that is all you need for gcse if I'm honest, just make sure you evaluate and refer back to the question.

Good luck!

When is your exam? :tongue:


Yep i know :frown:
Thanks and i will try these :smile:
What did you get overall for gcse ?
Thank you very much :biggrin: For English Lit ? I have 2 papers one is on the 23rd the other one the 26th i think :smile:
Original post by nisha.sri
Yep i know :frown:
Thanks and i will try these :smile:
What did you get overall for gcse ?
Thank you very much :biggrin: For English Lit ? I have 2 papers one is on the 23rd the other one the 26th i think :smile:


A* in lit and an A in language

You'll do great! Tell me how it goes, all the best! :parrot:
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
A* in lit and an A in language

You'll do great! Tell me how it goes, all the best! :parrot:


I sure will :smile:
Well done though :biggrin:
What did you get for the rest ?
Original post by nisha.sri
Well done :smile: Mine isn't open book :frown: :biggrin: THANKS

Hey guys, I do the Inspector calls and Of mice and men for my literature exam for AQA. I want to know if mindmaps are really worth doing as I am finding it time consuming. I have been reading through my York notes for both texts and highlighting the key information. I just then read over again and again till I remembered the points. This seems to be working for me as it reinforces the key facts into my head. But because my exam is an open book, I am scared that I might waste time looking for quotes. Do you think I need to learn quotes or not? Thanks guys for your help in advance.:smile:
Original post by nisha.sri
Well done :smile: Mine isn't open book :frown: :biggrin: THANKS


:biggrin: I feel sorry for you, i thought mine was bad. Does that mean that you have to memorize extracts from the texts including quotes? I was just wondering!:smile:
Same here! I thought this was only me lmao. I'm doing Inspector calls/Omam and 16 poems. For the books i find it really hard to point out key quotes, I mean theres like 100's of quotes and dont know to pick out 3 for each character?:/

I'm aiming for a grade B and we arent allowed books for the exam.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by nisha.sri
Well done :smile: Mine isn't open book :frown: :biggrin: THANKS


Mine isn't open book aswell. Also doing WJEC and LOTF. I'm going over themes, characters and remembering quotes to revise, other than that I'm relying on context to bag me some marks.
Original post by starstudent7
Hey guys, I do the Inspector calls and Of mice and men for my literature exam for AQA. I want to know if mindmaps are really worth doing as I am finding it time consuming. I have been reading through my York notes for both texts and highlighting the key information. I just then read over again and again till I remembered the points. This seems to be working for me as it reinforces the key facts into my head. But because my exam is an open book, I am scared that I might waste time looking for quotes. Do you think I need to learn quotes or not? Thanks guys for your help in advance.:smile:


Hi, I am doing the same books as you an i guess it depends on what you remember best by,I have done flash cards, but only do them if you know you will learn by them cause exam is pretty close so i would advice not wasting time making mind maps. I have learned a few main quotes for each character just in case :smile:
Reply 17
Original post by nisha.sri
LOTF, OMAM , AVFTB
I just don't know how to collect quotes ?!


Read the texts at least three times

Create detailed but intelligible plot and quotation spines (i.e. simply write brief sentences detailing what happens and record useful quotes in chronological order. These plot and quotation spines should be done separately).

Read model essays.

Do past papers, paying attention to mark schemes before and after and using your plot and quotation spines.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by rohit301099
Hi, I am doing the same books as you an i guess it depends on what you remember best by,I have done flash cards, but only do them if you know you will learn by them cause exam is pretty close so i would advice not wasting time making mind maps. I have learned a few main quotes for each character just in case :smile:

Yeah I think flashcards are a good idea but I only use them for history and sciences. What do you write on the flashcards? Yes I was thinking of learning the page numbers of each quote so I can easily find it in the exam. Also how are you revising for the poems? I really want an A*!:smile: What are you aiming for?
Past papers x100000

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