Gcse english literature advice please.

I am going to sit my English Literature GCSE in just under a months time. I realise I have left my English Lit Revision a little late but I have been putting off my weakest subject....

I'm failing to understand how/what do you revise for Lit'.
I am studying Romeo & Juliet and Of Mice & Men.
I have a good understanding of the novels, however if I was to sit the exam today I feel I could only reach a B, and Ideally I would love an A/A*.

I can handle the first mood and atmosphere question okay, it is the essay question that baffles me as I don't know how to prepare for anything !

Btw I am sitting with the WJEC if it makes a difference.

Any tips & advice/past experience would be much appreciated.
Thank-you. :smile:

Reply 1

steff11

Original post by Pillowcase95

I am going to sit my English Literature GCSE in just under a months time. I realise I have left my English Lit Revision a little late but I have been putting off my weakest subject....

I'm failing to understand how/what do you revise for Lit'.
I am studying Romeo & Juliet and Of Mice & Men.
I have a good understanding of the novels, however if I was to sit the exam today I feel I could only reach a B, and Ideally I would love an A/A*.

I can handle the first mood and atmosphere question okay, it is the essay question that baffles me as I don't know how to prepare for anything !

Btw I am sitting with the WJEC if it makes a difference.

Any tips & advice/past experience would be much appreciated.
Thank-you. :smile:

Hi there,

I'm in exactly the same situation with WJEC as well I would love and A/A* but only got a B in coursework I'm doing 'Of Mice and Men' and 'An Inspector Calls' I hope someone can give us some help

Reply 2

Ras17

10

Original post by Pillowcase95

I am going to sit my English Literature GCSE in just under a months time. I realise I have left my English Lit Revision a little late but I have been putting off my weakest subject....

I'm failing to understand how/what do you revise for Lit'.
I am studying Romeo & Juliet and Of Mice & Men.
I have a good understanding of the novels, however if I was to sit the exam today I feel I could only reach a B, and Ideally I would love an A/A*.

I can handle the first mood and atmosphere question okay, it is the essay question that baffles me as I don't know how to prepare for anything !

Btw I am sitting with the WJEC if it makes a difference.

Any tips & advice/past experience would be much appreciated.
Thank-you. :smile:

Use PQE - Point, Quote, Explanation. If you make good points (in the context with the question), back it up with a quote and explain it. The explanation may be a little difficult so ask your english teacher how to provide an adequate explanation

Reply 3

miss_spell

Hey - I'm studying Chaucer, Lord of the Flies and an Inspector Calls. What I'm doing for revision is drawing a picture of each of the main characters and then writing 5 key quotes around them. It really helps as you'll know which quotes to use and where to look for them in the exam :smile:

you can do the same thing with themes and symbolism etc.

Also, just re read the book/text with a notebook and write down any ideas you have as you go through it, it's actually quite easy and (almost) fun if you actually enjoy the book.

Hope that helps! :smile:

Reply 4

TheLionKing

Literally do/plan every single past paper- I did that and moved from a B to an A* (and I would have got an A* overall if I hadn't got a B in my coursework). At the end of the day if you do enough, the chance of a similar one coming up is very high.

oh and for of mice and men there's a really good book but I can't remember the name
and trade notes with friends on poems and then memorise them
:smile:

Reply 5

Mr Inquisitive

16

Any variation of PEE/PEEL/PQE is not going to do you justice. Design your own essay style; be original in your literature - that's what will get you your A*.

Reply 6

Joshalos

15

Sitting WJEC to, except with To Kill a Mockingbird and An Inspector Calls.

The best thing to do to prepare yourself for the questions based on the whole of the novel/play is to make sure you:

•

Understand the themes

•

Know many KEY quotations that you can apply to many situations e.g. the Theme or a character

•

Create mindmaps

•

Be able to refer accurately to many parts of the text - this is especially useful on empathy questions where going into fine details really helps to make the character you are writing about come alive.

In your mindmaps, use pictures, colours and other things so that when your in the exam, you can be like 'Hang on! I wrote about Friar Lawrence in brown! Ah, now I remember!'.

When you're doing the question, draw up a quick little plan by dividing a column in two: one for part b) and one for part c) and write bullet points of what you could write about and whichever gives you the better list, you write about because you are much more knowledgable on the question.
Once you begin writing, remember to PEE ( :colondollar:

): Make your point: 'Romeo was shown to be very...' then your evidence 'This is shown by the quote...' then your explanation 'This shows us that he is... and that he is... because of the fact that it says... which suggests...'
Of course, when you are writing your answer, your 'PEE' may have a bit of variation to it. I'm sure after 5 years of English, you have developed your own way of answering essay based questions so PEE is just a guide, write how you feel comfortable.

Good luck for the 24th of May - i'll be there too ;D

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask and i'll try my best.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 7

ju1c

Read practice essays to get a grip of how others are structured. This will give you an idea

Reply 8

Pillowcase95

OP

Original post by TheLionKing

Literally do/plan every single past paper- I did that and moved from a B to an A* (and I would have got an A* overall if I hadn't got a B in my coursework). At the end of the day if you do enough, the chance of a similar one coming up is very high.

oh and for of mice and men there's a really good book but I can't remember the name
and trade notes with friends on poems and then memorise them
:smile:

Is the book the Yorke Notes? They seem really good for Romeo & Juliet.

Gcse english literature advice please.

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