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THE OFFICIAL iGCSE THREAD 2015

My first exam is in 26 days
Aggghh.....

When do your exams begin? Any horrific weeks/ exam clashes?
I have a week of at least one exam every day... That's going to be tough :frown:
(edited 8 years ago)

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If you guys need help with CIE IGCSE English Language/Spanish, I got A*s in both (did them in the winter session last year), so feel free to ask me anything!
Reply 2
Original post by roarchika
If you guys need help with CIE IGCSE English Language/Spanish, I got A*s in both (did them in the winter session last year), so feel free to ask me anything!


I'm doing the CIE English Language exam!
It's my first exam and I'm super nervous about it because no matter how well I think I do in the exam hall I never get very good results :s-smilie:
Luckily 50% of our grade is coursework, which I have got pretty much full marks in so hopefully that will be enough to get be an A*
Any tips for the exam?
I'd say my worst bits were question 1 & 3
I never say what's on the mark scheme :biggrin:
Original post by ellie98
I'm doing the CIE English Language exam!
It's my first exam and I'm super nervous about it because no matter how well I think I do in the exam hall I never get very good results :s-smilie:
Any tips for the exam?
I'd say my worst bits were question 1 & 3
I never say what's on the mark scheme :biggrin:


Oh, lucky! We had no coursework :frown: so, um, Q1 and 3 for me were analysis + creative writing?
For analysis questions, understanding the emotions that the piece is trying to convey is crucial. If you can identify the emotions and then work backwards to see what literary devices are being used to create the emotions, you can analyse the piece. Things like tricolons/triadic structure are great terms to use! In fact, I would learn a bunch of literary terminology that you can use tbh. If you ever need to write in the style of something or someone, place yourself in the person whose writing you're mimicking's shoes. Try and (this sounds weird) become them. Adapt your thoughts to be like their writing and identify the literary devices they use the most - then copy that.

Lastly, for creative writing, read a /lot/. Read a lot of fiction, in a few genres, because to be honest you can subtle-ly copy plot points and phrases. If you were writing formally before, try writing informally for this question to show diversity.
Reply 4
Original post by roarchika
Oh, lucky! We had no coursework :frown: so, um, Q1 and 3 for me were analysis + creative writing?
For analysis questions, understanding the emotions that the piece is trying to convey is crucial. If you can identify the emotions and then work backwards to see what literary devices are being used to create the emotions, you can analyse the piece. Things like tricolons/triadic structure are great terms to use! In fact, I would learn a bunch of literary terminology that you can use tbh. If you ever need to write in the style of something or someone, place yourself in the person whose writing you're mimicking's shoes. Try and (this sounds weird) become them. Adapt your thoughts to be like their writing and identify the literary devices they use the most - then copy that.

Lastly, for creative writing, read a /lot/. Read a lot of fiction, in a few genres, because to be honest you can subtle-ly copy plot points and phrases. If you were writing formally before, try writing informally for this question to show diversity.


Thanks for writing all that out
but I think we must do slightly different exams as my exam has no creative writing element to it, I wish It did
But I'm sure your excellent advice will be great for someone else
Original post by ellie98
Thanks for writing all that out
but I think we must do slightly different exams as my exam has no creative writing element to it, I wish It did
But I'm sure your excellent advice will be great for someone else


Hmm... what are your questions, roughly? I did 2 english language exams - maybe you only do 1 of them?
Reply 6
Original post by roarchika
Hmm... what are your questions, roughly? I did 2 english language exams - maybe you only do 1 of them?


Question 1) - writing a letter/interview/report etc in the voice of a character in the text
question 2) - analysis
question 3) - summary, writing 15 points about a text and then summarising it in like 250 words
Original post by ellie98
Question 1) - writing a letter/interview/report etc in the voice of a character in the text
question 2) - analysis
question 3) - summary, writing 15 points about a text and then summarising it in like 250 words


Okay I've done 1 and 2 but I never had to do that question 3. Looking at it... my advice would be highlight (or if they don't allow highlighters, underline) the key points in the text when you read it through the second time, as that can help you focus on the most important points. For summarising, make sure you contract your words wherever possible in order to save space. But ugh, I hate summarising things, so I'm glad I never had to do that!
Reply 8
Original post by roarchika
Okay I've done 1 and 2 but I never had to do that question 3. Looking at it... my advice would be highlight (or if they don't allow highlighters, underline) the key points in the text when you read it through the second time, as that can help you focus on the most important points. For summarising, make sure you contract your words wherever possible in order to save space. But ugh, I hate summarising things, so I'm glad I never had to do that!


Thats usefully, merci beaucoup amigooo:biggrin:
What english edexcel igcse anthology hasn't come up. In both language and literature.
Yes! Fellow iGCSE-ers :biggrin:

My first exam is World Lit and the one clash I have is with DA Chem and my second Lit paper (ohgodswhyyyy). Either way, I'm glad that's the only one I have :P
Reply 11
ahh fab seems like not many people do igcses!! thanks for making this x
Yay! A thread for igcse! Whoop!

(I always felt like such an outsider with all the P1/2/3 etc... :wink: )
Reply 13
Original post by LeFeuilly
Yes! Fellow iGCSE-ers :biggrin:

My first exam is World Lit and the one clash I have is with DA Chem and my second Lit paper (ohgodswhyyyy). Either way, I'm glad that's the only one I have :P


Original post by emilygrace99
ahh fab seems like not many people do igcses!! thanks for making this x


Original post by turn-to-page394
Yay! A thread for igcse! Whoop!

(I always felt like such an outsider with all the P1/2/3 etc... :wink: )


Welcome guys!!
So nice to be in contact with other iGCSErs, other than just the people at my school
it does seem like all the threads on here have been about GCSE, and seeing as our syllabus' and exam timetable are quite different I was beginning to feel a little left out hahahaa

how's the revision going?

Im not sure about you, but I have got one more week of holidays until we go back to school and then 2 weeks of lessons before STUDY LEAVE :eek:
it all looked so far away when I started year 11 but these exams have come around sooo quickly.

Any edexcel historians here?
Original post by ellie98
Welcome guys!!
So nice to be in contact with other iGCSErs, other than just the people at my school
it does seem like all the threads on here have been about GCSE, and seeing as our syllabus' and exam timetable are quite different I was beginning to feel a little left out hahahaa

how's the revision going?

Im not sure about you, but I have got one more week of holidays until we go back to school and then 2 weeks of lessons before STUDY LEAVE :eek:
it all looked so far away when I started year 11 but these exams have come around sooo quickly.

Any edexcel historians here?


...by any strange chance, do you maybe go to OHS? I'm from Oxford too and used to go there - it's the only place I know in this city that does iGCSEs and isn't like, Magdalen. I'm an edexcel historian but I'm doing GCSE not iGCSE - coursework is the most beautiful thing in the world :P
Reply 15
Hey! also doing mostly IGCSEs here! But I'm doing GCSEs in geography, history and PE, and also doing OCR additional maths. We use CIE for everything except Edexcel for Maths.
Reply 16
Original post by roarchika
...by any strange chance, do you maybe go to OHS? I'm from Oxford too and used to go there - it's the only place I know in this city that does iGCSEs and isn't like, Magdalen. I'm an edexcel historian but I'm doing GCSE not iGCSE - coursework is the most beautiful thing in the world :P


I dont actually, but I have a few friends who go there!
Im at SHSK in Abingdon, but I just say I'm from Oxford because no one seems to know where Abingdon is :colondollar:

ahhhhh so lucky! I wish I could do coursework for history
apparently all iGCSE exams this semester have been postponed?? Can anyone follow this up for me?? XOXO
Reply 18
Original post by nox1
Hey! also doing mostly IGCSEs here! But I'm doing GCSEs in geography, history and PE, and also doing OCR additional maths. We use CIE for everything except Edexcel for Maths.


I do CIE English Lit, Lang and French :tongue:

what set texts/ poems are you doing for lit?

I also do maths edexcel, do you do the one with papers 3H/4H?
Reply 19
Original post by harry0137
apparently all iGCSE exams this semester have been postponed?? Can anyone follow this up for me?? XOXO


Really? Wow I haven't heard anything about that??!!!

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