I am a private English tutor AMA

OP

Original post by The Zoomingnoob

How would you revise English language and literature to get the highest grades?

English Language: I would read the mark schemes, examiner reports and look at examples. Every question (for AQA) is looking for different skills. If you don't know what skills they want for each question you will lose marks. I would make a flash card for each question making a note of what they are looking for.

I would also create a list of key literary, structural and persuasive techniques as they need to be identified to score highly in most of the questions.

English Literature: If you have a good understanding of the text I would focus on quotes.

Pick amazing quotes and analyse them in advance! I can't stress that enough actually!!! So many students come to me with a list of quotes they are learning but they haven't even taken the time to work through each one and analyse them. Look for literary techniques and interesting words and phrases. Try to apply context to the quotes as well. Then in the exam, all you have to do is pick the best quotes (out of the ones you have learnt), apply the high-level analysis you have already learnt and link to the question. This technique is by far the quickest way to a grade 9.

I hope that makes sense! Please let me know if you have questions!

Reply 3

alsnnn018

1

Could you help out in what question number 5 in an inspector calls would be and give a model answer?

Reply 4

Original post by PrivEnglishTutor

English Language: I would read the mark schemes, examiner reports and look at examples. Every question (for AQA) is looking for different skills. If you don't know what skills they want for each question you will lose marks. I would make a flash card for each question making a note of what they are looking for.

I would also create a list of key literary, structural and persuasive techniques as they need to be identified to score highly in most of the questions.

English Literature: If you have a good understanding of the text I would focus on quotes.

Pick amazing quotes and analyse them in advance! I can't stress that enough actually!!! So many students come to me with a list of quotes they are learning but they haven't even taken the time to work through each one and analyse them. Look for literary techniques and interesting words and phrases. Try to apply context to the quotes as well. Then in the exam, all you have to do is pick the best quotes (out of the ones you have learnt), apply the high-level analysis you have already learnt and link to the question. This technique is by far the quickest way to a grade 9.

I hope that makes sense! Please let me know if you have questions!

How many quotes should you learn per text?

Reply 5

username6004237

12

How do you structure your lessons?

Reply 6

OP

Original post by alsnnn018

Could you help out in what question number 5 in an inspector calls would be and give a model answer?

Sorry, not sure what you are asking by 'Could you help out in what question number 5 in an inspector calls would be'?

Which exam board are you with?

Reply 7

OP

How many quotes should you learn per text?

For the average student, I would recommend learning 30-35 for each text. Each quote should have things you can analyse and should link to multiple themes and characters. I would also link context to each quote.

You could probably get away with learning 10-15 if you pick really good ones and are good at connecting ideas to the question. This amount would also work for the extract questions, so Shakespeare and the 19th-century text for AQA, as you can quote from the extract too.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by dkwhatdoaboutyou

How do you structure your lessons?

Depends on the student and what we are covering.

Most GCSE students want to focus on exam questions now, so we look at an official question or one in the same style as the exam. We talk through potential ideas/quotes/context they could use for the question and I help them construct a plan. Then we work through a paragraph structure (usually PEEL) bit by bit and I give them feedback on their work. We talk through how they can rephrase things to enhance clarity and dive deeper into the analysis to get higher marks.

Other lessons can be focused on reading or re-reading a text and analysing it. Students often like to do that with the Shakespeare text. We can also find quotes and relevant context for students to revise. We can look at the poems or talk through the different techniques. I often do lessons working through the language papers explaining the skills the different questions are looking for.

My lessons are quite informal and conversational. I find that students prefer this and learn more. I also am not strict with the structure. If students decide they want to focus on something specific, skip ahead or keep working on a question I am happy to focus on what they need. I'd rather this than push forward to get to a certain point just to fulfil a set plan or structure for the lesson.

I hope that makes sense!

Reply 9

Original post by PrivEnglishTutor

For the average student, I would recommend learning 30-35 for each text. Each quote should have things you can analyse and should link to multiple themes and characters. I would also link context to each quote.

You could probably get away with learning 10-15 if you pick really good ones and are good at connecting ideas to the question. This amount would also work for the extract questions, so Shakespeare and the 19th-century text for AQA, as you can quote from the extract too.

How many paragraphs should you write for an English essay question to get a 9?

Reply 10

OP

Original post by schoolisgood123

How many paragraphs should you write for an English essay question to get a 9?

Well, the number of paragraphs won't really affect the grade unless you write too little.

I would say between three - five.

Personally, if I were doing the exam again, I would do three for the non-extract question and comparison questions and four for the extract questions (two looking at the extract and two looking at the play as a whole).

At end of the day, it is the quality of your work that will get you a 9, not the number of paragraphs.

Reply 11

How would you memorise the analysis and context for the quotes

Original post by PrivEnglishTutor

English Language: I would read the mark schemes, examiner reports and look at examples. Every question (for AQA) is looking for different skills. If you don't know what skills they want for each question you will lose marks. I would make a flash card for each question making a note of what they are looking for.

I would also create a list of key literary, structural and persuasive techniques as they need to be identified to score highly in most of the questions.

English Literature: If you have a good understanding of the text I would focus on quotes.

Pick amazing quotes and analyse them in advance! I can't stress that enough actually!!! So many students come to me with a list of quotes they are learning but they haven't even taken the time to work through each one and analyse them. Look for literary techniques and interesting words and phrases. Try to apply context to the quotes as well. Then in the exam, all you have to do is pick the best quotes (out of the ones you have learnt), apply the high-level analysis you have already learnt and link to the question. This technique is by far the quickest way to a grade 9.

I hope that makes sense! Please let me know if you have questions!

Reply 12