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How do you revise for English Lit GCSE?

I'm currently getting really low grades and would like to improve but I have know clue how to revise for it. I'm on AQA if that makes any difference.

Reply 1

pursuedbyabear

I'm on AQA too, studying Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies and the Conflict section in poetry. Personally I'm doing lots of in-depth character/theme/symbol profiles, using research to find some deeper points to try and add to my answers, and I'm also planning on digging out last year's exercise books and reading over them. All of these notes are in a couple of little notebooks just to keep them together.

I also have the CGP revision guides for Lord of the Flies - because that's the one I feel I'm weakest on - but I haven't had a proper look at it yet, so I'm not sure of what quality it is. I'd say they're worth a look, though.

Past papers are helpful too, just to practice the general exam theory; I find the more you do, the more you understand what the mark scheme is asking for. :smile:

(There's a discussion thread here, if you want to have a look: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3155997 )

EDIT: Oh, and people like Mr Bruff on youtube are pretty good, too!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Mia1001

I watched YouTube videos (cause I was lazy) for TKAM last year. Also, even though you get the book, I would recommend memorising important quotes so you don't have to search during the exam, and read the book as many times as you can, over and over. For poetry, you can usually check the BBC poetry websites, as they have good context and analysis. Tbh for lit you can usually make stuff up. It's better to write your own interpretation than copy one, and I think it would help you stand out when the examiner reads your exam. Just make sure you can justify your point. And also start developing themes and linking poems by theme so you can be prepared for whatever you get in the exam.

Reply 3

WhiteyBread101

Original post by ellieadams

I'm currently getting really low grades and would like to improve but I have know clue how to revise for it. I'm on AQA if that makes any difference.

I did this exam at GCSE and got an A*, and I've made a guide on how to answer the exam questions if you want to check it out here :awesome:

If you have any questions about exam technique then feel free to ask me on here or there :smile:

What texts are you studying?

Reply 4

ellieadams

Original post by Gingerbread101

I did this exam at GCSE and got an A*, and I've made a guide on how to answer the exam questions if you want to check it out here :awesome:

If you have any questions about exam technique then feel free to ask me on here or there :smile:

What texts are you studying?

Thank you so much. The text for our essay was Regeneration, by Pat Barker and the exam text is The curious incident of the dog in the night time, by Mark Haddon

Reply 5

WhiteyBread101

Original post by ellieadams

Thank you so much. The text for our essay was Regeneration, by Pat Barker and the exam text is The curious incident of the dog in the night time, by Mark Haddon

I've not actually studied either of those, but if you ever need any feedback and advice on essay/exam structure/technique then just PM me :h:

Reply 6

ellieadams

Original post by Gingerbread101

I've not actually studied either of those, but if you ever need any feedback and advice on essay/exam structure/technique then just PM me :h:

Thank you

Reply 7

bluesandgreens

Original post by ellieadams

I'm currently getting really low grades and would like to improve but I have know clue how to revise for it. I'm on AQA if that makes any difference.

I'm doing the Curious Incident too! What I did was I made a summary for each chapter with the characters present, important quotes and a quick summary of the chapter. It didn't even take that long and its great to be able to just flick through it quickly but still feel like you know the book! Another thing you could do is write a practice essay and post it on here and I'm sure someone who is good at english lit will mark it for you! I have all of the past curious incident questions if you like, hope this helps xx