How do you revise for English Language?

At the moment I'm getting high B's in the mocks but I really need a high A to ensure I get an A overall, and I've only got about a week till my exam, so it's pretty urgent.

Does anyone have any tips on how to revise for English Language.

Thanks

Reply 1

Gerry-Atricks

are you doing edexcel gcse english language

Reply 2

Tecks

I'm doing aqa this would come in great help too anyone

Reply 3

Tecks

Original post by web-girl

I know what you mean! English lang is sort of hard to revise for because its so broad. All you can do is just start doing as much past papers as you can do and always time yourself. My english teacher says its all about time management and doing all the hard questions first.

So do recommend starting backwards? I plan to go over the techniques and effects tommorw looking at past papers

Reply 4

probablyreading

Original post by Tecks

I'm doing aqa this would come in great help too anyone

I'm doing AQA English Language! The 2nd, right?

On revision - I dedicate forty minutes a day to revising stuff I need to know for the exam, eg. the styles of writing to use in the writing portion, language effects to identify, go over basic sp&g, etc. And then I do a practice paper a day. I know I can do what's on the exam, so I don't dedicate that much time to it, plus like what has already been said there's not really much you can revise. It's timing that's the real challenge with this exam, so I put a lot more effort into trying to do the paper within the time limit.

On method - in the practice papers I've done, I've found it's best to do the writing portion first, partly because it contains a lot of marks and partly because I find that easier to do within the time. I do the second question first on the writing, because that has the most marks, and then the first. I then go to the beginning of the reading section and go in order on that section. Other suggestions that may work for you: my tutor said to go from last question to first question in the reading section, also, because Q4 is worth a lot more than the others. I find it's easier to do the other three first, because then you've got some points already written down in preparation for comparing with Q4, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

I also have a friend who already has her Eng Lang GCSE - and got a good grade - and she said she read the sources, then did the writing questions, and by the time she got back to the reading the sources had had time to sink in and she found the reading questions a lot quicker to do. She also said that she finished early and actually had to wait, which I found pretty impressive, so that's something you might find handy.

Good luck!

Reply 5

Scarlett2747

Original post by glad-he-ate-her

are you doing edexcel gcse english language

Im doing edexcel any tips ?!

Reply 6

genson

I did AQA English Language last year and the only revision I did was a week before the exam I started watching YouTube videos on how to analyse text and tackle the different questions. It'll help to work on your vocabulary too.

I found that English language is one of those that's difficult to revise for because there's not much you can revise unlike with something like maths.

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Reply 7

genson

Original post by goodwinning

I did AQA English Language last year and the only revision I did was a week before the exam I started watching YouTube videos on how to analyse text and tackle the different questions. It'll help to work on your vocabulary too.

Time management is the most important thing in this exam so I think practising with past papers to see how you are with time will help on the day. And some people find it easier doing the writing bit first and then the reading section.

I found that English language is one of those that's difficult to revise for because there's not much you can revise unlike with something like maths.

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Reply 8

Gerry-Atricks

Just focus on the technique required and practice it through past papers as most of the exam is extracts and very difficult to revise for

any tips for OCR???

I'm doing aqa, anyone got any tips for how to revise/answer the last two questions? I can do the analysing texts part but I always struggle with the creative writing style questions ??

Reply 11

rdj24

Original post by Y123456

any tips for OCR???

I am also doing OCR.

For the reading paper, for what questions, just make sure you get 10 valid points, maybe 11 in case one of them is wrong and that's all you can do. Usually 2 of the questions are 'what's', sometimes even 3. I find these much easier. For the how questions you have to say what and why(what technique is the writer using and how are they conveying this). The last question is always a comparison between the two texts and isn't difficult as long as your very clear and refer explicitly to the texts. Just make 5 valid comparisons for each text and you will ensure 10 marks.

For the writing paper, you need to think about the layout of your answer very carefully. For example, if its a formal letter you need to know where to put the address, your name ect. So I would look up the layout or your English teacher may have given you an example of a layout. You need to therefore know the layout and stricture of all the different forms of questions e.g. leaflet, report, formal letter e.c.t(you need headings for a leaflet).
My next tip is to include varying sentence length and use 2 or 3 short sentences in your piece. You also need to use a wide range of vocabulary and make sure your not repetitive. Attempt to use ambitious vocabulary and it is worth trying a few even if you misspell is slightly, as you will be awarded marks for using this vocabulary. Try using connectives and try to make your piece flow. Think carefully about the audience your appealing to. This affects the way you write. If your writing a letter to your friend you may write more casually, but if its a formal letter to a company you should write more formally. Lastly, check your work to see for grammar,spelling or punctuation mistakes. These mistakes can lose you three marks.

Hope that helped :smile: