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Tombre's 100 or so day journey to all A*s!

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MOCKS, PAST PAPER QUESTIONS AND MOCK REVIEWS - WHAT A DAY!

So, this morning, 8:45-10:45 I had my English Language Unit 3 mock, following the Unit 2 mock I did yesterday (btw I didn't update yesterday, but I felt pretty confident about it!) and I would say it was on par in terms of difficulty. The reading questions were all themed around volunteering, which was honestly really boring (it was also an hour long guilt trip tbh, oops - I should do some volunteering over the summer or in September but ANYWAY). There were less "language-y" questions today and it felt more like literature extract responses, which was nice as Lit is my strong-point in English. Then the writing section had two smaller 20 mark tasks, rather than the one massive 35 mark task + 5 mark editing I had yesterday. Firstly I had to write a speech arguing for volunteering and then write a leaflet about helping the local community or something. I think my speech was good, but my leaflet was lacking and not very persuasive at all!

PHYSICS
We learned about absolute zero today and IT IS SO COOL, I actually loved it so much! We also revised conduction, convection and radiation (ew).

RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Well we have finished the course and ONLY HAVE 4 LESSONS LEFT UNTIL THE EXAM, so revision time! (Btw that's because in Year 11 there is only one topic to cover, so lessons are once a fortnight and the exam is the very first one). We were given very detailed revision guides written by my teacher and past paper question booklets that we are to complete every week and bring in for marking/

ENGLISH
So the lesson started with me and my friend scouring the school for her blazer (which we did not find) and then we returned to the exciting and stimulating task of analysing a picture of a car crash (fun :s-smilie:

). And in the second half of the lesson, my teacher actually gave us back Section A and Section B1 from the Unit 2 mock yesterday.
For those unfamiliar with WJEC Eng Lang:
Unit 2: Description, Narration and Exposition
- Section A: Reading and Editing (All on a similar theme - for my mock it was boxing and sports injuries)
- Section B1: Proof-Reading A Letter
- Section B2: Narrative, Descriptive or Expository writing (I choose the "Describe an exciting sports event you have been to." task)

So for Section A I got 36/40 :biggrin:

and for Section B1 I got 5/5 :smile:

I get Section B2 back tomorrow!

Tonight I did a bit of light geography revision, nothing too harsh after the mocks - I'll get stuck in again tomorrow!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 121

Tombre

Original post by NiamhM1801

Alternatively, you could ask in the Maths forum where others will surely be able to explain it better than me! :colondollar:

Thank you, but I know you're probably very busy (unless you don't mind), so I'll head to the forum :biggrin:

(I didn't even think of that, thank you! :h:

)

Reply 122

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Tombre

Thank you, but I know you're probably very busy (unless you don't mind), so I'll head to the forum :biggrin:

(I didn't even think of that, thank you! :h:

)

I'm a CA - helping is what I do :lol:

But I feel like the people who manage the maths forum alone will be better suited to helping you :yep:

Reply 123

Tombre

Original post by NiamhM1801

I'm a CA - helping is what I do :lol:

But I feel like the people who manage the maths forum alone will be better suited to helping you :yep:

Okay, I'll head on over now! :biggrin:

Reply 124

Tombre

AN AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATE: WHAT I AM AIM DO TO EACH TIME AND NEVER DO!

GEOGRAPHY
So we are on the final section of Retail and Urban Change - looking at how European consumer choice affects the whole world. It sounds more interesting than it is tbh. :colondollar:

ENGLISH
I was hoping I would get Section B back from the Unit 2 mock, but she hadn't quite finished, so she's handing them back tomorrow WHEN I AM NOT HERE. I have English last tomorrow and I'm missing that so I can drive to London and see An Inspector Calls - missing English for English revision. Instead we analysed a picture of a bike accident. :h:

SPANISH
We learned some more shopping vocab, mainly Year 9 revision. :tongue:

STUDY HOUR
I spent some doing some context research for AIC and the end being nostalgic about Disney Channel Original Movies... :biggrin:

DRAMA
My group performed. We did an introductory scene for the majority of the characters. :smile:

Tonight I shall be doing my Chemistry HW (Ammonia PPQs), some Drama line learning, a bit of An Inspector Calls (and if I am wise with time I may be able to squeeze in revising William Harvey for Biology)

OH and before I forget, I got my GCSE predicted grades by email a few minutes ago!

Spoiler

Reply 125

Shaaayxp

Original post by Tombre

SPANISH
We learned some more shopping vocab, mainly Year 9 revision. :tongue:

STUDY HOUR
I spent some doing some context research for AIC and the end being nostalgic about Disney Channel Original Movies... :biggrin:

DRAMA
My group performed. We did an introductory scene for the majority of the characters. :smile:

Spoiler

Those predicted Grades are looking good! :biggrin:

Reply 126

jdijx

Those predicted grades look incredible! I am honestly so nervous for my English language exams as english isn't particularly my strongest subject. How did you manage to do so well in the reading section??

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Reply 127

buzzyambee

Hey, loving the blog so far - I'm taking drama, too and haven't come across any other person on TSR who does! Good luck :smile:

Reply 128

Tombre

Original post by Shaaayxp

Those predicted Grades are looking good! :biggrin:

Thank you! :biggrin:

It's gone up a lot since the Bs I was predicted at the start of Year 10!

Reply 129

Tombre

Original post by Jpijx

Thank you! :biggrin:

And for the reading section:
- I read the question lots of times until I know exactly what it's asking me.
- I then go to the extract and see which key parts jump out at me and I will analyse those - you may find it easier to annotate the extract.
- To annotate, pick 4 key quotes for a 3 mark question, 6 key quotes for a 5 mark question and 11 key quotes for a 10 mark question.
- Remember this is a language exam, so make sure you're analysing language techniques - with each quote comment if the technique used is alliteration or a simile or a dynamic verb - KNOW YOUR TECHNIQUES! :tongue:

- Say exactly WHY the writer has decided to use that technique!

For example: The writer uses alliteration in the phrase "the cars crashed catastrophically" to emphasise the impact of the accident and highlight the significance of the event to the reader."

- READ THE QUESTION
- FIND THE QUOTES
- MAKE A COMMENT
- EMBED THE QUOTE
- WHAT TECHNIQUE DOES THE QUOTE SHOW?
- WHY DOES THE WRITER DO IT? You can literally just make this up. However, if you feel like your argument may not be valid enough just use hypothetical wording like "It could be argued that x is used to imply..."

And for the short response questions, the answer will literally be there in the text or it will be testing your knowledge of the language - there is little you can do in preparation for these questions, though I'm sure you're fine with these anyway.

Good luck! :biggrin:

Reply 130

Tombre

Original post by buzzyambee

Hey, loving the blog so far - I'm taking drama, too and haven't come across any other person on TSR who does! Good luck :smile:

Hey, thank you so much! I know right, drama really isn't a popular subject here! What exam board are you with? :h:

Reply 131

Tombre

JUST A QUICK UPDATE TONIGHT

I got my full English Lang Unit 2 mock back and I'm pretty thrilled with my mark - 74/80! :smile:

I'm expecting Unit 3 back tomorrow! My Unit 3 paper wasn't as strong, in my opinion.

On Friday I went to see An Inspector Calls in London to help with revision and it was honestly so good, however it was a different production to the original and featured many wacky new elements - which I thought were great additions to the play! :biggrin:

SCHOOL TODAY:

DRAMA
General rehearsals.

PHYSICS
We did some past paper questions on Topic 4 (Kinetic Theory) so we can move on to Topic 5 (Nucleosynthesis) quickly! :biggrin:

GEOGRAPHY
We got given a PPQ booklet for Tourism and we looked at the issues surrounding palm oil. :tongue:

ADDITIONAL MATHS
Just some questions on previously covered topics. :h:

GAMES
I played badminton with my friends and it was honestly so fun. :smile:

This evening I revised Sheila from AIC and did an essay on her (which I will give my teacher to mark tomorrow), some Year 10 Spanish vocabulary and some consolidation for Biology (plants). I did plan on doing some magnetism and motors for Physics, but it looks like I'm out of time :frown:

I am actually going to make a solid plan for the week right now and stick to it. Revision timetables haven't worked out great for me, to be honest.

Reply 132

Tombre

ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESULTS

Today I got my English Lang Unit 3 mock back and I got 66/80. I'm down slightly on yesterday, but I'm still really proud! :biggrin:

My teacher's grade boundaries are so high though - A* = 72/80, A = 64/80, B = 56/80, C = 48/80. So basically, Unit 2 was an A* and Unit 3 was an A. And in my Oracy Assessment (Unit 1) I think I had ~75/80, meaning that if I combine my mocks and CA I am literally ~1 mark off an A*, which is great, yet slightly frustrating.

SPANISH
The teacher wasn't in, so we did some translation work and placed the quotes into for and against. :smile:

WBQ
Just generally did some clearing up of things for our presentation next week. :redface:

DRAMA
My group blocked a scene towards the end of the play in which all of the kids decide to hide in a hole. Pretty weird, but very fun! :tongue:

ENGLISH
We went through the Unit 3 mock. I dropped 7 marks in the Reading section, mainly for not including enough points, which is something I can easily change! I got 17/20 in the first writing task and 16/20 in the second one. I need to work on my argumentative writing, I'm so much better at the description in Unit 2. :smile:

WELSH
I THINK I'M NEARLY ON TOP OF MY PORTFOLIO FINALLY! :tongue:

Tonight I went to my Spanish tutor. We did a listening paper and I got 39/40 :h:

She also tried to persuade me to do A Level Spanish, but :afraid:

Reply 133

buzzyambee

Original post by Tombre

Hey, thank you so much! I know right, drama really isn't a popular subject here! What exam board are you with? :h:

I'm with OCR. How do your drama exams work? We have our actual exam next week in front of the examiner and so I'm incredibly stressed out rn :P

Reply 134

Tombre

Original post by buzzyambee

I'm with OCR. How do your drama exams work? We have our actual exam next week in front of the examiner and so I'm incredibly stressed out rn :P

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be great! Is it devised or scripted? :biggrin:

Mine isn't until May 11th!

With AQA you have to do (at least in my school, some schools do it differently) a devised piece and a scripted piece, along with the written exam.

In the start of Year 10 we were split into groups and all studied and performed Blood Brothers, however it was just a practise run really. We then worked on devised from around April until December Year 11. My group did a piece about dark, twisted fairytales and it was so much fun. And we're now working towards our final performance in front of the examiner, which is scripted - my group is doing Blue Remembered Hills.

So, my devised twisted fairytales piece is worth 30%, Blue Remembered Hills is worth 30% and then the written exam is worth 40% (Section A is evaluation of devised, Section B is study of script, Section C is live theatre analysis - you get a choice between B and C, but we focus on B in class).

Reply 135

buzzyambee

Original post by Tombre

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be great! Is it devised or scripted? :biggrin:

Thanks! It's devised; basically the plot is a melodramatic twist on Brexit... but if it were in the african savannah (our characters are all somehow based on an animal). We had a stimulus which we had to work from (some of Steven Berkoff's work - his style is so fun if you haven't looked at him already) so we got the whole animalistic characters from that :smile:

We technically don't have a written exam... yay... :colone:

Controlled assessment wise, we have a scripted performance (plus really long and annoying written working record) which is worth 30% - our's was Noughts and Crosses. We also have a unit of 'drama in the making' where we devise a group piece, then a monologue and then write a script (and working record) which is also worth 30%.

I was curious to know how other schools did their drama exams - it seems so weird to have a written exam for drama though! :P

Reply 136

jdijx

Thanks for the tips for English language :smile:

you did amazing by the way :smile:

Would it be possible if you could write an example paragraph for a how question ? and how do you answer what q's? Is there any specific youtubers you watch for English language or is it purely learnt from your teacher and prior knowledge?

Reply 137

Tombre

Original post by buzzyambee

We technically don't have a written exam... yay... :colone:

Oh my god, your devised piece actually sounds so cool and so creative! :biggrin:

I haven't heard of Steven Berkoff, but I'll be sure to check him out!

Really? No written exam? It's a bit of a pain, but I think it's included because there is no written portion to our Controlled Assessment like yours, ours is purely acting and taking notes to revise from for the written. Your "drama in the making" unit sounds really cool! I'm also a big fan of Noughts and Crosses!

Reply 138

Tombre

Original post by Jpijx

Thanks for the tips for English language :smile:

you did amazing by the way :smile:

No problem! And thank you so much! Are you having a mock? I can type up some examples if you remind me again tomorrow!

And, for the reading section I just use my teacher and prior knowledge, but for writing I use this playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqGFsWf-P-cAlttmXkEvJXCxqT-ZzFqAN
Even though it's AQA, the Paper 1 Question 5 videos are relevant to the Unit 2 writing tasks for us (although the question will be asked differently, the writing style will be similar) and the Paper 2 Question 5 videos are relevant to our Unit 3 writing tasks! Also if you have any SPaG or structure problems, there are videos in there to help with that - Grade 9 Sentence Variety is very good for helping to get your writing top notch as well.

This playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQovVw7yuGiIBkmpg2_skuBJCRsbbllqt is also relevant to Unit 2 writing

You can also pick and choose from this playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQovVw7yuGiKVS6XgH0au4Ss6-jEm8pD6 The relevant videos in here are great, but it's hard to tell which are relevant and which aren't, so give any you're not sure about a try!

Hope this helps!

Reply 139

Shaaayxp

Original post by Tombre

ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESULTS

Today I got my English Lang Unit 3 mock back and I got 66/80. I'm down slightly on yesterday, but I'm still really proud! :biggrin: