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How to revise english literature?

Luca19

The IGCSE (edexcel) English Literature exam is in a few weeks but I still don't know how to revise. We have to know Macbeth, Animal farm, Christmas Carol and poetry but I don't know how I should study them.

For the mocks, I memorized the key quotes and themes for each novel but I still only ended up with a 5/6. I'm aiming for a 7/8 so can anyone give me any tips?

Also, I think my English teacher marked my mock quite harshly. The exam question was about exploring the theme of conflict throughout Macbeth: I talked about internal conflict in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, external conflict, good vs evil and all that stuff but only got 50%

Reply 1

Obviously.Rachel

Original post by LucaDGS

Believe me, your mock grades can fluctuate SO much in comparison to your final outcome. Don't take them to heart, just work on whatever you can.

In terms of revision, it honestly depends where your weaknesses are. Personally, I was great at quote analysis and expansion of ideas, but I struggled with memorising versatile, key quotes for each and every character.

My teacher helped me go through each text and I used the internet and revision videos to find the most suitable devices that I could look at, regardless of the question. Then I made a 'revision wall' in my bedroom, with a small poster of quotes per character in multi-coloured pens to aid memory. I also used flashcards and looked at them in my prep session before the exam.

If your weakness is in writing the responses themselves, all I can suggest is practice questions. I was fortunate enough to have a great teacher who went through every single past paper and gave us a list of previous questions to complete and hand in for marking at our leisure. I completed every single one of these, and eventually improved from a B to an A*!

Believe me, you will do it! 😀

If you'd like any further help, or to look at my past questions to see how best to structure your answers (I still have them, haha) - although we did do different texts - then do let me know and I'll be happy to help!

Reply 2

Nye2001

One thing that improved my grade was practising essays! Perhaps do that.

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Reply 3

Babyangelana

Mindmaps are really good, like doing each character then choosing 5 top quotations and analysing those with context, themes etc.

Reply 4

Luca19

Thanks for your responses!

I'm going to try past papers and make some mind maps on the themes that they're likely to test us on.

Reply 5

username2803872

Original post by LucaDGS

Thanks for your responses!

I'm going to try past papers and make some mind maps on the themes that they're likely to test us on.

I plan to revise all the key quotes and do as many essays that I can find on the internet and have my teacher mark them. I am on aqa gcse. Good Luck

Reply 6

Staffordshire University

Official Rep

Original post by LucaDGS

Thanks for your responses!

I'm going to try past papers and make some mind maps on the themes that they're likely to test us on.

Hi LucaDGS,

This sounds like a great way to revise for the exam. We suggest some similar methods in our revision guides, as well as some more ideas. It also gives you a step by step guide to plan your revision and make it effective!

The link to the document is here if you think it would help:
http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/ld.php?content_id=4833217

Best of luck,
Jasmine

Reply 7

bendio

Original post by LucaDGS

Make sure you know the texts inside out. What really helped me out for English lit was making essay plans for all the questions I think could come up and making sure I knew what were the best quotes to use for each character/theme. You have to make sure you're picking out quotes that you know you can write a lot about. Usually the shorter the better (even just focusing on one word). There's no point filling up paragraphs with loads of quotes if you can only write a small sentence about them.

Another thing is to try and be creative as possible. Don't just go with what the textbook or teachers tell you because chances are most people across the country are going to be using the same things. I know it can be quite tricky but thinking of something that not a lot of people use will make you stand out.

Good luck!

Reply 8

faloodeh

Mr bruff on youtube and mrs whelan
Make notes through mindmaps or cards.
Then do some exam questions and when you feel confident enough do them under timed conditions.

You can write about anything aslog as you can justify it.

Reply 9

Maxine1212

Original post by Obviously.Rachel

Hello Rachael, I'm looking for some help to help my son who will be taking a mock English Lit exam in July. Which is the best site to get some previous exam papers. Thank You Maxine

Reply 10

Obviously.Rachel

Original post by Maxine1212

Hello Rachael, I'm looking for some help to help my son who will be taking a mock English Lit exam in July. Which is the best site to get some previous exam papers. Thank You Maxine

It entirely depends on the exam board. AQA and Edexcel have them on their own websites
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-4700/past-papers-and-mark-schemes
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/english-literature-2010.html

OCR I'm unsure about, head to their website too to find out. IGCSE Cambridge is probably the same. Failing that, speak to your son's teacher and I'm sure they could point you in the right direction.

Hope this helps! 😊

Reply 11

darrencoxon

Original post by Maxine1212

Hello Rachael, I'm looking for some help to help my son who will be taking a mock English Lit exam in July. Which is the best site to get some previous exam papers. Thank You Maxine

Hi Maxine. I've put some tips onto my blog which I think will be useful for most exam boards. Hope they help: there's stuff on Macbeth and I'll add to it over the next week or so. http://bit.ly/2raYot4

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