An Inspector Calls and Romeo and Juliet - My GCSE analysis

you're a legend

Thank you Sooooooo much

I sat the GCSE 9-1 AQA English literature and English language exam last year and achieved a grade 9 in both literature and language. I'm now taking English literature for AS levels.

I just realised that I still have my powerpoints for An Inspector Calls and Romeo and Juliet from last year. Now, I spent ages on these powerpoints but since I'm no longer using them I'll share it with all of you guys. It has some juicy character analysis and it's essentially a compilation of my analysis, my class notes, Mr Salles, Mr Bruff and some critical stuff I found from the internet. Please feel free to use it as a little guide, and I hope it's useful!!!

If you have any questions about GCSE English literature/language then feel free to ask me.

An Inspector Calls powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kjkKXPb90c8hdlXGZGPi80mvJ6niW-uT_9xvM5Efz1A/edit?usp=sharing

Romeo and Juliet powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15aaRlnqUu82QrayKreITa0UA9MTxRGk1XFv9T6zneUI/edit?usp=sharing

also - what grades did you get in english language and english literature?

Where were you when I was doing those texts at GCSE lol! I did really enjoy Inspector Calls though, such an interesting read.

np I got a grade 9 in English literature and a grade 9 in English language

awesome!
i’m predicted 8’s but i’m not sure if i’ll get them, i struggle a lot with generating ideas (what to write about in an answer) - do you have any advice on this?? i could probably get 9’s if i had more confidence ahah

If you're predicted/getting 8s already then you're bound to smash your exams! ;-) Honestly, don't prioritise English over your other subjects because the difference between an 8 or a 9 is just the subjectivity of different examiners. You struggle with generating ideas for english lang or lit?

both really...
i got moved down from top set so i’m actually second set now but i am still achieving 7/8’s (lowest grade being a 7, highest grade being an 8) so it’s certainly made me feel even less confident in english

it’s kinda hard to revise english language - but i do struggle with developing my ideas about techniques, i can find them just fine, but writing about them enough to get full marks is difficult! i don’t want to babble on!

i do find english literature easier because i have quite a good memory but i still lose marks by not developing my points enough... at least i can revise english literature :/

apparently i’m a very good creative writer - but i hate it and last year i refused to write a story in the final few weeks (my teacher was fine with it, it wasn’t assessment!) and even though i’m often complimented or rewarded for it, i find it so hard to get ideas for my writing and actually produce something i’m proud of - so english language (writing) is again a struggle...

i’m sure i’ll be fine though!

You will be absolutely fine, the most important thing in English is to not doubt your abilities, go into the exam thinking you will boss it.

I was so scared about English last year too, I often got 6s and 7s in my mocks and only once achieved an 8 near exam period. Although I was in top set, my teacher marked everyone's papers really harshly and gave us much lower grades than we achieved. This actually made me more determined to achieve the highest grades that I knew I was possible of attaining. You shouldn't let any perceived setbacks affect your performance negatively --- use them to motivate you to do even better. At the end of the day, sets don't matter, when you get your A* in English lit and lang no one will ask you which set you were in. ;-)

Yup, I'm completely with you on that. I find it really difficult to get going in English because I cross things out so much and I'm never satisfied. If you really can't get into the rhythm of starting an essay, I'd recommend having certain sentence starters that you could use as a springboard for all essays. Moreover, if you really find it difficult to form ideas then have some preconceived topics that are really wide and you could write about in any essay (e.g. love/hate in Romeo and Juliet, planning some creative writing pieces in English lang etc.) However, it all boils down to growing in confidence and believing what you're writing is great, if you do then your examiner will too.

Also, I'd heavily advice not 'revising' too intensely for English lang. I didn't revise for it at all, aside from doing mocks and writing a plan for the creating writing section. Those CGP guides and any guides for English lang are a waste of time. Instead, develop your analytical skills in English literature and that will develop your skills in English language. There was this massive correlation where people would achieve high grades in English literature but really low grades in English language, this was because their teacher had spoonfed them the analysis so they never really grew that skill on their own. Don't fall into that trap!

Hope I helped a lil'