How to get a 9 in English Lang/lit

I got a 9 in both these subjects, and I did this by doing these things: for English Lang, the only way to really practice is doing practice exam questions, and knowing your terminology for word classes as that elevates your essays a lot. For English Lit, it’s obviously really important to know quotes for each character, quotes relating to certain themes within the text, the structure of the text itself and the context in which it was written, as well as background on the writer- this applies to poems too. For poems, just having 3-5 key quotes per poem that you can use for any question and having context and writer’s intention works well. On youtube, Mr Bruff’s videos helped a lottttt too. Hope this helps

I feel like I’m in the same situation as you. I’m stuck at a 7 for both Lit and Lang and trying to get a 9 for both

It depends which parts of each English you are struggling with. There are many different papers and sections to each one right? You have English language analysis, transactional writing, creative writing, the book/theatre play analysis, poetry analysis etc.

I'm currently on a high 9 for both. Let me know which parts you are struggling with and I'll see if I can help

`Hi,

I actually got two grade 9's in AQA Lang and Lit in the first year of the new spec so can help you out.

In terms of the structure Q-
think about how the passage starts and ends- why is that significant?
how does the writer structure the passage to allow us to observe characters/setting at different times- why is that significant?
Also, punctuation what punctuation is used- long, short sentences (from my knowledge this is included in the structure response but please correct me if i'm wrong- it was three years ago now )- why are they effective?

For Lit-
Make sure you have analysed quotes thoroughly e.g the use of specific words etc- why is that important? for e.g why are "stars" referred to in R+J e.g it links to the theme of fate and that way i can link in context too

Oh and organising ideas- just make sure you have a point, evidence and then analyse the point that way your ideas will flow naturally as opposed to having to think about where to put themes etc

Hope I helped!

Thank you for the help. That helps me a lot. I’ve been so fixated on trying to have a structure for the English lit but most people seem to get 9’s by analysing in a free flowing way. If I were to talk about themes and context, which would I talk about first?

I seem to drop marks on paper 2 English language (AQA) in question 4 (the comparing question) and I also drop on the last question. On paper 1 I got an 8 one time but I’ve never been able to get that again but I’m not sure where I drop marks. Perhaps the structure question is the one where I struggle on that paper. In English literature I struggle with the essay lay out itself. I don’t know how to organise my ideas but try to include the themes, the context, the function of the character, etc...sorry there’s a lot but these are the majority of the reasons of why I drop marks.

For comparing questions:

Try to use the PEAEAL structure for paragraphs:

Point (similarity or difference)
Evidence for extract 1
Analysis of evidence (including links and analysis of other relevant text quotations which link into your evidence)
Evidence for extract 2
Analysis of evidence (including links and analysis of other relevant text quotations which link into your evidence)
Link back to question

Try to have 3 of these long paragraphs

Also try to remember TAP (text type, audience, purpose).
You also might not need an introduction or conclusion, depending on your exam board (mine doesn't).

For essays:

Introduction: Provide some background information. Briefly answer the question, but make sure you are not just listing the points you are going to cover. Say why the extract is a pivotal moment in the play/novel (for extract questions), or say why the character is an important character in the play/novel (for whole text questions). Maybe link to the name of the play/novel if relevant

3 x paragraphs in a PEAEAEAL structure

Conclusion: Similar to intoduction, but you need to draw together your points to give a balanced answer and also refer to how important the extract/character is.

No problem at all- i've actually tutored for the GCSE so I know how hard it is to help with structure!

So you could talk about a theme first so if the question was Q1 Paper 1 english lit and the question was about fate in R+J you could say something along the lines of

In Shakespeare's R+J fate is presented as.....
This is heavily shown in the extract when.....
Then link a quote to your context and that would be fine