GCSE Help For Year 10 and 11

Hi! If you need help with your GCSES, I can assist you with them! I am currently in Year 12 and I can give you advice or tutoring on the following:

-RE (I got a 6, but was told I was capable of higher, and had achieved 9s before that-timing was my primary issue here).
-History (got a 9 in my mock but a 7 in the GCSE for some reason. I'm doing it at A Level but doing Ancient History and not modern).
-French (got a 7, and I'm currently taking it at A Level).
-English Literature (the only exam I actually did, I got a 9 and 153/160 marks and I'm doing it at A Level ).
-English Language (got a 9 in the mock and 8 in the GCSE).
-Drama (I got an 8).
-Spanish (I got a 6 but only because we had to learn both KS3 and GCSE content in the space of 18 months).

Please don't ask my help for maths or science as I barely passed these subjects (I got a 4 in Maths and a 5-5 in Combined Science). I didn't do any other GCSE subjects, so please don't ask for my assistance in anything else.

I'm here to help you in seven subjects, though, so reply below or private message me for help!
L x

Reply 1

Hannah29482

Original post by Purplemonkeys

Hi! I’m in year 11 and thinking about doing English lit at a-level. How are you finding it? How hard is it compared to gcse? Would you recommend it? Is it interesting? I also want to do history (modern not ancient though). What are your thoughts on history? Could I ask roughly how many hours of revision you are doing each day/week for English lit and history? I’m planning on doing maths and further maths as my other options but I already have quite a bit of info on those so it was only really history and English lit I wanted to ask about. Thank you!! :smile:

Reply 2

username3824906

Original post by Hannah29482

It's good! It depends on how you're currently faring at GCSE when it comes to English Literature. Personally, I found the jump up practically non-existent, because I was submitting essays at a C grade at A Level when I was doing my English Literature GCSE in Year 10 (bear in mind that grade 9 at GCSE is the equivalent to D at A level). It's very interesting-I'm studying The Duchess of Malfi at the moment, and I've just done A Streetcar Named Desire. I'm also going to be studying The Whitsun Weddings, Mean Time, A Wide Sargasso Sea, the Tempest and A Merchant's Prologue and Tale, as well as the book I'll ve comparing A Wide Sargasso Sea with (for coursework). I will be studying unseen poetry and prose from 1890-1910, too. Do you know what texts you'd be studying? It largely depends on those, really.

I'd recommend doing 5 hours per week per subject of revision for each subject if you can, but if you're doing 4 subjects that might prove difficult, and after a revision session you should always take a quick break for the sake of your concentration and mental health. History is a lot of work, but rewarding if you enjoy it! I've heard from my friends that Modern History is harder than Ancient, but don't take my word for it! I'm sure you'll do well regardless, and if you need any help with your GCSES, I'm always here.

Good luck and best wishes,
L x

(Edited due to typos)

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

username5063840

How do you do so well in English its the only subject I am predicted a 6 in and I am predicted mostly 8s and 9s and some 7s in my other subjects?

Reply 4

Muttley79

Original post by Purplemonkeys

You don't need your own thread - just help as people ask for it :smile:

No idea where you get the grade 9 = D at A level from ... it's complete fiction

Reply 5

username3824906

Original post by Muttley79

You don't need your own thread - just help as people ask for it :smile:

No idea where you get the grade 9 = D at A level from ... it's complete fiction

That's what my tutors said, and it's so people can find a place to get help instead of having to ask

Reply 6

username3824906

Original post by Hannah29482

Thank you so much for your help! I’m on WJEC English lit for gcse and I’ve had an A* in an NEA and I’m yet to find out my grade for a mock I did a few weeks ago. I’ll be doing OCR English lit at a-level, but I need to find out which specific texts I’ll be studying. I’ve been getting an A* in history mocks and coursework at gcse and I do find the subject really interesting. I’m definitely going to try and do 5 hours a week of revision for English and history because I know I’ll need to work harder in these than maths to get the grades I want. Again, thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it! :smile:

No problem, good luck! :smile:

Reply 7

username3824906

Original post by foreverrocking

How do you do so well in English its the only subject I am predicted a 6 in and I am predicted mostly 8s and 9s and some 7s in my other subjects?

-Memorise quotations-use online or real flashcards to do so if that helps.
-Consider the themes of the text and make mindmaps surrounding them.
-Nail essay technique! Know the assessment objectives by heart and stick to them.
-Read the texts critically and carefully to ensure a fuller understanding of them. It's all about analytical approach!
-Don't neglect to mention important linguistic features such as symbolism, metaphors etc.
-Take good notes in class.
-Know how to structure an essay-with a solid introduction, main body (3-4 paragraphs, preferably) and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion should both sum up the general argument you're going to present in the main body of the text.
-Use a judicious range of quotes and attempt to paraphrase, such as: Williams presents this when the character of Adam 'was swept up with emotion', thus this could be indicative of...
-Widen your range of vocabulary! It helps your writing become more sophisticated, hence it alerts the examiners to the fact that they have an academically bright student writing this essay. For example, implementing the word 'utilisation' to replace the word 'use' really helped me.
-Always state what feature is being utilised and only refer to the writer with their last name. For example: Jackson's utilisation of the verb 'growled' may potentially have connotations of violence and danger, a theme which appears to be omnipresent throughout the text. Furthermore...
-Adverbs such as 'contextually' and 'comparatively' have worked well for me before.
-Research context!
-Ask if you don't understand something.
-Quiz yourself or teach it to others.
-Write practice essays-doing past papers always helps!
-Write brief essay plans.
-Make sure your timing is on point and that you write enough but remain relatively concise and don't repeat a point/ waffle on incessantly.
-Do a 'word zoom in'-take a word and break it down linking it to themes and impact of whatever feature it might be-you need tl ne proficient in spotting and identifying features within the text.
-It should go without saying that a high level of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar is necessary to flourish, too.

I hope this advice helps! Please bear in mind that I'm no expert on the matter, but this should be decent advice. Feel free to PM me for further assistance if need be, or send me an essay you've written and I'll evaluate it and give you feedback!

Good luck,
L x

(edited 3 years ago)