English language help

Hi, i am a yr 11 GCSE student. i am at a grade 3 in English language and i hope to improve it and try to get it to a 6. However, i don't know how to improve, i don't know how the text affects the reader i don't even know how to get some of my thoughts on paper. i have been told to read more but i don't know any books to read.

Reply 1

username3906006

10

Hello! Reading more is definitely a good piece of advice - it will make it easier to read and interpret texts in exams. It doesn't have to be novels though - reading articles is just as helpful (sometimes even better!). Why don't you try reading some news articles from websites like BBC News, The Guardian, etc.? There are also plenty of book lists online, or I'm sure your friends and teachers could recommend some books you would enjoy.

As for putting your thoughts on paper, do you write your answers using the PEEL or PEARL format? It's not necessary by any means, but sometimes when you're unsure it can make it so much easier.

Ask me if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

Reply 2

clairvoyantt

9

You can definitely get to a 6! I was working at a grade 3 in December and pushed it to an 8 with hard work.

Top tips:

- Watch youtube videos they explain it really clearly and it'll help you get your thoughts on paper
Stacey Reay is just amazing
Mr Salles Teaches English
Mrs Whelan's English = Does walk throughs of each question so you have a better understanding of what to write about.

- Read mark schemes
They show you what the examiners are looking for and the examiner's report indicates mistakes you should avoid but also what was done well.

- Read....
The Guardian was my favourite for English language Paper 2
My favourite journalist would be Owen Jones. So definitely check him out!

How to get the most out of reading?

When you are reading articles, you should have a small book (in my case I called it my inspiration book) I jotted down any words or phrases that caught my eye. So I can reuse them in my own writing.

At the end of year 11 I had a book full of wonderful words, and whenever I had a task I would have it open and find ''inspiration'' so I can use high-level vocabulary in my writing.

When someone was reading out their stories in class I would be writing down any good words I heard in my inspiration book. So do the same. Writers find their inspiration out in the world and you can too

- When reading stories (Paper 1) you don't need to read the whole thing.
Read the first page of 10 books and compare how the writer introduces the setting or characters.
Then you can have ideas on ways to write your short stories.

Search online character descriptions and again write some ideas in an inspiration book.

Finally Practice, practice, practice!!!
Sit down and practice doing each question in exam conditions. It's great if you develop the skill to write wonderful pieces of work. But can you do it in a short amount of time?
You need to have practice understanding exactly how much time you need to spend on each question and what each question's criteria is to get the marks.
Like not each question requires what the effect on the reader is.

Hope that helps and good luck!

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

sara.m12

16

Original post by Bluebeller

Hi, i am a yr 11 GCSE student. i am at a grade 3 in English language and i hope to improve it and try to get it to a 6. However, i don't know how to improve, i don't know how the text affects the reader i don't even know how to get some of my thoughts on paper. i have been told to read more but i don't know any books to read.

Hi, I was just like u in year 7. I could never expand my thoughts and was often the lowest in my class.

I know that u have probably heard this before but reading literally changed my life. My vocabulary has diversified and expanded so much. I achieved an 8 in both language and lit.

If u don’t want to read (which I do not recommend) then
1. Invest in getting a tutor. Try and talk it out with ur parents because getting those high grades will majorly benefit u when applying to uni OR TALK TO UR TEACHER. Don’t be afraid to ask for extra help.

2. If that’s not an option, that’s completely fine. Watch YouTube videos and look at ideal answers and examiners reports from ur exam board to see what a high level answer looks like.

3. When doing the questions, write down all the points that come to ur head. When u read a quote, think to urself, how does that make you feel? Do u feel sad, remorseful, sympathy, empathy, anger, shock? Express ur emotions and then instead of writing “I feel...” say “the writers feel/ feel a sense of...”

4. Always expand on your answer. Explain what u mean by what ur writing. Why r they feeling this way? Why is this happening? What is the purpose of this moment in the book? How does this influence the story/characters?

Hope that helps!

Reply 4

Bluebeller

OP

8

Original post by clairvoyantt

You can definitely get to a 6! I was working at a grade 3 in December and pushed it to an 8 with hard work.

Top tips:

- Watch youtube videos they explain it really clearly and it'll help you get your thoughts on paper
Stacey Reay is just amazing
Mr Salles Teaches English
Mrs Whelan's English = Does walk throughs of each question so you have a better understanding of what to write about.

- Read mark schemes
They show you what the examiners are looking for and the examiner's report indicates mistakes you should avoid but also what was done well.

- Read....
The Guardian was my favourite for English language Paper 2
My favourite journalist would be Owen Jones. So definitely check him out!

How to get the most out of reading?

When you are reading articles, you should have a small book (in my case I called it my inspiration book) I jotted down any words or phrases that caught my eye. So I can reuse them in my own writing.

At the end of year 11 I had a book full of wonderful words, and whenever I had a task I would have it open and find ''inspiration'' so I can use high-level vocabulary in my writing.

When someone was reading out their stories in class I would be writing down any good words I heard in my inspiration book. So do the same. Writers find their inspiration out in the world and you can too

- When reading stories (Paper 1) you don't need to read the whole thing.
Read the first page of 10 books and compare how the writer introduces the setting or characters.
Then you can have ideas on ways to write your short stories.

Search online character descriptions and again write some ideas in an inspiration book.

Finally Practice, practice, practice!!!
Sit down and practice doing each question in exam conditions. It's great if you develop the skill to write wonderful pieces of work. But can you do it in a short amount of time?
You need to have practice understanding exactly how much time you need to spend on each question and what each question's criteria is to get the marks.
Like not each question requires what the effect on the reader is.

Hope that helps and good luck!

thank you this is really useful

English language help

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