Who here got an a* in their gcse english literature/language??? Tips/advice?????!!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!

don't fall asleep halfway through, drool all over your paper and snore so loudly that you're almost disqualified from your entire GCSE exams-season for disturbing other students. like the guy in front of me :tongue:

on a more relevant note, get hold of the CGP revision books for your courses, hit BBC bitesize and if you have a go at any past papers, get your teacher to mark them so you know what you're doing right/wrong. good luck!

Reply 2

MissLightyear

14

Got A* in language, literally just did past papers over and over, practiced writing completely different types of text just to make sure i was covered. Make sure in the reading bit you underline key points :smile:

Only got a B in lit so cant really advise you, but I didnt learn the texts enough, just learn the texts and make sure youre answering exactly what the question asks

Reply 3

violethillx

Practise! Don't panic in the exam and read the questions carefully - if you do what you've been doing in all your practise papers, there's no reason why you shouldn't get a good mark :smile:

I got an A* in both. Just read your notes on each poem/short story the night before for literature and for language make sure you know what you're looking for in the extract or whatever before you go in, and know what you need to cover in your answer :smile:

x

Reply 4

BTNH

9

Know tons and tons of quotes and you will be fine. That was key to getting an A*

Reply 5

cz100

14

Past papers are the best, especially for lit. When you look at the mark schemes you can pick up on points you miss out on and eventually you know to look out for what examiners might be looking for.

Reply 6

Artemis 97

11

A got A* in both, I really liked the poetry so I found it easy to remember the analyses. Don't revise just as you go into the exam but read over the notes the night before, just don't get stressed about them. Revision is different for everyone but make sure you have read whatever book you are studying at least twice and preferably three or more times, looking at your notes as you read after the first time and adding to them.

I'm sure you'll be fine, just make sure you read your choice of essays carefully and choose whichever you know you can get the most marks on, there will normally be at least one where you have written a similar practise essay that is normally good to choose.

Good luck!

Reply 7

JayTeeKay

12

Got an A* in language and a B in literature.

No idea how the hell that happened. The Englishes were my worst subjects then (I'm a maths and science guy). Complete fluke I'm guessing, or I just panicked in the exam and proceeded to write out everything about the English language I had accumulated over 16 years.

Honestly, in my mocks about four months before, I got a D in one of them and the my teacher didn't bother marking the other one (I'd written 2 lines). Granted, I was sleeping through that exam because I had a headache so bad I couldn't see properly and my sinuses were packed solid, but I wasn't expecting anything over a B for either.

In my experience, practise doesn't work. If you go in happy with lower standards, you too might be the proud owner of an A* in GCSE English Language, courtesy of a completely random fluke.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

laughylolly

14

I got A* in language but only A in Lit. I suggest reading all the time, really helped me with my writing because that was my weak point. Practice writing on your texts, practice quick essay planning and practice essays in timed conditions. Not many people think of this but practice choosing a question (for Eng. Lit), lots of time can be wasted just picking an essay question in the exam.

Reply 9

italienmoose

7

I got an A* in literature. I still haven't finished either of the books, knew only about 1 quote for each and did about an hour of revision maximum. I had never done any past papers. I have no idea how I got such a good grade like that, but apparently it can work.

Reply 10

danmart1n

I got *s in both mocks and As in both GCSEs, so all I can say is don't get complacent and make sure you do the work!
I guess it didn't help that I got a zero for one of my courseworks but it was my own fault.
If you approach your revision thinking you're rubbish then it'll spur you on to do the work and actually do well - never get ahead of yourself.

Reply 11

Ultimate_Geek

15

Go over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over your notes.

Do a good few practice essays also.

(edited 13 years ago)

Originality.

Original post by 710

HELP!!!!!!!!!

I got A*'s in both- the only things I got A*'s in, actually, so I feel obliged to post :tongue:

it's difficult to give advice about language because I think you're either good at it or you're not, unfortunately. You can definitely improve yourself by practising your creative writing, though! It also helps to come up with an idea for a short story before the exam, and provided your story isn't too far fetched, you should be able to link the story with at least one of the title given to you by the examiner! As for literature... it's been a long time since I've even looked at GCSE English literature papers, so I'm afraid I can't vividly remember the sort of thing I would have said in that exam. I would advise you to read the texts over and over again, thoroughly, and just learn key passages.

Although I'm actually going to start helping my little sister with her English literature GCSE revision pretty soon, so I'll get back to you once we've worked through a couple of papers together and I'm a little more familiar with the structure of the exam. Honestly, all you can is work through past papers. It really helps to try and enjoy the texts you're studying, too; your enthusiasm will show in the exam and that'll really emphasise your argument.

Good luck! :smile:

Reply 14

blah-blah

Original post by JayTeeKay

Got an A* in language and a B in literature.

No idea how the hell that happened. The Englishes were my worst subjects then (I'm a maths and science guy). Complete fluke I'm guessing, or I just panicked in the exam and proceeded to write out everything about the English language I had accumulated over 16 years.

Honestly, in my mocks about four months before, I got a D in one of them and the my teacher didn't bother marking the other one (I'd written 2 lines). Granted, I was sleeping through that exam because I had a headache so bad I couldn't see properly and my sinuses were packed solid, but I wasn't expecting anything over a B for either.

In my experience, practise doesn't work. If you go in happy with lower standards, you too might be the proud owner of an A* in GCSE English Language, courtesy of a completely random fluke.

you had your mocks 4 MONTHS before the externals! We are having them 2 WEEKS before!

Reply 15

Iqbal007

19

Its not that bad, just remember the key points and how to evaluate, also you should see whether your teacher does after school sessions on it because mine did and it helped we even had ones at 8 am . :smile:

Reply 16

saaail

Original post by Mr Inquisitive

Originality.

This! Going over notes may work for some people, but I've never had the capacity to memorise text books.. I think what helped me get an A* in my Lit exam was originality, or perhaps that's better phrased as passion. It could be the most dusty, boring text in the world, but if you find something to personally identify with it will help you endlessly! I hated my English Lit classes during GCSE, they were so formulaic - and though it is important to make sure you understand the assessment criteria, understanding the text (not just memorising certain points) is really key. Be original, and be confident in your ability. It's about your response, not the one your teacher has drip fed to your entire class!

Reply 17

1platinum

10

Original post by BTNH

Know tons and tons of quotes and you will be fine. That was key to getting an A*

This is the best post concerning Literature. I got an A* too and I used loads of quotes in my answers. I think it really helped to polish off the essay, and especially useful for backing up points.

Reply 18

JayTeeKay

12

Original post by blah-blah

you had your mocks 4 MONTHS before the externals! We are having them 2 WEEKS before!

Well, that's a bit of a guess. I think we did them in either late December or early January. Were GCSEs in April May or June? :s-smilie:

It might have been more like six months.
Just work on the principle that you're already a fluent speaker of English, so an A* in Eng. Lang. should be a walk in the park. I don't think you need to do so much artsy fartsy crap in that exam -as long as you're articulate, grammatically correct and are wildly opinionated about global warming or whatever it is they make you argue about, then you should be fine.
Lit on the other hand. Pfffft. I don't care much for how the author of whatever poem shows how something is a metaphor for suffering, happiness, a penis, a broken childhood or the realisation that they've wasted their life writing poems when they could be doing calculus. Hence my B (which I was probably lucky to get).

Good luck!

Reply 19

marieparis22

1

A* in both just from practising. Knew barely any quotes, but I did have the texts in front of me.