This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Last crucial week before Higher English

How best should the week be spent preparing and revising?

I have read half of the How to Pass Higher English book and plan to read it all. I plan to completely re-read my prose and drama piece and memorise quotes. I also plan to try do as many past papers as possible, essays and questions.

How else should I spend the week? I have a LOT of uncondensed notes in my folder and it seems a bit late to try condense them now or read them all.

My main worry is the critical essays, the highest I have ever achieved for a timed essay was 16/25 for a single essay the other scoring a 15/25. This gets me the B I want for english this year, but only just. Im worried I havn't improved or studied enough to be able to do the same on the day.

I'm mainly fine with close reading, just need to train myself to do better under timed conditions.

Are there any useful websites for revision of higher english? For prose I am doing Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and for drama "A View From the Bridge" by Arthur Miller. Any notes/quotes would be great.

Thanks

Reply 1

Cirrus

8

If Critical Essays are your weak point I suggest you spend your time revising your English notes rather than reading How To Pass Higher English which isn't that great for essays I feel. Make sure you know your quotes off by heart as well as full analysis for them and you should do fine.

Reply 2

Euan_hmfc

Anyone got any tips on how to learn quotes? A quick answer would be appreciated, I really need to start learning them. I've only had to learn 10 before in my English career. For the record, my texts are "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "The Crucible" and "In the Snackbar".

Reply 3

Haris™

Euan_hmfc

Anyone got any tips on how to learn quotes? A quick answer would be appreciated, I really need to start learning them. I've only had to learn 10 before in my English career. For the record, my texts are "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "The Crucible" and "In the Snackbar".

In my own experience, the best way to learn quotes is to write them down several times until you can remember them. It works for me, but you might learn things in a different way; everyone is different.

Reply 4

Floob

1

Haris™

In my own experience, the best way to learn quotes is to write them down several times until you can remember them. It works for me, but you might learn things in a different way; everyone is different.

Im good at remembering quotes, but useless at remembering the ones I need. I could give you so many useless Hamlet quotes it is unbelievable.
I have resorted to learning the whole poems off by heart (not too long thank god) so that I don't just remember the useless stuff.

My essays are definitely my weak point and always have been. I just have trouble producing a good essay within the time limit. So that's what I practise

Reply 5

Sammi22

11

Euan_hmfc

Anyone got any tips on how to learn quotes? A quick answer would be appreciated, I really need to start learning them. I've only had to learn 10 before in my English career. For the record, my texts are "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "The Crucible" and "In the Snackbar".

I'm meant to be doing the Crucible too. But we were never taught it, so I'm risking going into the exam with no play. I'm also doing In The Snack Bar, it's too long!

Learning quotes... well my way is to write them on post-its, and stick them somewhere - for me, above my monitor works, as I'm always at the computer - it seems that glancing at them a good few times a day gets them into my head. I don't know if that works for everyone though. Good luck though. :smile:

Reply 6

lucyrobyn

6

use pastpapers. for each text find the Qs you would choose to do from each pastpaper. then write out an essay you have really thought about and planned, get the essay down to about 45mins, and then memorise the quotes and the anaylsis you would put with the quote. (dont try t remember the full essay) by remembering the quotes and their analysis it means you can piece together an essay if a good Q comes up. and if a Q comes up which you havent done before, you will probably know enough quotes and anaylsis to write a decent esay with.

Reply 7

North

hey im doing a View from a Bridge too just mk sure u know the key themes and how Eddie's fatal flaw causes him to lose Catherine's respect, his humanity etc...and mk a couple of essay plans u shud b find sounds like uve done way more thn me!

spark notes is great but if u want more view from a bridge stuff ive got loads u cud email me at Mod Warning: Do not post your e-mail address on the forum. cnt belive its only a week2go!

Reply 8

lucyrobyn

6

im doing death of a salesman by arthur miller, the changeling by robin jenkins, George Orwells marrakech, Hotel room 12th Floor, My Last Duchess

anybody doing those, and got some tips. i dont know how i can write an essay on the changeling, seems v hard.

Reply 9

Rorie

Hi,

Anyone doing Cal by Bernasr MacLaverty? Im in desperate need of some tips on what to learn and what vital quotaions/pages need to be in my head! If anyone can help, please do.

Reply 10

Lucia.

16

Euan_hmfc

Anyone got any tips on how to learn quotes? A quick answer would be appreciated, I really need to start learning them. I've only had to learn 10 before in my English career. For the record, my texts are "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "The Crucible" and "In the Snackbar".

I just learnt quotes by writing them out again and again. I also had post-it notes stuck all over my bedroom walls and big wallcharts to try and remember stuff :biggrin:

I also studied The Crucible. I'd recommend you use it in the exam as it's very versatile. Chances are that they'll definitely be a question to fit it.

Good luck :yy:

Reply 11

Acaila

17

Quotes quote quotes. Don't go to town on it, but know a good selection for all your texts.
In all honesty, by the time of the exam, I think just from studying them so much, we knew our poems off by heart.
More for the Higher Drama essays, but I wrote my quotes out in different colours (in the final version each theme had a colour :biggrin:

) and it seemed to work.
I'd suggest doing a practice timed essay on each of your main texts (I don't know how others are doing it, but we studied 11 texts in class, but I decided to only focus on three - one play, one poem and one short story)

Come Thursday 9pm - that's it folks. Go have a nice bath and have an early night. My lugging Les Miserables into school on the morning of my Higher didn't help, nor did skipping to iambic pentameter from Antony and Cleopatra help. You'll work much better if you're relaxed :smile:

Reply 12

Sammi22

11

How many texts are you supposed to have studied? I confidently know one novel, one short story and three poems. I'm starting to panic thinking I should try to self-teach the play (the crucible) as we had no teacher to teach us this.

Reply 13

Keeno89

I didn't learn much either really. I had 2 poems by Philip Larkin that I knew by heart as they were so easy. We did Othello and that always had a question to fit but I also had a short story to back it up.

Not read that book you mentioned but I used Grade Booster For Higher English which was fantastic as it basically taught you EVERYTHING about close readings and once I read it was basically getting full marks in close readings. Essays, practice makes perfect. Good luck!

Reply 14

BlueRoses

14

I have the Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire and Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy.

Gatsby is fine, I've learned/analysed Stealing and just have to hope a good question comes up, but I would love some help on Streetcar if possible!!

I've still to do a timed essay without notes or knowing the question... :eek:

Reply 15

Keeno89

Past papers will basically show you every essay question they can ask you. Some are almost always there. eg conflict

Reply 16

Acaila

17

As for how many texts, I had Antony and Cleopatra (drama), My Last Duchess (poem) and Sredni Vashtar (short story) learned confidently. Could have written about all three of those.
Could probably have used my SSL novel as well as I knew it well enough.

Reply 17

lucyrobyn

6

i think iv got it sussed now. i have The Changling (3 poss Qs), Death of a salesman (4 poss Qs), Marrakech (1 Q) and My Last Duchess (1 Q) and Hotel Room 12th Floor (3 poss Qs).

(Q = question, poss = possible) all of the Qs that i have prepared for come up quite often but in different words. iv trolled through every pastpaper i could find (the last 7 yrs) and iv been able to do 2 Qs from my selection in each paper.

im not saying to remember each essay off by heart, but i know all oft he points that go into each one, so if an unplanned Q comes up then i should have enough points to cover it.

now iv just got history to worry about.

Reply 18

BlueRoses

14

Ehh... I have 3 pages of quotes that I've analysed a bit for each text... will do essays later on in the week...

Gatsby - I'm prepared for essays on theme, setting and symbolism. Characterisation too probably.
Streetcar - Key scene please!!
Stealing - Corruption... setting maybe, relevant to a teenage audience, loneliness, the night...

Reply 19

Artemidoros.

3

dreamy_girl

Ehh... I have 3 pages of quotes that I've analysed a bit for each text... will do essays later on in the week...

Gatsby - I'm prepared for essays on theme, setting and symbolism. Characterisation too probably.
Streetcar - Key scene please!!
Stealing - Corruption... setting maybe, relevant to a teenage audience, loneliness, the night...

Wow, I haven't read my texts yet

Last crucial week before Higher English

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you