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How do you revise for english literature?

How do you get a level 9 for english lit..?
Reply 1
At GCSE?
You don't need to read the books.

Make sure you know the key parts within the book as well as get really good at analysing material that is provided for you. This will help you with both, the unseen poetry as well as Paper 1 where an extract is provided for both the 19th C. novel and the play you are studying.

For the poetry section - make sure you learn at least 6 so you are able to compare them to whatever the chosen poem is. I learnt 9 and didn't bother learning 6.
Learn the material well- make sure you understand the plays and novels well. As for poetry, if there are some you just cannot understand, try learning most of them and have a passable understanding of the difficult ones.
Make sure you know the social context well and can seamlessly add it into your points.
What i found that really helped me was that i created a quote bank for each theme and character for the the two plays and the novel, and from that I was able to answer each question well. If you have your quotes and social context sorted, you'll do fine in the question. As for the poems, try learning 3 important quotes from each poem so you can compare.
Also- DON'T WAFFLE! make sure that you streamline your paragraphs so that they are effective at answering the question but also easy to read. Make your point and evidence in the same line, like this:
"Firstly, Macbeth is shown to be extremely guilty as he believes that "not all great Neptune's blood will wash this blood" from his hands, indicating how Macbeth is full of inner conflict and remorse."
That wasn't the best line I've done (it's been a while) but what I wanted to showcase was that you have to embed your quotes to get the top grades, not more "for example,".
All this really helped me, and while I didn't get a 9, I did get an 8. If you use these tips and find your groove, I'm sure you should be able to do it.
KEEP ON TRYING AND WORK HARD!
I got a 9 in GCSE english lit; make sure you're certain of the structure you use - I found it helpful to pick apart sample essays and follow their structure so I mentioned everything I needed to. I used Point, Evidence, Explain that evidence, more Evidence, Explain that evidence etc. then rephrase point again.
Mr Bruff's videos on youtube are really useful, revise really good points from throughout the text to use in the exam. Remembering quotes is important, but if you get stuck then don't be afraid to quote a single word that supports your point and was probably in the text somewhere :biggrin:

Make sure you fully understand the text and have a couple of points ready about all the characters and general themes; remembering quotes that you could use for a number of different points is always good.

For the poetry, remember to add context but otherwise basically do the same thing. Group each poem with a partner to compare it with in advance so you're prepared as well.

As for the rest, just try to do as many practice essays as you can and get them marked - it will help.

Hope this helps :h:
Reply 5
Mr Bruff
Reply 6
Original post by vityamins
I got a 9 in GCSE english lit; make sure you're certain of the structure you use - I found it helpful to pick apart sample essays and follow their structure so I mentioned everything I needed to. I used Point, Evidence, Explain that evidence, more Evidence, Explain that evidence etc. then rephrase point again.
Mr Bruff's videos on youtube are really useful, revise really good points from throughout the text to use in the exam. Remembering quotes is important, but if you get stuck then don't be afraid to quote a single word that supports your point and was probably in the text somewhere :biggrin:

Make sure you fully understand the text and have a couple of points ready about all the characters and general themes; remembering quotes that you could use for a number of different points is always good.

For the poetry, remember to add context but otherwise basically do the same thing. Group each poem with a partner to compare it with in advance so you're prepared as well.

As for the rest, just try to do as many practice essays as you can and get them marked - it will help.

Hope this helps :h:


Thank You so much
Reply 7
Hi, I got a 9 in English Lit GCSE. For the 3 texts I created mind maps by using my notes from lessons and the york notes revision guides. I made mind maps on: all the key characters, themes, settings, and contexts. I also aimed to learn 4 or 5 quotes per character which helped me so much as it is now a closed book exam. Hope this helps :smile:
Original post by Nafiza25
Thank You so much


No problem :smile:
Learn what is necessary in good detail. A helpful textbook I suggest is the CGP textbook, they are widely available and have just enough detail. Learning key ideas in the text is useful by using flashcards; writing down the ideas you'd like to learn and recapping them a week before you need them, every time you wake up, and just before everytime you go to bed.
Original post by livj1210
Hi, I got a 9 in English Lit GCSE. For the 3 texts I created mind maps by using my notes from lessons and the york notes revision guides. I made mind maps on: all the key characters, themes, settings, and contexts. I also aimed to learn 4 or 5 quotes per character which helped me so much as it is now a closed book exam. Hope this helps :smile:


Could you please show some of your notes as an example?

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