GCSE English exams tips?

Make a plan before you start writing!
Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence which relates to the essay title.
Ensure that you write a clear introduction and conclusion too.

Reply 2

3107a

piece_by_piece

Make a plan before you start writing!
Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence which relates to the essay title.
Ensure that you write a clear introduction and conclusion too.

Hi, i know your quite good at english and i've got a question with the english lit. For the intro and conclusion i know it's important to relate to the question but do you make any like arguments/points in the intro/conc?

Because, i've had conflicting answers one of my teachers says you should never make new points particulalry in the conclusion, but the other one says it's good as it shows your focused on the novel/poem

Thanks

Reply 3

3107a

Hi, i know your quite good at english and i've got a question with the english lit. For the intro and conclusion i know it's important to relate to the question but do you make any like arguments/points in the intro/conc?

Because, i've had conflicting answers one of my teachers says you should never make new points particulalry in the conclusion, but the other one says it's good as it shows your focused on the novel/poem

Thanks

In the introduction I tend to make very brief points about the poems and link that to the essay title, but I don't make any in-depth analysis. However, for the conclusion I don't make any new points. I think it's best for the conclusion to talk about how you feel about the poems, and which one you think is best.

Reply 4

BJack

19

*Niazy (:

The grade boundries are ridiculous as well!

No they're not: they just look ridiculous because nobody knows how English is marked. There aren't disproportionately few people getting A/A* in English or English Lit, so I'm sure that the grade boundaries are fine.

Make sure your essay is coherent and you should be fine. I'm also rubbish at writing essays quickly — yet I found myself easily knocking off pages and pages: you'll be surprised by how quickly you can write when it matters. :biggrin:

Reply 5

Nimbus

*hands up* Count me in for writing rubbish essays. :biggrin:

My teacher told us to wrie sophisticately, lucidly, succinctly and coherently as well, but how do you do that? I can't never manage to be succinct, I just HAVE to waffle to make points for some reason.XD

about points, my teacher recommends us to state the theme/main point in your introduction, make smaller points that back up your main point in your introduction and end your essay with a one-sentence conclusion if it helps to save time.
-->Something which I can never seem to do, despite of letting us to do some practise essays untimed! :biggrin:

Reply 6

Nimbus

*hands up* Count me in for writing rubbish essays. :biggrin:

My teacher told us to wrie sophisticately, lucidly, succinctly and coherently as well, but how do you do that?

Lucidly and coherently are basically the same thing; your teacher is telling you all to write clearly, so make your points as clear as possible and leave out all the "waffle". Sophisticatedly simply means to write elegantly, so use a wide range of vocabulary, and try to avoid repetition of words. Lastly, succinctly means concisely, so just try to get straight to the point!
I hope this helps, good luck!

Reply 7

ShaolinTemple

15

One thing I found helpful was to....relax. For example, I spent months revising for my psychology and was really stressed for it and I never really answered the questions as per say but instead just regurgitated my pre-made essay plans. Whereas for my English exams, I did stress for it but that was during revision time. I left like 2 days before the exam with light reading of the subject to clear my head and that REALLY helped. Just make sure you go into the exam with a clear head (not clear as in everything erased) and take a deep breath.

For the essays, it IS a prerequisite that you plan. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. How you plan is really up to you, be it a mind map, bullet points or whatever.

For introductions I think it's good to provide a very brief overview of the text according to the essay question. Be concise and to the point in your main paragraphs, don't regurgitate the text but instead elaborate it, extend it, look deeper into it, what's the underlying meaning of it. Refering to the person who mentioned the teacher telling you not to start new points in your essays, I think that's quite silly to be honest. Of course your allowed to start new points BUT only at the start of a new paragraph. If your making a new point start a new paragraph. For the conclusion, you just sum up all the points you made briefly and tie it all together and say whether it was successful or not.

Reply 8

Nimbus

piece_by_piece

Lucidly and coherently are basically the same thing; your teacher is telling you all to write clearly, so make your points as clear as possible and leave out all the "waffle". Sophisticatedly simply means to write elegantly, so use a wide range of vocabulary, and try to avoid repetition of words. Lastly, succinctly means concisely, so just try to get straight to the point!
I hope this helps, good luck!

Thanks for the explanation. I still cannot get rid of the waffle problem, but someday, hopefully I will get there (hopefully it will not be...like after my Englsih exams.XD)

EDIT:
Yeah, I agree about relaxation, my english mock results in year 10 were more consistent than my year 11 ones that really taught me to try and relax if I can.

Reply 9

rdu11

4

i remember my gcse english exam!
ah dear the amount of writing.

but don't look at the clock, wastes too much time!
:wink:

Reply 10

Frannnnn

11

write a draft on your hand.

Reply 11

*Niazy (:

OP

I always get stuck for ideas in the exam.. i spend ages trying to think of something to write and and end up with no time for the essay :s-smilie:

Am i being too picky? Is it more about how you write the essay than how original the ideas are?

i wish i had your waffling problem :P at least you have something to write! :wink:

Reply 12

In order to avoid being stuck for ideas, all you can do is revise beforehand and brainstorm various ideas. It does matter how original your ideas are, because it's the original ideas which obtain an A/A*. The stucture of your essay is also of great importance; i tend to stick to a very similar structure for all of my essays.

Reply 13

Diaz

3 words.
Plan
Plan
Plan

Reply 14

3107a

piece_by_piece

In the introduction I tend to make very brief points about the poems and link that to the essay title, but I don't make any in-depth analysis. However, for the conclusion I don't make any new points. I think it's best for the conclusion to talk about how you feel about the poems, and which one you think is best.

Oo thanks and is the same format you use for the novels/drama?

Thanks

Reply 15

Nimbus