A-level English Language and Literature (Edexcel)

I've been doing English lang/lit for over a year (Just started Y13) and it's amongst one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The content is really fun but when it comes to revision/working outside class, I find it impossible to work. Not only are there very few resources online for the texts I study, but often the resources online aren't really sufficient for what I need. The way I write my essays never hits the higher bad marks either.

If anyone could provide advice I'd be beyond grateful!

Reply 1

hibz_03

5

Hi

I took a level English lit (edexcel) for my a level and I honestly feel your pain! I really struggled and could never reach the higher bands during class essays and was constantly hitting a D/C level grade- including my in my mocks.

However I managed to achieve a B in my exam (taken this year!) and I can give a few tips that reallly helped my revision!

1) I highly recommend you watch the texts you are studying- I studied Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire for drama and Handmaids Tale and Frankenstein for prose and I found that watching the movies/plays (found on National Theatre At Home) and reading along as I watched really helped me pick up quotes and understand the texts better :smile:

2) Critical reading is essential for hitting the higher bands- I recommend you do some research and gather some quotes from critics that will be easy for you to remember and create an argument from. Use these critics to either support your argument or disagree with it- remember, you don’t always have to agree with what the citric says x

Eg: Critic XXX suggests …. , however, there is evidence to show ….

Eg #2: This idea is supported by Critic XXX who says …

You can use these critics to display contrasting ideas too:

Eg: Citric XXX suggests….., however contrasting this idea, Critic YYY believes…

(these are just some rough examples)

3) Essay plans! 100% recommend these- start by simply making a few bullet points and then slowly pull out quotations that will support your points- kind of like a PEE (point, evidence, explain). If you can, try to include some of the critic quotations you’ve gathered to back up some of your points!

4) Mindmaps- these are great for themes. Split your texts into its main themes and branch out all supporting quotes that match the themes

Mindmaps are also great for poetry- gather some important dates and context for each poem, make a simple mindmaps and it’ll help you remember and pinpoint important information

5) Context- this is important for AO3 and I recommend further reading for this- read more about the author/poet and the time the texts were written- what was going on during the time and how this influenced the writer etc.

I’m sorry this was a bit long and a bit of a ramble, I hope it made sense and I’m sorry I’m advance if anything was confusing (and for typos haha) ! I wish you the best of luck x

Reply 2

Zainyy7

OP

2

Original post by hibz_03

Hi

I took a level English lit (edexcel) for my a level and I honestly feel your pain! I really struggled and could never reach the higher bands during class essays and was constantly hitting a D/C level grade- including my in my mocks.

However I managed to achieve a B in my exam (taken this year!) and I can give a few tips that reallly helped my revision!

1) I highly recommend you watch the texts you are studying- I studied Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire for drama and Handmaids Tale and Frankenstein for prose and I found that watching the movies/plays (found on National Theatre At Home) and reading along as I watched really helped me pick up quotes and understand the texts better :smile:

2) Critical reading is essential for hitting the higher bands- I recommend you do some research and gather some quotes from critics that will be easy for you to remember and create an argument from. Use these critics to either support your argument or disagree with it- remember, you don’t always have to agree with what the citric says x

Eg: Critic XXX suggests …. , however, there is evidence to show ….

Eg #2: This idea is supported by Critic XXX who says …

You can use these critics to display contrasting ideas too:

Eg: Citric XXX suggests….., however contrasting this idea, Critic YYY believes…

(these are just some rough examples)

3) Essay plans! 100% recommend these- start by simply making a few bullet points and then slowly pull out quotations that will support your points- kind of like a PEE (point, evidence, explain). If you can, try to include some of the critic quotations you’ve gathered to back up some of your points!

4) Mindmaps- these are great for themes. Split your texts into its main themes and branch out all supporting quotes that match the themes

Mindmaps are also great for poetry- gather some important dates and context for each poem, make a simple mindmaps and it’ll help you remember and pinpoint important information

5) Context- this is important for AO3 and I recommend further reading for this- read more about the author/poet and the time the texts were written- what was going on during the time and how this influenced the writer etc.

I’m sorry this was a bit long and a bit of a ramble, I hope it made sense and I’m sorry I’m advance if anything was confusing (and for typos haha) ! I wish you the best of luck x