English language question 4

My first piece of advice is to do this question first: it is the bulk of the marks on the paper and takes the most time.
I’d make a rough plan/ outline of what you intend to write about, making sure that you can reach some sort of conclusion to the story be it a cliffhanger or a resolution.
My main tip is to answer the story not the description question. This is because with a story you can do so much more and get more marks then a description.
Make sure to use a lot of description in your story and keep dialogue to a minimum.
Make sure to use advance vocabulary but not to an extent where it seems pretentious. If you don’t know how to spell a complex word or aren’t entirely sure of the meaning, leave it out. You don’t want to lose marks unnecessarily
Keep characters to a minimum and try to keep the story clear. I used to write lots of mystery stories for my Q4 in Paper 1 and they got lots of marks so if the prompt enables you to, I’d write a mystery story as they always seemed to give me good marks!
Make sure to have clear paragraphs etc and most of all have fun with the story. When you write with a passion, it really shows.
I can’t really remember much else to say, it has been a few years since my GCSEs but if I remember anything else, I’ll come back and add it! I hope you get more advice for others too!

I’m sure you’ve got this! Just the fact that you took the time to ask this question shows that you are a hard worker and going to achieve so much! Keep going, I know it can feel overwhelming with all the exams and revision but trust me it will be worth it in the end! Wishing you all the best for Monday and an excellent results day. Make sure to take time to relax this summer, you’ve earned it!

Also I know this is irrelevant to the question but if you do go on to college/ sixth form, make sure to study and keep clear notes from day 1, it really helps with keeping on top of things. Don’t do what I did and procrastinate on studying thinking it will be ok - I got to the end of AS levels with three Ds because I didn’t complete my assignments on time and didn’t study seriously till the end. Year two was a hell of a mess for me 😅 but I made it out with a C,B and an A. I was a top GCSE student so it was a hard fall to take. I assume you are also a top student, so I just wanted to give this advice that I never got