Advice for note taking a-level English literature?

user01906002

I’m in y12 and doing English, my class notes are a disorganised mess and I don’t feel that they include everything I need in them. I have 2 teachers, each doing different texts at the moment - Death of a Salesman and King Lear. They just go through the texts in class, picking up from where we left in the previous lesson and with no clear guidance as to what we need to know. They just talk at us and I find it really had to keep up or understand what’s going on. I think I am behind. Can someone please me some advice on how to take quality notes in/outside of class and how I should be reviewing each lesson? Does anyone have any recommended ways of how they structured their notes/revsion resources? Thank you

Reply 1

velveteen52

Basically in English Literature they are mostly assessing you on your ability to analyse the themes in the text, and for that you need to know a) the story, including quotes and b) the strategies the writer uses to express these themes, whether that’s in the language, staging, or something else. The characters’ experiences can reflect the story’s themes in different ways.

If you’re not doing this already, try to read the section you expect the class will read, before the lesson. The teacher should draw your attention to key ideas and tools the writer uses but that might go over your head if you are still trying to compute what is happening in the story, especially as some of the language is really hard to parse like in King Lear.

There’s this webpage “How to revise for English Literature: A 7-Step Guide for GCSE and A-Level” by lovelearningtutors.com which is really helpful about how to actually structure your notes.

Reply 2

ebyrne2036

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Entertainment Forum Helper

Hiya id say try and get the notes written pretty quickly when u get out of class ie same day or next day during your free periods as if they are a bit messy you will remember what happened in class.I’d start by mabye doing Page number -quote -method if there is one and then explanation. For english id recommend doing character/theme mindmaps with the key quotes only picking a few for each as it can be quite overwhelming to try and learn them all and its unlikely you will remember everything when it comes to the exams.. For quicker/easier recap revision id recommend having a look on YouTube for videos to recap plot/character and the quizlet app can help with pre-made flashcards and different quiz methods to help the information stick better in ur head.Hope this helps any questions please ask and good luck!