English literature revision

For English literature what is the best way of revising and achieving grade

Reply 1

Practicing essays, rereading your texts and learning quotes are good ways to start. Planning essays is also really good! You could also take time to learn some new literary techniques!

Reply 2

marz11

Original post by sar23

For English literature what is the best way of revising and achieving grade

i agree with @tiredgiraff
once you get used to planning essays, first start writing them normally and make sure you receive feedback on them. if you have issues with timing, i suggest you start by writing an essay, handing it in and telling your teacher that you haven’t done this under timed conditions and to mark it based on what you could cut out and then use this feedback in starting to write timed essays

Reply 3

username6438268

thank you both for replying
really appreciate it

Reply 4

*LifeHappens*

Original post by sar23

For English literature what is the best way of revising and achieving grade

I would say that you'd be able to give good insights in the exam if you properly understand your texts/poems - then you can comment and expand on the quotes or themes; this means rereading your texts/poems, watching youtube videos on them, actively engaging in the work you do in lessons and looking at a revision guide or example notes (like from PMT).

In an english lit exam, here are the main things you should comment on if you're a bit lost:

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Context (what was happening during the time the text/poem was written + how does this relate to your text/poem)

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Themes (what are the main ideas throughout the text/poem)

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Language (can you identify language techniques such as juxtaposition or metaphor or semantic field + what can you infer from this or why has this been used)

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Effect on the reader (what can the reader take from this particular quote or the entire text/poem)

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One-word inference (zooming in on one specific word + discussing your inference)

I think it's also really important to always make sure you're answering the exact question you were asked - so if you were asked to talk about a certain theme or character, make sure all of your points relate to what you were asked (it can seem like a very simple thing to do, but it's very easy to steer away from the question).

When you're trying to revise or make revision resources, you can make mindmaps covering each character/theme within the text you're doing (so include a quote + maybe a short analysis like what language technique it is). If you're doing a poem, then you can pick 3-4 main quotes to focus on and make sure they are quotes you can analyse and compare to other poems.

If you're looking for good resources, I highly recommend the Glow up your grades youtube channel as well as PMT.

If you're practicing any essays from past papers, there's a website that marks it for you and gives great feedback - it's called MarkMyGCSE from edumentors:

https://app.edumentors.co.uk/gcse

It's really important to keep practicing exam questions so you can strengthen your techniques and be able to analyse more effectively.

I hope that helps + let me know if I can explain anything better!