My GCSE study blog 2024!!😼🎀

Update:
I’m going to do a fat update cuz I won’t be on here till next week
I did not finish Jekyll and Hyde (💀) omd I’ve been so unproductive but that ends now!!
I’ve finished completely the quotes for Macbeth and it’s a BIG stack of Flashcards so glad that out of the way and biology paper 1 is done and dusted
🎀Next up today
Morning:
-Character mind maps for Macbeth
-Jekyll and Hyde Flashcards that I didn’t do
-RS: finish last topic then ur done w paper 1
Afternoon: (what’s going to take up majority of the day)
1) review completed Maths paper 1
2) complete full maths paper 1 under timed conditions and mark
3) Maths grade 8-9 topics complete on Maths genie
If time:
notes on Whitechapel history paper 1 + review C&P notes (do a cheeky bit of memorising)
🎀Tomorrow:
CHEM ONLY
out of all sciences chem is my weakest
- do notes on free science lessons for all paper 1 topics
- do paper 1 combined science nuggets on century
🎀Friday:
ENGLISH ONLY
English lit 2:
I’ve completely done revision for AIC so focus will be poetry
1) poetry finish all analysis sheets review Flashcards summarising messages and structure
2) active recall on all quotes for all 15 poems
LANG
1) LANG PAPER 1 QUESTION 5 ONLY
Do atleast 2-3 question ONLY on q5
🎀Saturday:
PHYSICS ONLY (yay😋😋)
Do exact same method for physics as u did for chem but review previous notes in book
🎀Sunday:
The dreaded- French 😕
FRENCH ONLY (my speaking exam is on April 16th)
1) write answers and memorise for general conversation
2) memorise how to form tenses
3) active recall on speech
4)do 2 practice writings on booklets miss gave (French higher)
END.

Thank you! I’m just finishing of Jekyll and Hyde then it’s off to History crime and punishment revision. Since I’ve already made most revision material for history I’ll just be reviewing and memorising!

omg u do crime and punishment for history! like the novel?

good luck with ur speaking! i need to revise for my italian exams this easter, too. and that's besides the mountain of work i have to do, haha. you can do it, i believe in you 💪

Thank you but if I’m being completely honest I’ve done no work this week im so exhausted from revising because that all I have been doing for the previous mock exams and stuff ugh there’s just so much to do😭

Hi!
I’ve browsed the student room for a while now but I’ve never actually had an account, im quite new to this if you can’t tell so I apologise if I make any mistakes LMAO!
Anyways back to the topic at hand, I’ve started revision since mid November of last year and it’s just recently hit me that the GCSEs are actually so close 🥲. I’ve never really been great at buckling down and grinding but for some reason ever since I started year 11 I’ve been a study freak?? I’m not sure, although I do have trouble staying motivated sometimes and I also have slight issues with procrastination so I thought I would post daily updates here to keep myself on track.
Anyway enough of that here’s the subjects I do and the grades I got this week from my February Mocks, they were really harsh with marking this time for some reason so😭
Mathematics(edexcel): 9
English literature (AQA): 9
English language (AQA): 9
Business (edexcel): 9
History (edexcel): 9
RS (edexcel): 9
French (edexcel): 5
Combined Science(AQA): 8-8
I was honestly kinda upset with science cuz I got a 9-9 last time, of course it’s still good and I don’t mean to be obnoxious. French…💀💀 don’t even ask, the average grade was a 4/5 because a lot of people (ngl me too😭) flopped their speaking exam & we did listening in the hall (I COULDN’T EVEN HEAR IT🙁🙁), I know im capable of getting higher in French so any tips are welcome!
I really hope I can maintain these grades and do even better in the real exam, and without further ado, let the grind begin‼️

hey!! if you want advice for french, last year (yr 10) my teacher said i'd have to do foundation but i got way up to an 8/9 now and i literally did
1. make really good speaking questions with lots of vocab, tenses, and complex structures (because this will help you in speaking, writing, and helps you learn vocab for reading/writing).
2. i used the writing mark schemes and examiners reports/exam board resources to see what they want you to write in the exam (basically different types of 'complex structures' - then I wrote a phrase for each thing - e.g si clause, subjunctive, depuis phrase, conditional verbs.
3. (its kindof similar to number 2) remember the things you need to include - like 2 reasons + opinions, all the tenses (and make sure your tenses are correct)!!
it probably sounds like a lot but you really just need complex structure flashcards and tense flashcards and it will honestly help you so much - and will probably be less time consuming than other subjects (hopefully)!!!
you honestly sound like youre doing so well though, this is just my advice because it wont take you ages and you deffo dont need to get worried about it - these french tips are small things you can get from quizlet/youtube videos already made!! GOOD LUCK <333
also how do you get a nine in english lit!! ive been stuck on an 8 since our first exam at the beginning of year ten and i want to do it for a-level but i just dont know how to improve!! do you have any tips?? ))

THANK YOU, honestly I’ve been freaking out about getting my French grade up but this sounds really achievable now that you’ve broken it down for me!
Warning I’m gonna ramble!
For English lit, I’m not going to lie but I was also stuck on an 8 for all of year 10, I also got an 8 in my November mock exam and I realised the reason for this was that first of all, I didn’t revise English lit properly I thought making a few flash cards and calling it a day was enough, second of all my writing was either too rigid in structure or had no flow from paragraph to paragraph.
I just decided to stop sticking to the strict structure and focus on making a consistent line of argument as well as using compelling wording.
We only did English literature paper 2 for the Feb mock exams and as you know, it’s a 2hr 15 exam; this was the first English lit exam I properly revised for so I think that contributed too.
You have to check grade boundaries but for a 9 in Literature paper 2 I think you need to get around 80?
SECTION A: An Inspector Calls
I made Mindmaps for literally every single character and theme and did a planned essay for every single character and memorised key bits. Then I made separate sheets where I wrote 10-12 quotes on every single character (a bit excessive you only need about 5) then I wrote analysis for each quote.
I also use pmt character overviews for some extra knowledge to incorporate. Bascially what my English teacher said is when making an overarching point on your paragraph make sure it links to your previous paragraph for example a different view or an additional point and make sure you DO NOT REPEAT ANALYSIS, sometimes people fall into the trap of saying the same thing but using different words, this can kinda bore your examiner and also you’re wasting time that could be used on making another point.
Like i said embed MULTIPLE quotations and make different analysis points if one isn’t enough but make sure it relates to each other. Represent alternative views to show ur examiner that there is not only one way your character/ theme has relevance. For example my question on AIC was how Gerald was presented; ofcourse I talked about how he was an almost superficial and narrow minded socialite but I also talked about how he showed some elements of humanity and compassion when he shows a glimpse of regret and remorse when the inspector confronts him - but he still reverts back to complacency at the end.
Just make sure it flows nicley, use higher tier vocabulary, alternative views if relevant, embed quotations (remember they want some context but not too much) and a strong line of argument that you stick to throughout (your line of argument is the most important thing make sure you know what you are saying/plan to say).
[Total raw mark: 32/34]
This is also important for Poetry Anthology and unseen poetry and you can incorporate the same tips.
SECTION B: Poetry anthology
From what I’m aware some schools do love and relationships but our school does power and conflict.
For power and conflict part of it was luck because a really good poem (London) showed up as the question and I could easily compare that to my last duchess but it’s much easier to break down how to get a higher marks in section B than section A, it’s kind of like a checklist:
Compare CONSTANTLY even in your introduction, in your introduction give a summary of each poem, the message of each poem the poets names and context if necessary, again show how they differ or similar in line with the theme of the question.
By comparing I mean you can literally write one very detailed paragraph on one quote on one poem then write, “however” , “Similarly” or “Conversely” and then write another detailed paragraph and that counts as one big para and you still compared, just make sure you show reasons for your comparison in the second bit. In total i literally wrote 2 paragraphs (albeit quite big) and an intro.
Also don’t underestimate the importance of adding structural uses!! This is a poem so to get into the top band make sure you talk about structural techniques, like in my last duchess the dramatic monologue form shows the overwhelming authority the duke has that it is even exerted onto us as readers because we are exclusively exposed to his perspective.
So In short: intro with line of argument, summary, message and context
Paragraphs (2-3) with 3-5 analysis strands and a comparative connective
And structural uses and their importance
[Total raw mark: 27/30]
SECTION C: Unseen poetry
Okay unseen poetry is in two parts and I will not lie to you I did not revise a wink for either since it’s unseen anyway but if you know how to analyse I promise you just make insightful waffle and you’ll get a good mark😭 this is very bad advice but this is the most I can tell you. Mostly just do practice essay plans on poems you’ve never seen before and give yourself a time limit.
[part 1 raw mark: 22/24]
[part 2 raw mark: 6/8]
Also quick note! Make sure your intro is VERY GOOD. I tend to overwrite 🤕 but your intro does not have to be long at all, however, it is considerably the most important part of your essay. My teacher has been an examiner and she told us that usually examiners can roughly tell the mark your going to get based on your introduction.
Aswell as this keep in mind that examiners usually take at most (I think) up to 10 minutes to mark a script and give it a score, it will be moderated but they also read and mark hundreds of scripts so try and kinda make it sound sophisticated and stand out I guess?
That’s all I can think of for now and these helped me get 87/96 total on Paper 2 lit, I’m not necessarily smart either so the work you put into achieving higher grades really does show, kind of ironic because I’ve barley doing work this Easter 😔
Anyway, I commend you for doing English a level, i would actually die if I had to do English at a higher level😭😭 but you sound very capable from what I can tell so I already know you’re going to do fantastic.
Best of luck! You can definitely get a 9🫶🏽

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ADVICE!!!
I think my problem with english literature is how much longer it takes to revise than other subjects, and I also havent really seen any results coming from my revision in terms of improvement!! deffo gonna try the mindmaps for themes and characters because ive been putting that off for way too long haha
thank you so much your advice is so encouraging - all the advice i see online never seems useful haha
youre gonna do so well too!! )

Hi!
I’ve browsed the student room for a while now but I’ve never actually had an account, im quite new to this if you can’t tell so I apologise if I make any mistakes LMAO!
Anyways back to the topic at hand, I’ve started revision since mid November of last year and it’s just recently hit me that the GCSEs are actually so close 🥲. I’ve never really been great at buckling down and grinding but for some reason ever since I started year 11 I’ve been a study freak?? I’m not sure, although I do have trouble staying motivated sometimes and I also have slight issues with procrastination so I thought I would post daily updates here to keep myself on track.
Anyway enough of that here’s the subjects I do and the grades I got this week from my February Mocks, they were really harsh with marking this time for some reason so😭
Mathematics(edexcel): 9
English literature (AQA): 9
English language (AQA): 9
Business (edexcel): 9
History (edexcel): 9
RS (edexcel): 9
French (edexcel): 5
Combined Science(AQA): 8-8
I was honestly kinda upset with science cuz I got a 9-9 last time, of course it’s still good and I don’t mean to be obnoxious. French…💀💀 don’t even ask, the average grade was a 4/5 because a lot of people (ngl me too😭) flopped their speaking exam & we did listening in the hall (I COULDN’T EVEN HEAR IT🙁🙁), I know im capable of getting higher in French so any tips are welcome!
I really hope I can maintain these grades and do even better in the real exam, and without further ado, let the grind begin‼️

OMGGGG! CONGRATSSS ON THOSE GRADES!!!!
I literally started revising in the Easter holidays and I literally do NOT know how to revise English lit. Everyone tells me to learn quotes + analysis BUT LIKE….. HOW DO I EVEN ANALYSE LIKE A GRADE 9 STUDENT. LIKE WHAT ARE THE THEMES AND HOW MANY QUOTES PER CHARACTER. I’m doing Macbeth, An Inspector Calls and Jekyll and Hyde.
I’m working at grade 7 which I revised for like 4 days before the exam but like I just don’t know how to revise. So if you can help that would be amazing because my other grades are alright just French I am failing. But yeah please help me if you can. Just need some advice

Okay so update as you can tell I haven’t update for a hot second lmao that’s because I’ve been feeling really out of the loop and unmotivated :/ I had my french speaking exam on Tuesday this week and that went relatively well (significantly better than last time) so there’s that. But for some reason (they r actually trying to kill us) my teachers decided it would be a great idea to do another set of mocks 2 weeks before exams 😐 so I’ve been rushing around trying to revise for them and work around what I planned to finish , this announcement was completely out of the blue so I’m struggling to stay motivated. Luckily it’s only English and Science but that’s still a lot, so far we’ve done English lit 1 and bio paper 1 and next week we have a chem phy and English language exam so … yeah. These GCSEs are starting to stress me out and honestly I just want them to be over I feel prepared but also unprepared at the same time and genuinely I feel like this while exam season is running me thin. I haven’t been revising as much as I should have and taking breaks really isn’t doing much for me. Like I guess I’m guilty I’m not studying enough? Im not sure but I’m gonna have to force myself to grind until the exam motivation kicks in (usually like a week before 😭) I’ll tell you what I’ve actually done after these “mocks” are over and hopefully keep this blog a bit more alive.

Wish you all the best but I’m litchhhh gonna fail English lit like I can’t even get my quotes done and we got like 20 odd days left like girleeee pray for me

Wish you all the best but I’m litchhhh gonna fail English lit like I can’t even get my quotes done and we got like 20 odd days left like girleeee pray for me

Okay finally done with the mini mock exams YAY!! so plan for the rest of this week is to:
-finish my analysis sheets for poetry anthology
-plan intros for Macbeth themes/characters
-Jekyll and Hyde revision
-Jekyll and Hyde Mindmaps
- Chem paper 1 finish notes
- Phy paper 1 finish notes