English

Hello im a student soon to sit his gcses and im on a grade 2.5 for English language and i dont get what to revise any tips

Reply 1

planets-&-stars

hi! i'm about to sit my gcses soon too, so hopefully i can help
i actually just sent someone else a list of things to revise for language, because i get grade 9s in language. i'll send that through here in a second, but just a warning, it is a bit long haha
literature is a bit more tricky - it depends on your exam board and which poetry anthology your school chose. do you know which books and anthology theme you have?

Reply 2

planets-&-stars

okay, english language tips:

Question 1: try and prove that the ones you don't think are right are wrong, if that makes sense? like say you think that ABCD are right, try to prove EFGH are wrong

Question 2: i could be wrong, but i think they always want a summary of the differences between the two sources. so i like to do 2-3 (preferably 3) paragraphs on the differences. also, make sure its differences in what the question is asking, for example differences in the weather or personalities or whatever, and that you're not analysing language! i do that accidentally all the time

Question 3: i think most of the UK uses some sort of PEE/PEEZAE/PEEZATE/PEEL paragraphs? i use these, but i like to have my first sentence be my point, second the quote, which functions as the evidence, and then i start the third with: "The use of this ____________ shows the reader / gives the reader the effect that ___________. and then i go from there with however many more sentences i think it needs. don't forget to link back to the question at the end of the paragraph, by saying something like: "Therefore, the author presents __________ as _________ because ___________".
also, remember that question 3 is usually: "how does the author use [BLANK] to present [BLANK]", and i find question structure a good thing to revise. you also really want to be analysing the language in q.3, like metaphors, similes, juxtaposition. anything you can find and waffle about

Question 4: this is going to be on how the authors convey their thoughts and feelings, it always is. you need to find author's perspectives, and compare and contrast them. you can also compare and contrast the authors' methods. using at least one "both authors" and at least one "however" (aka at least one similarity and one difference) is best. i try to aim for about 4 paragraphs here

Question 5/Section B: this is worth half the marks of your paper, do not undervalue it. i find persuasive writing fairly easy, which i'm grateful for. but you know its always going to be one of these three things: 1. a newspaper/magazine article 2. a letter or 3. a speech. i think i spoke about paragraph structures before, but i'll say it again just in case:

introduction. start with three short, snappy sentences to grab their attention, waffle for a little bit, then end it with a rhetorical question to keep them hooked

an anecdote. basically, this paragraph needs to be a short story that is either true or made up that can help convince your audience of your perspective. make it emotional

statistics. don't mix too many numbers in there, english teachers don't tend to like that. but making up a couple can really help back up your point

OPTIONAL, do a really short one summarising what the previous two paragraphs mean in relation to your question, and why they help your point

undermine the opposing argument. state a different point of view, recognise others may believe it, and then argue as hard as you can that it is wrong, and give very good reasons

conclusion. bring it all together, and re-state your opinion. also, refer back to something that happened in the anecdote. this is called a cyclical structure, and examiners love it

also, throughout question 5, add in lots of semicolons, brackets (as little asides to the examiner - it helps them hear your personal voice!), dashes, persuasive techniques (like rule of three, personal pronouns, rhetorical questions/repetition). shove it properly chock full of them. and add a little bit of humour here and there, it really helps the examiner to feel more comfortable with you, and then makes them more open to your persuasion
finally for question 5, read a magazine article once a week from a website like the guardian. there are obviously other websites if you prefer, but thats the one our teacher told us to use. it helps expand your vocabulary and get a feel for what you're aiming for. and don't forget to add some flair!

i know that was really long, but that is my full list of tips for gcse english language! (or at least the paper i just took)
don't forget to plan out your timings before the exam - a lot of people recommend a 50/50 time split between section a and b, but i find my section a needs more time.
keep looking over old exam papers and familiarise yourself with what each question will ask - it always has a set formula - and revise the correct way to answer them. hope this helps!