English help

Hi.

So i got my english language mock back today and I got a 4+ (1 mark from a 5). The point is im coming towards the end of year 10 and I don’t think I’m improving in english. My grades in English this year have been:

Language: 5,5,4+
Literature: 6+,5+,6+ (literature is ok because the + signs show that I was only one mark away from the next grade)

I don’t know how to improve in english languge. I even revised a bit for this test and got a 4(+). And my teacher said for our reports, she would use an average of our two grades (paper 1 and paper 2 mock). I got a 5 in paper 1 and a 4(+) in paper 2 so one of my questions is: what would the average of a 5 and a 4 be? I think it’s a 5- if my school puts the - and + signs on our reports but if they don’t, what would my grade be?

I want to improve in English because most sixth forms are asking for a 6 in english language. I want to do well in English to make God and my mum proud; God and my mum are like my strives to do well in school but when it comes to English, I feel like I’m not showing them or anyone my full potential. I also want to make my mum proud because she’s a single mum and worked really hard to bring me up; my mum gets happy when I show her my other test scores because to be honest, I’m not doing really badly in my other subjects. In my recent biology test, I got a 7 (one mark from an 8). I have also got a 9 and 7 in my computer science tests etc etc but my question is: If I can do subjects like Computer Science (etc), why do I struggle with English Language? All I’m doing is inferring?

I want to try and get an English tutor but in all honesty, I don’t know if I can. It would be an extra cost for my mum and my sister didn’t have an English tutor but got an 8. My sister did her GCSEs 5 years ago and may have forgotten how to answer some questions. I know that when she was doing english tests she was also getting 5s and 6s so it’s motivating for me to know that there’s someone who relates to me and still got an 8 but I’m not in Year 9 or the start of Year 10 anymore and my exams are in less than a year.

With English Language, I feel like my problem is running out of time and not reading the text properly therefore I don’t identify certain language/structural devices. I know where I’m going wrong but I need some support on how to manage my time well and how to scan a text effectively.

I’d also like to know if it is possible for me to sit an exam in November this year even if I didn’t do it this GCSE exam season. Perhaps if I can really put my head down and revise for English Language, I can try and do the exam in November this year and try and get a 6 (or 7) so in this way, I wouldn’t have to worry about English Language anymore (I’m not doing English for A-Level).

Thanks for reading all of this - I know it’s a lot. I just felt a bit down at school and wanted to express my need of help for English. I don’t want to tell my mum what I got because well she won’t say to me that I didn’t do well but I just don’t want her to know that my grade for English dipped lower and I know I can do better in English - the main question is just: How?

Reply 1

Trickia

Study Forum Helper

Original post by coolblackguy

Hi.
So i got my english language mock back today and I got a 4+ (1 mark from a 5). The point is im coming towards the end of year 10 and I don’t think I’m improving in english. My grades in English this year have been:
Language: 5,5,4+
Literature: 6+,5+,6+ (literature is ok because the + signs show that I was only one mark away from the next grade)
I don’t know how to improve in english languge. I even revised a bit for this test and got a 4(+). And my teacher said for our reports, she would use an average of our two grades (paper 1 and paper 2 mock). I got a 5 in paper 1 and a 4(+) in paper 2 so one of my questions is: what would the average of a 5 and a 4 be? I think it’s a 5- if my school puts the - and + signs on our reports but if they don’t, what would my grade be?
I want to improve in English because most sixth forms are asking for a 6 in english language. I want to do well in English to make God and my mum proud; God and my mum are like my strives to do well in school but when it comes to English, I feel like I’m not showing them or anyone my full potential. I also want to make my mum proud because she’s a single mum and worked really hard to bring me up; my mum gets happy when I show her my other test scores because to be honest, I’m not doing really badly in my other subjects. In my recent biology test, I got a 7 (one mark from an 8). I have also got a 9 and 7 in my computer science tests etc etc but my question is: If I can do subjects like Computer Science (etc), why do I struggle with English Language? All I’m doing is inferring?
I want to try and get an English tutor but in all honesty, I don’t know if I can. It would be an extra cost for my mum and my sister didn’t have an English tutor but got an 8. My sister did her GCSEs 5 years ago and may have forgotten how to answer some questions. I know that when she was doing english tests she was also getting 5s and 6s so it’s motivating for me to know that there’s someone who relates to me and still got an 8 but I’m not in Year 9 or the start of Year 10 anymore and my exams are in less than a year.
With English Language, I feel like my problem is running out of time and not reading the text properly therefore I don’t identify certain language/structural devices. I know where I’m going wrong but I need some support on how to manage my time well and how to scan a text effectively.
I’d also like to know if it is possible for me to sit an exam in November this year even if I didn’t do it this GCSE exam season. Perhaps if I can really put my head down and revise for English Language, I can try and do the exam in November this year and try and get a 6 (or 7) so in this way, I wouldn’t have to worry about English Language anymore (I’m not doing English for A-Level).
Thanks for reading all of this - I know it’s a lot. I just felt a bit down at school and wanted to express my need of help for English. I don’t want to tell my mum what I got because well she won’t say to me that I didn’t do well but I just don’t want her to know that my grade for English dipped lower and I know I can do better in English - the main question is just: How?

Hi there may I know what exam board you do before I give you some advice? My examboard is AQA. I was in the same situation in yr 10 especially with english being an additional language but I got predicted 8 and was scrapping nines. Although I did do tutoring but I had the same teacher. Currently doing GCSE's so everything is still fresh

Wish you all the best and believe in yourself :smile:

Reply 2

coolblackguy

Original post by Trickia

Hi there may I know what exam board you do before I give you some advice? My examboard is AQA. I was in the same situation in yr 10 especially with english being an additional language but I got predicted 8 and was scrapping nines. Although I did do tutoring but I had the same teacher. Currently doing GCSE's so everything is still fresh
Wish you all the best and believe in yourself :smile:

Thank you!
My exam board is AQA
I pray your exams are going well right now :smile:

Reply 3

LittleFire10

Original post by coolblackguy

Hi.
So i got my english language mock back today and I got a 4+ (1 mark from a 5). The point is im coming towards the end of year 10 and I don’t think I’m improving in english. My grades in English this year have been:
Language: 5,5,4+
Literature: 6+,5+,6+ (literature is ok because the + signs show that I was only one mark away from the next grade)
I don’t know how to improve in english languge. I even revised a bit for this test and got a 4(+). And my teacher said for our reports, she would use an average of our two grades (paper 1 and paper 2 mock). I got a 5 in paper 1 and a 4(+) in paper 2 so one of my questions is: what would the average of a 5 and a 4 be? I think it’s a 5- if my school puts the - and + signs on our reports but if they don’t, what would my grade be?
I want to improve in English because most sixth forms are asking for a 6 in english language. I want to do well in English to make God and my mum proud; God and my mum are like my strives to do well in school but when it comes to English, I feel like I’m not showing them or anyone my full potential. I also want to make my mum proud because she’s a single mum and worked really hard to bring me up; my mum gets happy when I show her my other test scores because to be honest, I’m not doing really badly in my other subjects. In my recent biology test, I got a 7 (one mark from an 8). I have also got a 9 and 7 in my computer science tests etc etc but my question is: If I can do subjects like Computer Science (etc), why do I struggle with English Language? All I’m doing is inferring?
I want to try and get an English tutor but in all honesty, I don’t know if I can. It would be an extra cost for my mum and my sister didn’t have an English tutor but got an 8. My sister did her GCSEs 5 years ago and may have forgotten how to answer some questions. I know that when she was doing english tests she was also getting 5s and 6s so it’s motivating for me to know that there’s someone who relates to me and still got an 8 but I’m not in Year 9 or the start of Year 10 anymore and my exams are in less than a year.
With English Language, I feel like my problem is running out of time and not reading the text properly therefore I don’t identify certain language/structural devices. I know where I’m going wrong but I need some support on how to manage my time well and how to scan a text effectively.
I’d also like to know if it is possible for me to sit an exam in November this year even if I didn’t do it this GCSE exam season. Perhaps if I can really put my head down and revise for English Language, I can try and do the exam in November this year and try and get a 6 (or 7) so in this way, I wouldn’t have to worry about English Language anymore (I’m not doing English for A-Level).
Thanks for reading all of this - I know it’s a lot. I just felt a bit down at school and wanted to express my need of help for English. I don’t want to tell my mum what I got because well she won’t say to me that I didn’t do well but I just don’t want her to know that my grade for English dipped lower and I know I can do better in English - the main question is just: How?

My top tip is to look at mark schemes for past papers. At least for my exam board the format for the questions is the same every year so you know the key words and ideas the examiner is looking for. I managed to get an 8 in my English language gcse from looking at mark schemes and the exam board advice only a week before my exam. But you have ages to master it. Good luck!!

Reply 4

Trickia

Study Forum Helper

Original post by coolblackguy

Thank you!
My exam board is AQA
I pray your exams are going well right now :smile:

okay so overall tips for p1 and also thank you xx:

Since you struggle with time learn an essay plan that works for you then time yourself in exam conditions to train yourself so it won't be an issue anymore :smile:

learn to practice to skim read - it helps get the overall gist without spending too much time - this is a personal thing I would do - but it may not work for you
at the start I would open p1 and look at the question forget about the extract and see what lines they are asking me to look at. Then grab a highlighter and draw a box around it and focus on that part only forget about reading the rest so your mind doesn't get confused! I would directly quote from the extract to make sure I get it word for word and make sure you are answering the question 🙂

For q2 again, only look at the selected part of the extract nowhere else and put a ring around to avoid myself reading something else and confusing myself.
Instead of writing the writer uses methods such as .... do a topic/thesis statement instead. E.g The character is frightened and becomes paranoid. They react in a "quote" this creates/signifies... Embedding quotes is a good idea so practice doing so try not to use the word "show", if you can't think of an alternative say "details".

Do a topic sentence, quote and at least 3 explanations linking to the question before doing another paragraph. I would recommend 3 paragraphs as it is only 8 marks and isn't worth spending alot of time compared to 4 and 5.

Question 3 is quite similar - to make it easier think about it like this - beginning, middle and end. Do a topic sentence, put in the method and at least 3 explanations linking to the question before doing another paragraph. Methods i.e sentence length, dialogue etc
So do a paragraph at each section on the extract - usually think of the beginning as the lines in q1 my teacher would say

Question 4 - I was taught as the weave question. The question is 2 statements. Go through the extract and use two different highlighters to highlights parts that either support or disagree with the statement then answer. Put a statement with your overall judgement. Then start at the beginning and go through embedding the quotes and explain why it supports/or doesn't including language and structural features. I recommend 4 paragraphs.

Question 5 - is up to you - depends on what you prefer and what style question suits you the most but I will explain descriptive because that's how I was taught
ALWAYS PLAN - spare at least 5 minutes planning so you don't lack structure! I would plan out the descriptive writing as zooming in at various points and doing show not tell. TBH this is really practicing to improve (everything is really). Don't really have much to say on this one

Hope it helps I will post another for paper 2 xx

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 5

Trickia

Study Forum Helper

For paper 2

You have to skim over the paper before answering and like q1 in p1 ring the box of lines they tell you to answer from. They will try to trick you so before answering just do crosses on the statements you believe are false and double check - this is usually about inferring.

q2 is a summary of similarities/differences in both sources.
Make a table on your extract and highlight what is relevant to the question. Then again make a thesis statement and embed quotes - analysing if necessary. I would recommend on about 2 paragraphs - again make sure it works for you

q3 is like p1 q2 some plan to answer the question but with an extra paragraph as it is worth more marks

q4 again I would make a table and compare both sources A and B. Do a topic sentence, quote and explode the writer's viewpoints as this is the whole point of this paper. Depending on what works for you but I would do A and B in the same paragraph instead of a long paragraph on A then a long paragraph on B🙂
try do 4/5 paragraphs

q5 MAKE SURE TO PLAN!!! My plan would be do a strong opening paragraph, then covid paragraph relevant to the statement, anecdote paragraph, issue, solution and end it off
make sure you structure the answer correctly i.e speech
if it is the newspaper don't worry about the headline as that usually doesn't cost marks so if you do have time worry about that later!

Good luck for the future any questions if there is something unclear xx

Reply 6

Greenhouse999

Original post by coolblackguy

Hi.
So i got my english language mock back today and I got a 4+ (1 mark from a 5). The point is im coming towards the end of year 10 and I don’t think I’m improving in english. My grades in English this year have been:
Language: 5,5,4+
Literature: 6+,5+,6+ (literature is ok because the + signs show that I was only one mark away from the next grade)
I don’t know how to improve in english languge. I even revised a bit for this test and got a 4(+). And my teacher said for our reports, she would use an average of our two grades (paper 1 and paper 2 mock). I got a 5 in paper 1 and a 4(+) in paper 2 so one of my questions is: what would the average of a 5 and a 4 be? I think it’s a 5- if my school puts the - and + signs on our reports but if they don’t, what would my grade be?
I want to improve in English because most sixth forms are asking for a 6 in english language. I want to do well in English to make God and my mum proud; God and my mum are like my strives to do well in school but when it comes to English, I feel like I’m not showing them or anyone my full potential. I also want to make my mum proud because she’s a single mum and worked really hard to bring me up; my mum gets happy when I show her my other test scores because to be honest, I’m not doing really badly in my other subjects. In my recent biology test, I got a 7 (one mark from an 8). I have also got a 9 and 7 in my computer science tests etc etc but my question is: If I can do subjects like Computer Science (etc), why do I struggle with English Language? All I’m doing is inferring?
I want to try and get an English tutor but in all honesty, I don’t know if I can. It would be an extra cost for my mum and my sister didn’t have an English tutor but got an 8. My sister did her GCSEs 5 years ago and may have forgotten how to answer some questions. I know that when she was doing english tests she was also getting 5s and 6s so it’s motivating for me to know that there’s someone who relates to me and still got an 8 but I’m not in Year 9 or the start of Year 10 anymore and my exams are in less than a year.
With English Language, I feel like my problem is running out of time and not reading the text properly therefore I don’t identify certain language/structural devices. I know where I’m going wrong but I need some support on how to manage my time well and how to scan a text effectively.
I’d also like to know if it is possible for me to sit an exam in November this year even if I didn’t do it this GCSE exam season. Perhaps if I can really put my head down and revise for English Language, I can try and do the exam in November this year and try and get a 6 (or 7) so in this way, I wouldn’t have to worry about English Language anymore (I’m not doing English for A-Level).
Thanks for reading all of this - I know it’s a lot. I just felt a bit down at school and wanted to express my need of help for English. I don’t want to tell my mum what I got because well she won’t say to me that I didn’t do well but I just don’t want her to know that my grade for English dipped lower and I know I can do better in English - the main question is just: How?

How much do you read?
A lot of teachers in my school said that regularly engaging with books,articles,newspapers etc
was one of the best things you could do for both your language and your literature grade.