year 11 gyg !!
i'm aiming for all 8s and 9s in my january mocks then gcses too. these are my y10 mock results and my predicted grades next to them:
Biology - 8/8
Business - 7/7
Chemistry - 9/9
English Language - 8/8
English Literature - 9/9
Geography - 8/9
Maths - 7/9
Music - 9/9
Physics - 8/9
RS - 8/9
Spanish - 6/8
if anyone has tips for edexcel spanish, edexcel maths, aqa physics or for other subs in general pls lmkk
thank you!
Reply 1
i'm aiming for all 8s and 9s in my january mocks then gcses too. these are my y10 mock results and my predicted grades next to them:
Biology - 8/8
Business - 7/7
Chemistry - 9/9
English Language - 8/8
English Literature - 9/9
Geography - 8/9
Maths - 7/9
Music - 9/9
Physics - 8/9
RS - 8/9
Spanish - 6/8
if anyone has tips for edexcel spanish, edexcel maths, aqa physics or for other subs in general pls lmkk
thank you!
heyy! I'm also yr 10 going into yr 11 in September, and I also want to do some revision/make resources during the summer bc I've heard yr 11 can be a lot 😦. And just like u, I also want to get 8/9s on my next mocks (mine are in november 😬). Also your mock results are soo good!! These are my yr10 mock results btw:
•
chem 9
•
bio 9
•
physics 9
•
maths 6 (but apparently the highest you could get was a 7)
•
english lang 7
•
english lit 7
•
rs 7
•
food tech 8
•
geography 7
•
computer science 5 🤐
Just wondering, but do you have any tips for english lang, lit and geography since you did really well on them in your mocks??
thanks!! (and good luck with your gyg journey, I'll definitely be following along!!)
Reply 2
i didn’t do edexcel spanish but i did do french, and i did edexcel maths and aqa physics (though as part of the combined course). ill try and give you as many tips as i can!
for spanish:
• flashcards are SO useful. quizlet is a good platform, it’s quite basic without a subscription but it gets the job done, and it means that all of your flashcards are always available (as long as your phone is). aim for about 5-10 minutes of vocab practice a day! sounds like a small amount but that every day until your exams will boost your grade.
• find the prescribed spanish vocab list on the edexcel website and learn ALL THE WORDS. there will be loads but if you just do a little every day then you can break it down. learning just the vocab you get in lessons or in the textbook isn’t usually enough.
• go over textbook exercises to help practise grammar. aim to do a couple of grammar exercises a week. maybe make a big spreadsheet or mind map of all complex grammar points. this will help you particularly in the writing sections!
• copy out grammar tables until you know it. it’s boring ☹️ but really helpful and will be so useful, again especially in the writing
• for the aural, either create questions or use school ones that cover the whole of every topic. then write answers for them, making sure to include complex language and set phrases that show understanding and personal thought. don’t rote-memorise your answers but DO practise speaking them aloud - a bit like if you were rehearsing a presentation! you shouldn’t have things memorised - it might be disconcerting then if you don’t get asked exact wordings of questions on the day - but you should be able to speak comfortably and relatively fluently. (although, that being said, small pauses and breaks are completely fine 🙂)
for maths:
• PAPERS AND PRACTICE QUESTIONS. basically my only tip lol bc it was where i almost fell down! (did get a good 9 but only after i started doing these). it sounds intense, but by the time gcses started i was doing a full maths paper every day. this is bc doing papers tests both of the key skills required to get a good grade in maths - knowing the content (this includes things like how to spot graphs, how to answer very specifically worded questions, and how to tackle complicated topics like vectors and quadratics) and being able to solve the questions IN THE TIME. maths is a v v tight exam, so exam-timed practice is essential. if you do every single paper available (and they’re pretty easy ones to do bc they don’t take much time if you time them), and then STUDY THE MARK SCHEMES (rlly important), there will be no question you don’t know how to answer in the exam. trust!
• a lot of people say you can’t revise for maths - which isn’t true, especially at gcse. some things do have to be learnt - the quadratic formula, circle theorems, trig exact values, venn diagram symbols, and inequality symbols (in formulae and on graphs) are ones i can think of off the top of my head. a lot of people lose marks on these questions just bc they don’t learn them, but once you do the marks are easy!
for physics:
• formulae is the big one. learn the formulae and then learn how to apply them to questions - both simple (e.g. just insert numbers into this formula) and complex (6-mark physics questions can contain up to 3 different formulae).
• focus on difficult, wordy topics. topics like particles and magnetism are where the slightly terrifying 6-markers come in. practise as many of these as you can to get used to the format and the wording that aqa require - like for maths, once you’ve seen a couple it’s likely you’ve seen them all! remember you never need to write in a paragraph for those questions (you can write one sentence a line, for example) although bullet points aren’t recommended.
• learn required practicals. for physics, it’s rare that you’ll need to know precise numeric values, for example (you can often just make up sensible ones in the exam), but knowing the steps and equipment are key.
• don’t lose marks on nicher topics that you could learn easily! a lot of people lose marks on the sciences simply bc they skip out on revising something that “definitely won’t come up” - and then it does. learn every word of your notes by heart if you can - and be able to recall them in the exam!
• for all of the sciences, id suggest going by the specification exactly. the spec lays out exactly what you need to know in a good and easily comprehensible layout and order. sometimes it isn’t enough detail - websites like https://www.savemyexams.com are BRILLIANT bc they have pre-made notes and practice questions for you to go insane over (that website was free when i used it but it might be paid now? i would have a check. there are loads of other free ones out there if not. lots of great youtube videos by cognito and freesciencelessons too!)
• speaking of videos above, don’t just passively engage in any of the material you’re revising with science. flashcards are KEY, as is active recall in general. being able to recall facts word for word easily is the only way you’ll score highly in the exam, and will give you an advantage over lots of other people who won’t be able to do that. for videos, take notes and test yourself on the content later.
hope this helps! enjoy your holiday and take care. feel free to ask any questions 🙂
Reply 3
Reply 4
i didn’t do edexcel spanish but i did do french, and i did edexcel maths and aqa physics (though as part of the combined course). ill try and give you as many tips as i can!
for spanish:
• flashcards are SO useful. quizlet is a good platform, it’s quite basic without a subscription but it gets the job done, and it means that all of your flashcards are always available (as long as your phone is). aim for about 5-10 minutes of vocab practice a day! sounds like a small amount but that every day until your exams will boost your grade.
• find the prescribed spanish vocab list on the edexcel website and learn ALL THE WORDS. there will be loads but if you just do a little every day then you can break it down. learning just the vocab you get in lessons or in the textbook isn’t usually enough.
• go over textbook exercises to help practise grammar. aim to do a couple of grammar exercises a week. maybe make a big spreadsheet or mind map of all complex grammar points. this will help you particularly in the writing sections!
• copy out grammar tables until you know it. it’s boring ☹️ but really helpful and will be so useful, again especially in the writing
• for the aural, either create questions or use school ones that cover the whole of every topic. then write answers for them, making sure to include complex language and set phrases that show understanding and personal thought. don’t rote-memorise your answers but DO practise speaking them aloud - a bit like if you were rehearsing a presentation! you shouldn’t have things memorised - it might be disconcerting then if you don’t get asked exact wordings of questions on the day - but you should be able to speak comfortably and relatively fluently. (although, that being said, small pauses and breaks are completely fine 🙂)
for maths:
• PAPERS AND PRACTICE QUESTIONS. basically my only tip lol bc it was where i almost fell down! (did get a good 9 but only after i started doing these). it sounds intense, but by the time gcses started i was doing a full maths paper every day. this is bc doing papers tests both of the key skills required to get a good grade in maths - knowing the content (this includes things like how to spot graphs, how to answer very specifically worded questions, and how to tackle complicated topics like vectors and quadratics) and being able to solve the questions IN THE TIME. maths is a v v tight exam, so exam-timed practice is essential. if you do every single paper available (and they’re pretty easy ones to do bc they don’t take much time if you time them), and then STUDY THE MARK SCHEMES (rlly important), there will be no question you don’t know how to answer in the exam. trust!
• a lot of people say you can’t revise for maths - which isn’t true, especially at gcse. some things do have to be learnt - the quadratic formula, circle theorems, trig exact values, venn diagram symbols, and inequality symbols (in formulae and on graphs) are ones i can think of off the top of my head. a lot of people lose marks on these questions just bc they don’t learn them, but once you do the marks are easy!
for physics:
• formulae is the big one. learn the formulae and then learn how to apply them to questions - both simple (e.g. just insert numbers into this formula) and complex (6-mark physics questions can contain up to 3 different formulae).
• focus on difficult, wordy topics. topics like particles and magnetism are where the slightly terrifying 6-markers come in. practise as many of these as you can to get used to the format and the wording that aqa require - like for maths, once you’ve seen a couple it’s likely you’ve seen them all! remember you never need to write in a paragraph for those questions (you can write one sentence a line, for example) although bullet points aren’t recommended.
• learn required practicals. for physics, it’s rare that you’ll need to know precise numeric values, for example (you can often just make up sensible ones in the exam), but knowing the steps and equipment are key.
• don’t lose marks on nicher topics that you could learn easily! a lot of people lose marks on the sciences simply bc they skip out on revising something that “definitely won’t come up” - and then it does. learn every word of your notes by heart if you can - and be able to recall them in the exam!
• for all of the sciences, id suggest going by the specification exactly. the spec lays out exactly what you need to know in a good and easily comprehensible layout and order. sometimes it isn’t enough detail - websites like https://www.savemyexams.com are BRILLIANT bc they have pre-made notes and practice questions for you to go insane over (that website was free when i used it but it might be paid now? i would have a check. there are loads of other free ones out there if not. lots of great youtube videos by cognito and freesciencelessons too!)
• speaking of videos above, don’t just passively engage in any of the material you’re revising with science. flashcards are KEY, as is active recall in general. being able to recall facts word for word easily is the only way you’ll score highly in the exam, and will give you an advantage over lots of other people who won’t be able to do that. for videos, take notes and test yourself on the content later.
hope this helps! enjoy your holiday and take care. feel free to ask any questions 🙂
ik that advice isn't meant for me but its still soo helpful, thanks!!
you you have any advice for english lang and lit as i've been stuck on 6/7 since the start of yr10? also computer science if you took it?
Reply 5
•
chem 9
•
bio 9
•
physics 9
•
maths 6 (but apparently the highest you could get was a 7)
•
english lang 7
•
english lit 7
•
rs 7
•
food tech 8
•
geography 7
•
computer science 5 🤐
Just wondering, but do you have any tips for english lang, lit and geography since you did really well on them in your mocks??
thanks!! (and good luck with your gyg journey, I'll definitely be following along!!)
thank youuu ur mock results are also amazing like what?? 9 in all sciences 😭
for english lit our mock was on an inspector calls so I made like a double sided poster on characters and themes with all the ideas and key quotes. tgen I looked through some past papers and planned essays using the poster. i didn't get to do this but next time im gonna practise writing the essay in timed conditions. alsooo i rlly recommend first rate tutors like the way she explained everything was so clear. if u do aic id say use this video for the key stuff
for language i went through past papers and got lucky cause it ended up being my mock but I litch binged mr everything english and mr bruff to kinda understand the structures more
then ibsr for geo i started revising 3 days before (its so boring i literally can't stand it) and i ended up skipping a whole 6 marker by accident in the exam 💀 but i made mindmaps on every unit we'd done so far and specific ones for case studies, blurting for case studies and then going through past papers
if you don't mind pls could you pass some tips for bio and physics (esp physics I hate it with a passion bro)
good luck with ur revision too!!
Reply 6
i didn’t do edexcel spanish but i did do french, and i did edexcel maths and aqa physics (though as part of the combined course). ill try and give you as many tips as i can!
for spanish:
• flashcards are SO useful. quizlet is a good platform, it’s quite basic without a subscription but it gets the job done, and it means that all of your flashcards are always available (as long as your phone is). aim for about 5-10 minutes of vocab practice a day! sounds like a small amount but that every day until your exams will boost your grade.
• find the prescribed spanish vocab list on the edexcel website and learn ALL THE WORDS. there will be loads but if you just do a little every day then you can break it down. learning just the vocab you get in lessons or in the textbook isn’t usually enough.
• go over textbook exercises to help practise grammar. aim to do a couple of grammar exercises a week. maybe make a big spreadsheet or mind map of all complex grammar points. this will help you particularly in the writing sections!
• copy out grammar tables until you know it. it’s boring ☹️ but really helpful and will be so useful, again especially in the writing
• for the aural, either create questions or use school ones that cover the whole of every topic. then write answers for them, making sure to include complex language and set phrases that show understanding and personal thought. don’t rote-memorise your answers but DO practise speaking them aloud - a bit like if you were rehearsing a presentation! you shouldn’t have things memorised - it might be disconcerting then if you don’t get asked exact wordings of questions on the day - but you should be able to speak comfortably and relatively fluently. (although, that being said, small pauses and breaks are completely fine 🙂)
for maths:
• PAPERS AND PRACTICE QUESTIONS. basically my only tip lol bc it was where i almost fell down! (did get a good 9 but only after i started doing these). it sounds intense, but by the time gcses started i was doing a full maths paper every day. this is bc doing papers tests both of the key skills required to get a good grade in maths - knowing the content (this includes things like how to spot graphs, how to answer very specifically worded questions, and how to tackle complicated topics like vectors and quadratics) and being able to solve the questions IN THE TIME. maths is a v v tight exam, so exam-timed practice is essential. if you do every single paper available (and they’re pretty easy ones to do bc they don’t take much time if you time them), and then STUDY THE MARK SCHEMES (rlly important), there will be no question you don’t know how to answer in the exam. trust!
• a lot of people say you can’t revise for maths - which isn’t true, especially at gcse. some things do have to be learnt - the quadratic formula, circle theorems, trig exact values, venn diagram symbols, and inequality symbols (in formulae and on graphs) are ones i can think of off the top of my head. a lot of people lose marks on these questions just bc they don’t learn them, but once you do the marks are easy!
for physics:
• formulae is the big one. learn the formulae and then learn how to apply them to questions - both simple (e.g. just insert numbers into this formula) and complex (6-mark physics questions can contain up to 3 different formulae).
• focus on difficult, wordy topics. topics like particles and magnetism are where the slightly terrifying 6-markers come in. practise as many of these as you can to get used to the format and the wording that aqa require - like for maths, once you’ve seen a couple it’s likely you’ve seen them all! remember you never need to write in a paragraph for those questions (you can write one sentence a line, for example) although bullet points aren’t recommended.
• learn required practicals. for physics, it’s rare that you’ll need to know precise numeric values, for example (you can often just make up sensible ones in the exam), but knowing the steps and equipment are key.
• don’t lose marks on nicher topics that you could learn easily! a lot of people lose marks on the sciences simply bc they skip out on revising something that “definitely won’t come up” - and then it does. learn every word of your notes by heart if you can - and be able to recall them in the exam!
• for all of the sciences, id suggest going by the specification exactly. the spec lays out exactly what you need to know in a good and easily comprehensible layout and order. sometimes it isn’t enough detail - websites like https://www.savemyexams.com are BRILLIANT bc they have pre-made notes and practice questions for you to go insane over (that website was free when i used it but it might be paid now? i would have a check. there are loads of other free ones out there if not. lots of great youtube videos by cognito and freesciencelessons too!)
• speaking of videos above, don’t just passively engage in any of the material you’re revising with science. flashcards are KEY, as is active recall in general. being able to recall facts word for word easily is the only way you’ll score highly in the exam, and will give you an advantage over lots of other people who won’t be able to do that. for videos, take notes and test yourself on the content later.
hope this helps! enjoy your holiday and take care. feel free to ask any questions 🙂
ahhh you absolute saviour!!! thank u so muchh im gonna start w these tips soon and I'll let you know if i have any qs
Reply 7
oh my days tell me about it. my teacher doesn't like me either which doesn't rlly help
Reply 8
i'm aiming for all 8s and 9s in my january mocks then gcses too. these are my y10 mock results and my predicted grades next to them:
Biology - 8/8
Business - 7/7
Chemistry - 9/9
English Language - 8/8
English Literature - 9/9
Geography - 8/9
Maths - 7/9
Music - 9/9
Physics - 8/9
RS - 8/9
Spanish - 6/8
if anyone has tips for edexcel spanish, edexcel maths, aqa physics or for other subs in general pls lmkk
thank you!
Hey there,
As someone who just finished their GCSE's I have one extremely valuable piece of of advice,
FORGET about 'motivation', those who get the best grades are never the most motivated but the most DISCIPLINED, motivation is temporary but discipline is consistent, teach yourself to push, teach yourself to keep going because you HAVE TO and because you WANT and NEED the grades not because you saw a picture of someone with all A* and got a random burst of motivation.
Trust me I'm speaking from experience and I wouldn't want to anyone to make the same mistakes I made, often times you're gonna feel like you're not bothered and like you want to give up, you're gonna feel procrastination kicking in and you're gonna keep postponing your homework and revision, believe me that can make your 9 drop to a 4 in the blink of an eye.
Do it in multiple bits overtime, stay consistent, keep going, push yourself when you don't want to and you'll get there.
If you have anymore questions you can ask x
Reply 9
i'm aiming for all 8s and 9s in my january mocks then gcses too. these are my y10 mock results and my predicted grades next to them:
Biology - 8/8
Business - 7/7
Chemistry - 9/9
English Language - 8/8
English Literature - 9/9
Geography - 8/9
Maths - 7/9
Music - 9/9
Physics - 8/9
RS - 8/9
Spanish - 6/8
if anyone has tips for edexcel spanish, edexcel maths, aqa physics or for other subs in general pls lmkk
thank you!
hey im class of 24 and im telling u just RELAX THIS SUMMER!! Ur gonna need to be prepared to maintain ur grades but u can easily start from september!! you don’t want to get burnt out too early so honestly don’t stress this summer and start mildly from september🫶🏽🫶🏽
Reply 10
you you have any advice for english lang and lit as i've been stuck on 6/7 since the start of yr10? also computer science if you took it?
no worries! im glad i could help 🙂
unfortunately i didn’t take cs so i can’t help with that, sorry ☹️ but i did take the englishes and got 9s so hopefully can advise!
for eng lit:
•
read and reread the texts as much as possible - id say maybe three times over the next year if you can. this will help to really engrain them in your mind, and you’ll pick up material to write about without even realising it
•
go through and annotate the WHOLE book/poem. there are loads of resources out there on youtube, with teachers going through and analysing texts line by line. use these and your class notes to create a text which is completely annotated. annotations should include things flagged by teachers as important - e.g. language devices and key quotes - but also things that you generally find interesting, quotes you want to remember, or words you want to remember to use in essays (e.g. i wrote parataxis everywhere on my macbeth copy lol!!). make your annotations useful but also personal! find stuff that you can engage with and that you’ll find easy to remember. a colour coordinated system can help (i had four colours for my texts: language devices, structural devices, word choices and context).
•
flashcards can help with learning quotes. write key words of the quote on one side (e.g. look, flower, serpent, under) and then the full quote on the other (look the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t). use the key words to recall the full quote.
•
practise PLANNING essays. time is tight in english lit exams and the better you are at quickly planning and prioritising your points, the better your essay will be. you should know the exact format of your essay in brief before you start writing - by having at least a main point, and some scenes/lines to support this quote, for each paragraph you plan to do.
•
quality of ANALYSIS is being tested in eng lit (and lang too!). this means you cant just quote and move on - you have to quote and analyse, then explain how that analysis is relevant to your wider point. it can take practice but doing this for every quote you write down will elevate your answers!
•
for unseen poetry, learn to spot key forms and techniques before your exam. think about structure - metre, rhyme, stanza breaks, line breaks, enjambment, caesura; and language - imagery, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, alliteration, plosives, sibilance. no one is expecting you to have wider knowledge about the poet or the genre of poetry - talk about what you can READ and what effect that has on the reader. what do you personally think the poem is about? how can you back that up with evidence in the text (the techniques listed above)?
for eng lang:
•
do as much practice as you can. everyone struggles with lang, because the timing is tight and it’s very difficult to answer four questions on a text (or 2) that you have never seen before. practice is therefore absolutely essential, especially practice with exam timing.
•
planning and prioritising is really important in eng lang. you have to practise reading, highlighting, and formulating points whilst you’re reading. a good idea is to read the text(s) once fully, read the questions, then read the texts again. this time, highlight things that might be important for the questions, maybe with brief pencil annotations. but this entire process should take no more than around 5-10 minutes (so again, practising timing is essential).
•
speaking of planning, it’s a good idea to plan out time ratios for questions in advance - and to stick to them!! in an exam, it’s easy to get bogged down in one question that’s a bit more difficult. be disciplined with yourself and stick to very precise times. once time allocated is up for that question, finish your sentence, and quickly move on. you can always come back to it if you have time. for me, i allocated 10 minutes to read, plan and do q1, 10 for q2, 10 for q3, 30 for q4, 40 for q5 and 5m to read over and check answers on questions i was unsure of or left unfinished.
•
my main tip for persuasive creative writing is to learn some rhetorical techniques that are naturally persuasive. rhetorical questions, tricolons, emotive language, statistics, interviews (both of these can be made up, but they should be believable!) are ones i can think of off the top of my head. make an acronym for these (e.g. RETSI for the ones i mentioned), write them down on the page when you start, and tick them off as you put them into your writing. do the same for fictional creative writing - learn common literary techniques (similes, metaphors, alliteration) and include them in your writing.
•
my main tip for eng lang is to do LOADS of reading. read for fun! analyse the texts that you read. read some news articles from papers like the guardian or the telegraph (specifically opinion articles). reading will give you an idea of the sorts of things examiners are looking for, both in your own writing and in your analysis of others’. 🙂
Reply 11
for english lit our mock was on an inspector calls so I made like a double sided poster on characters and themes with all the ideas and key quotes. tgen I looked through some past papers and planned essays using the poster. i didn't get to do this but next time im gonna practise writing the essay in timed conditions. alsooo i rlly recommend first rate tutors like the way she explained everything was so clear. if u do aic id say use this video for the key stuff
for language i went through past papers and got lucky cause it ended up being my mock but I litch binged mr everything english and mr bruff to kinda understand the structures more
then ibsr for geo i started revising 3 days before (its so boring i literally can't stand it) and i ended up skipping a whole 6 marker by accident in the exam 💀 but i made mindmaps on every unit we'd done so far and specific ones for case studies, blurting for case studies and then going through past papers
if you don't mind pls could you pass some tips for bio and physics (esp physics I hate it with a passion bro)
good luck with ur revision too!!
ooh ok thx for the advice!!
biology:
•
before you start doing any questions/making resources make sure you know & understand the content!!
•
websites I found useful for learning content/refreshing my memory of a particular topic Cognito, Seneca, free science lessons. I also found the cgp revision guide quite useful as well since it summarises the content and has many practice questions throughout.
•
i also suggest investing in a whiteboard and pen (but paper works too!!). Read through the points on the specification, then write down as much as you can remember about that point on your whiteboard. e.g. (mitosis). this is a form of active recall with helps the content stay in your head. you can also use this method right before you start your revision session to see what you remember and what you need to revise more.
•
when doing exam questions, also try and learn the mark scheme!!! this is because in biology if the question isn't answered in a particular way, or doesn't use specific words it would be marked wrong. learning the mark scheme not only improves your exam technique, but also reminds you how to structure your answers properly in order to get full marks on that question.
•
(you may already know this, but the physicsandmathstutor website is great for practice questions and other resources!!)
physics:
tbh i don't really have much advice for physics since I kinda just crammed for it, plus I've got a TERRIBLE teacher so that makes it even worse but heres some things which may help maybe...
•
make sure you learn the equations and know them really well. i did this using flashcards (which i barely use) but found helpful as they were quick to make and I found that i learnt the equations reallyyy quickly. i kinda got lucky since my physics mock was around 40% maths/equation equations 😏
•
i still find physics really difficult mainly bc i have such a bad teacher, but something i found helpful is watching videos and making notes on a whiteboard, as i was listening, watching and writing at the same time, so it made it stick in my head better
•
again congito, seneca, pmt and the cgp revison guide can be useful
sorry ik its not the best advice (especially for physics, maybe someone else on here could help??) but i hope this helps you even just the slightest!! good luck! 😁
Reply 12
unfortunately i didn’t take cs so i can’t help with that, sorry ☹️ but i did take the englishes and got 9s so hopefully can advise!
for eng lit:
•
read and reread the texts as much as possible - id say maybe three times over the next year if you can. this will help to really engrain them in your mind, and you’ll pick up material to write about without even realising it
•
go through and annotate the WHOLE book/poem. there are loads of resources out there on youtube, with teachers going through and analysing texts line by line. use these and your class notes to create a text which is completely annotated. annotations should include things flagged by teachers as important - e.g. language devices and key quotes - but also things that you generally find interesting, quotes you want to remember, or words you want to remember to use in essays (e.g. i wrote parataxis everywhere on my macbeth copy lol!!). make your annotations useful but also personal! find stuff that you can engage with and that you’ll find easy to remember. a colour coordinated system can help (i had four colours for my texts: language devices, structural devices, word choices and context).
•
flashcards can help with learning quotes. write key words of the quote on one side (e.g. look, flower, serpent, under) and then the full quote on the other (look the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t). use the key words to recall the full quote.
•
practise PLANNING essays. time is tight in english lit exams and the better you are at quickly planning and prioritising your points, the better your essay will be. you should know the exact format of your essay in brief before you start writing - by having at least a main point, and some scenes/lines to support this quote, for each paragraph you plan to do.
•
quality of ANALYSIS is being tested in eng lit (and lang too!). this means you cant just quote and move on - you have to quote and analyse, then explain how that analysis is relevant to your wider point. it can take practice but doing this for every quote you write down will elevate your answers!
•
for unseen poetry, learn to spot key forms and techniques before your exam. think about structure - metre, rhyme, stanza breaks, line breaks, enjambment, caesura; and language - imagery, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, alliteration, plosives, sibilance. no one is expecting you to have wider knowledge about the poet or the genre of poetry - talk about what you can READ and what effect that has on the reader. what do you personally think the poem is about? how can you back that up with evidence in the text (the techniques listed above)?
•
do as much practice as you can. everyone struggles with lang, because the timing is tight and it’s very difficult to answer four questions on a text (or 2) that you have never seen before. practice is therefore absolutely essential, especially practice with exam timing.
•
planning and prioritising is really important in eng lang. you have to practise reading, highlighting, and formulating points whilst you’re reading. a good idea is to read the text(s) once fully, read the questions, then read the texts again. this time, highlight things that might be important for the questions, maybe with brief pencil annotations. but this entire process should take no more than around 5-10 minutes (so again, practising timing is essential).
•
speaking of planning, it’s a good idea to plan out time ratios for questions in advance - and to stick to them!! in an exam, it’s easy to get bogged down in one question that’s a bit more difficult. be disciplined with yourself and stick to very precise times. once time allocated is up for that question, finish your sentence, and quickly move on. you can always come back to it if you have time. for me, i allocated 10 minutes to read, plan and do q1, 10 for q2, 10 for q3, 30 for q4, 40 for q5 and 5m to read over and check answers on questions i was unsure of or left unfinished.
•
my main tip for persuasive creative writing is to learn some rhetorical techniques that are naturally persuasive. rhetorical questions, tricolons, emotive language, statistics, interviews (both of these can be made up, but they should be believable!) are ones i can think of off the top of my head. make an acronym for these (e.g. RETSI for the ones i mentioned), write them down on the page when you start, and tick them off as you put them into your writing. do the same for fictional creative writing - learn common literary techniques (similes, metaphors, alliteration) and include them in your writing.
•
my main tip for eng lang is to do LOADS of reading. read for fun! analyse the texts that you read. read some news articles from papers like the guardian or the telegraph (specifically opinion articles). reading will give you an idea of the sorts of things examiners are looking for, both in your own writing and in your analysis of others’. 🙂
omg thx sooo much, your literally a life saver!! <3
Also you may have already kinda mentioned this already but what resources do you think are worth making this summer as i havn't yet made any resources for english...
Btw i do aqa for both lang & lit (here are the texts i do too if that helps and how much we've done in school: )
•
inspector calls (finished studying in yr10)
•
jekyll and hyde (done most of it, will finish the rest at the start of yr11)
•
the merchant of venice (will start in yr11)
•
power and conflict (done 12/15 poems)
Reply 13
Also you may have already kinda mentioned this already but what resources do you think are worth making this summer as i havn't yet made any resources for english...
Btw i do aqa for both lang & lit (here are the texts i do too if that helps and how much we've done in school: )
•
inspector calls (finished studying in yr10)
•
jekyll and hyde (done most of it, will finish the rest at the start of yr11)
•
the merchant of venice (will start in yr11)
•
power and conflict (done 12/15 poems)
do u have any inspector calls resources u made that I can have doing it in yr 11 and what grade did u get
Reply 14
Reply 15
i'm aiming for all 8s and 9s in my january mocks then gcses too. these are my y10 mock results and my predicted grades next to them:
Biology - 8/8
Business - 7/7
Chemistry - 9/9
English Language - 8/8
English Literature - 9/9
Geography - 8/9
Maths - 7/9
Music - 9/9
Physics - 8/9
RS - 8/9
Spanish - 6/8
if anyone has tips for edexcel spanish, edexcel maths, aqa physics or for other subs in general pls lmkk
thank you!
Edexcel Maths: https://www.drfrost.org/courses.php?coid=13
Questions on every topic: https://www.drfrost.org/courses.php?cuid=208110
Spanish: https://www.languagesonline.org.uk/Hotpotatoes/spanishindex.html#gsc.tab=0
Sciences: https://mmerevise.co.uk/gcse-physics-revision/ [other sciences there too]
Reply 16
Also you may have already kinda mentioned this already but what resources do you think are worth making this summer as i havn't yet made any resources for english...
Btw i do aqa for both lang & lit (here are the texts i do too if that helps and how much we've done in school: )
•
inspector calls (finished studying in yr10)
•
jekyll and hyde (done most of it, will finish the rest at the start of yr11)
•
the merchant of venice (will start in yr11)
•
power and conflict (done 12/15 poems)
hi!!! rlly sorry i did vastly different texts from you - expect aic, which i have quizlets for!
https://quizlet.com/gb/741389830/aic-a1-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
https://quizlet.com/gb/790971141/aic-a2-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
https://quizlet.com/gb/803453282/aic-a3-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
definitely worth making some mind maps based on characters and themes - then transfer those to quizlets (like the above) with key words on one side and the full quote and brief analysis on the other. it’s also a good idea to reread the texts you’ve done and maybe try to read the text you’re starting next year, and annotate with any fresh ideas or any notes you find on youtube or such. 🙂
Reply 17
attached above. i got two 9s in eng lang and lit with full marks in eng lit 🙂
Reply 18
https://quizlet.com/gb/741389830/aic-a1-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
https://quizlet.com/gb/790971141/aic-a2-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
https://quizlet.com/gb/803453282/aic-a3-flash-cards/?i=2t9c4f&x=1jqY
definitely worth making some mind maps based on characters and themes - then transfer those to quizlets (like the above) with key words on one side and the full quote and brief analysis on the other. it’s also a good idea to reread the texts you’ve done and maybe try to read the text you’re starting next year, and annotate with any fresh ideas or any notes you find on youtube or such. 🙂
thank u sm!!
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- y13 forecast: a clouded year ahead
- Vote for your September GYG winner!
- swansong3 ~ my year 10 gyg 📖💗💫
- Jupiter’s GCSE GYG!
- dhqnyq's GYG :)) - the 6 month GCSE challenge
- VOTE for the JAN GYG winner!!
- GCSE Lock In GYG
- academic comeback?
- Ophelia actually locks in - a yr11 gyg
- GYG | Sixth Form Prep
- Year 10 Glow-Up 📚 GYG to Smash 2025 and 2026
- Year eleven GYG
- New Friends?????
- year 11 gyg
- 11 weeks going from C to A* - Alevel
- Grow your Graders Community Thread :)
- the Chrono Chronicles
- GYG 💖✨
- My GCSE GYG
- A's GYG!!!!!!!!!
Posted 1 month ago
Become a beta tester for the ultimate all-in-one study productivity appPosted 4 months ago
Grow Your Grades: Time to Lock In 🙂📗💚🌟 (WRONG FORUM)Last reply 9 months ago
Closing this 2023-24 GYG forum soon - make sure to MOVE your new GYG thread now!!!Last reply 9 months ago
Winner for GYG 2023/2024 Announced ðŸ†Last reply 10 months ago
GYG Asks... What are you most proud of & next steps?? 🥇🥇🥇Last reply 10 months ago
How do i achieve an academic comeback in year 10?Last reply 10 months ago
👾 louie's 12 labours (GYG) ★ y13Last reply 10 months ago
Are these grades good enough for gcse Year 10 mocksLast reply 10 months ago
I ranked my A Level Exams (fingers crossed for results day)Last reply 10 months ago
What came up in the 2024 AQA A-level biology paper 1?
