English language Q5 paper 1

so i'm only just going into yr 11 but i got a 9 on my english mocks so i hope im helpful.

My teacher always says to not do the story because the story and descriptive writing are marked the same way so there's no time to waste on plot.
What i would reccomend is to use the 5 method which is-

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five paragraphs- 1. setting the scene, 2. zoom into an object or person and describe in detail, 3. a short paragraph that works on sensory imagery, 4. describe a bit of action ( this is a small piece of action- like a person falling over or a door opening etc. -nothing too complicated) and 5. leaving the scene- this could be similar to your first paragraph or a direct contrast to it- this is one of the best times to work with large/ complex metaphors

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five types of punctuation- full stop, comma, semi-colon, parenthesis, dashes etc. (but ideally never ellipses ' ... ' - to the examiners this is as unorigional as when a story ends with ' and then i woke up')

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five language devices- similies, metaphors, pathetic fallacy, personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, oxymorons, juxtapositions etc.

Another tip is, when describing verbs / nouns use adverbs / adjectives that seem out of place- for example ' the sun painted itself across the conservatory windows ' . Essentially, anything slightly unusual will interest the examiner.

Hope that helps- if you want to know anything else lit / lang- i'm happy to help !

Reply 2

OP

Original post by m_180

so i'm only just going into yr 11 but i got a 9 on my english mocks so i hope im helpful.
My teacher always says to not do the story because the story and descriptive writing are marked the same way so there's no time to waste on plot.
What i would reccomend is to use the 5 method which is-

•

five paragraphs- 1. setting the scene, 2. zoom into an object or person and describe in detail, 3. a short paragraph that works on sensory imagery, 4. describe a bit of action ( this is a small piece of action- like a person falling over or a door opening etc. -nothing too complicated) and 5. leaving the scene- this could be similar to your first paragraph or a direct contrast to it- this is one of the best times to work with large/ complex metaphors

•

five types of punctuation- full stop, comma, semi-colon, parenthesis, dashes etc. (but ideally never ellipses ' ... ' - to the examiners this is as unorigional as when a story ends with ' and then i woke up')

•

five language devices- similies, metaphors, pathetic fallacy, personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, oxymorons, juxtapositions etc.

Another tip is, when describing verbs / nouns use adverbs / adjectives that seem out of place- for example ' the sun painted itself across the conservatory windows ' . Essentially, anything slightly unusual will interest the examiner.
Hope that helps- if you want to know anything else lit / lang- i'm happy to help !

Thank you so so much, so I should focus on doing the descriptions in my mocks and actually GCSE’s I’ve always done the stories but I usually score quite low cos I focus on the plot too much so I’ll definitely take that advice but I do need lots of advice in lit/language if u don’t mind especially analysing quotes

Reply 3

Original post by custardcreamdog

Thank you so so much, so I should focus on doing the descriptions in my mocks and actually GCSE’s I’ve always done the stories but I usually score quite low cos I focus on the plot too much so I’ll definitely take that advice but I do need lots of advice in lit/language if u don’t mind especially analysing quotes

stories are almost impossible to execute- i used the method above and got 36/40 in my mock and it was similar for others in my class. stories are extra hard because the mark scheme is the same for the descriptions- and the mark scheme has little to no mention of plot. if you have spare time you can also practice using different adverbs/adjectives that are unusual- and have a few set sentences (for example i have a sentence describing each season, so that i can always describe weather).

when it comes to analyzing quotes, what i do is have the quote written in my book. I highlight the words that will be useful- for example (in the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde) in the quotation- 'like some disconsolate prisoner' i would highlight disconsolate and prisoner. I then add single word/ sentence annotations such as- the theme, mood, how the character is feeling onto the key words i've highlighted and then i expand on the annotation with how that is connoted through the word choice- then i link it to context and the overall theme of the paragraph.
A key thing to remeber when analyzing quotations is that more often than not the actual words (adjectives mainly) are more interesting than the techniques- so in essays you don't need to use a technique as a quotation ( i rarely do ) just explain what specific word choices suggest and link it to the overall theme.

Also, when writing an essay only use quotations that have 3 interesting things within it- three different points you can make, if you can't think of one like that during the exams you'll have to use multiple quotations (usually 2 because of time).

Reply 4

OP

Thanks so much for your help, sorry to keep asking questions but i do Macbeth and a Christmas carol so how many times would you recommend re reading the books before the GCSEs?

Reply 5

Original post by custardcreamdog

Thanks so much for your help, sorry to keep asking questions but i do Macbeth and a Christmas carol so how many times would you recommend re reading the books before the GCSEs?

dont worry about questions- i dont mind!

i do- romeo and julliet and an inspector calls- and ive never re-read them because i wrote scene and act summaries- only for important scenes with lots of quotations. it only has to be like 3 sentences max- essentially re-reading is good and will benefit you in terms of familiarity with the text- so a better character understanding but what's better than that is to word vomit all over some quotations and continue building your analysis and then testing your knowledge of them every 2-3 weeks or so- because its a lot of content but if you know your quotations and some context you're good.

i'm not going to re-read im just going to watch the films every couple of months-as long as you dont forget quotations your fine in the long term
if your worried about exam technique for lit- i use WETRATS

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(t) topic sentence

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w- interesting word

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e- explain how the word is interesting

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t- technique (optional- i rarely use)

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r- readers reaction (a little contextual)

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a- authors intention (contextual too)

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s- explain the impact on the text structure or context- i always opt for context

Reply 6

OP

Original post by m_180

dont worry about questions- i dont mind!
i do- romeo and julliet and an inspector calls- and ive never re-read them because i wrote scene and act summaries- only for important scenes with lots of quotations. it only has to be like 3 sentences max- essentially re-reading is good and will benefit you in terms of familiarity with the text- so a better character understanding but what's better than that is to word vomit all over some quotations and continue building your analysis and then testing your knowledge of them every 2-3 weeks or so- because its a lot of content but if you know your quotations and some context you're good.
i'm not going to re-read im just going to watch the films every couple of months-as long as you dont forget quotations your fine in the long term
if your worried about exam technique for lit- i use WETRATS

•

(t) topic sentence

•

w- interesting word

•

e- explain how the word is interesting

•

t- technique (optional- i rarely use)

•

r- readers reaction (a little contextual)

•

a- authors intention (contextual too)

•

s- explain the impact on the text structure or context- i always opt for context

You’re being so helpful thank you, ive been so stressed since i went through a rough time losing my dad in November and have been trying to get back on track and i just feel like i need so much help so i really appreciate this thank you

Reply 7

no worries- I'm glad you found it useful- this year will be stressful but as long as you pass your gcse's you'll be fine, most sixth forms only require grade 4s and a levels are usually the only ones uni's look out for if that is the route you want to take, just make sure to take time for you because there is still plenty of time

Reply 8

OP