English langauge Gcse

i can find points to make in paper 1 and 2 about the extracts but i cant seem to put it in a well structured paragraph and it ends out coming too short
any tips?

Reply 1

nessie77

I got a 9 in English literature last year so I'm hoping my advice helps, haha.

It's great that you can find points to make as this acts as a great starting point and makes it easier to build up your answers.

I'd recommend finding a good GCSE English youtube channel to watch, as sometimes just seeing someone else's strategy to approaching questions helps you understand how to approach it yourself in an exam. (I'd recommend First Rate tutors as a starting point).

You want an introduction to establish your point, obviously linking to the question given.

Next, you want to start with your strongest point/quote analysis. As this helps to show the examiner you know what you're doing from the start and even if it goes a bit pair-shaped towards the end, a good start helps you to show that you are capable of making the points and analysis that gets you marks.

Each paragraph should should be structured in a similar way. You may have heard of P.E.E.L or perhaps P.E.T.A.L paragraphs. Both are just acronyms that can help you keep your answers well structured. Personally, I think P.E.T.A.L is more useful. It stands for: P - Point, E - Evidence, T - technique/ terminology, A - analysis, L - link.

Point is pretty self - explanatory. If you are asked to talk about the character of Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, your point may be: "Scrooge is a lonely person who has no friends of any sort."

Evidence: Basically means Prove it. Find your evidence from the text/story/play. This is where quotes come in, in the Scrooge example, you may use the quote: “As solitary as an oyster."

Technique/ terminology refers to any literary devices (fancy techniques writers use) e.g. similes, metaphors, personification, pathetic fallacy. (It's really important to know some of these and also know how to spot them. "The quote mentioned is an example of Dickens using a simile to deepen the reader's understanding of Scrooge's character."

Analysis is about explaining what you can work out (infer) from the quotes you have used. "From the simile above. we learn that Scrooge is a lonely man who is cut off from society. Oysters are found at the bottom of cold seas and are closed up, protecting their valuable pearls."

Link means to link back to your original point. At this stage, you want to remind the examiner your point and link it to your analysis. For the Scrooge example: "This illustrates Scrooge's meanness as he greedily protects his wealth at the cost of human relationships. Consequently this results in Scrooge having no companions."

Hopefully you find this helpful. The best piece of advice is probably to consistently practice answering questions and sticking to the same structure (perhaps P.E.T.A.L or P.E.E.L) until it becomes second nature. Over time, you're answers should increase in length without lots of conscious effort.