English – two years in 30 minutes

IGCSE English Language Section A Reading activity Section B Reading activity – one anthology text Writing activity Section C Writing activity

45 minutes per section Total time: 2 hrs and 15 mins Manage time Be ruthless – if you have run out of time for a section or even a question move on. In Section A work on 1.5 minutes per mark

Section A Four or five questions Question 1 – find a fact – be careful, not obvious – you might have to select as opposed to find Question 2 – find phrases or quotations – do not copy out whole sentences – you will not gain marks!

Question 3 – select specific information from the text or from part of the text. Explain in your own words. Under no circumstance use quotation marks! Question 4 – The biggie – How does the writer ‘interest’ or ‘engage’ the reader..? Brief quotations. P.E.E. Comment on the effect of language. Reserve approx 20 mins for this. Select information across the text!

Section B You will receive a clean copy of the text in the examination – ensure you identify what you need to write about. Use diff. colour pens. Question: ‘thoughts and feelings’; ‘what do we learn about…’ Interpret the information, quote briefly and PEE. Ensure you cover the whole piece

Section C Writing task – plan before you write – craft – use connectives to link paragraphs – topic sentences – write to inform, explain, describe – varied and perceptive vocabulary – full range of punctuation used precisely – spelling is consistently accurate – stick to the question – focus on the purpose – don’t move away from this. Make sure your beginning is in your end! Planned ending

GCSE English Literature Paper One: Modern Texts Section A An Inspector Calls – one of two questions – normally one character and one theme. Answer whichever you feel confident with.

Consider the audiences response Foreshadowing and dramatic irony Consider stage directions Do not confuse with the film Look at the structure How does the inspector get away with it? Context as a way of exposing Priestley’s concerns What ideas do the characters represent?

Paper One: Modern Texts Of Mice and Men – one question – no choice - Close reading extract – quote – link to other parts of the book – view characters as vehicles for Steinbeck’s concerns – clean copies so use for precise, short, appropriate quotations. Don’t rely on having the book in front of you.

Insightful response Explore the theme – look at more than one example Close analysis of detail – know the small details Evaluate – explain why something works in terms of form and structure and language Interpret the ideas – what do people represent?

Paper Two: poetry and unseen Section A: Compare two poems from the anthology. You must compare directly throughout to gain full credit – remember it can be how they do things differently, not just what they have in common: Consider: narrative viewpoint, structure, how is the poem told, who is the narrator, when was the poem set…

What makes an A*/A response? Close focus on the poem throughout; excellent selection of short quotations on which you comment; reference to form, structure and importantly language; avoid technique spotting; think about effects. Starting point… does the poet adopt a negative or positive attitude towards the theme? How do you know?

Section B: unseen Be realistic – you can’t cover everything in 30 minutes – write a lot about a little; consider two ways of exploring a quotation; cover form, structure and importantly language; quote selectively, look for pauses. Writing well about the effect of language choice will carry more weight than focusing on weighing techniques.

How can I revise? English Language a)Take a non-fiction extract and devise your own questions – look at how a writer creates thoughts and feelings. b)Using old essays, learn 20 words that have three or more syllables (obviously learn the spelling – use them) c)Think about issues that concern young people now.

How can I revise? d) Re-read the anthology extracts e) The VLE has a range of resources, including past papers. Familiarise yourself with these to ensure that you know what has been used before.

How can I revise? English Literature OMAM and Inspector a) What does this character do? b) Learn five quotations for each character c) Think of three incident relevant to each character d) Think of one item you would associate with them

How can I revise? Poetry a) Link poems – what do they have in common? … and what makes them different? b) Randomly generate quotations from each – drop a pencil, paperclip, etc, copy out the line and then repeat c) Focus on effect – select poems from other parts of the anthology (NOT CONFLICT)

Take a clean copy of the poem from the VLE and selectively apply your notes again. GOOD LUCK