MOCK REVISION Year 11

REVISION GUIDE Learning objectives: To discover areas where we can study. To revise areas for improvement. To analyse success criteria.

STARTER There are 2 papers – one with 3 sections; one with 2 sections. Directed Reading Analysis Notes and Summary Directed Writing Descriptive Writing For each one, give yourself one thing you feel quite confident about and one thing you are nervous about. Be honest because this allows you to see where you are. You only have 5 minutes though so go with your gut.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE Directed Reading: DEVELOP THE KEY IDEAS OF THE PASSAGE Do not just mechanically repeat the passage in your own words. That will help you to pass but not excel. Base everything on what you have read and intuitively and instinctively add more depth and personality to it. BEFORE THE MOCK Go online and do three. Don’t be tempted to look at the answer scheme until you have finished. See whether you have picked out the main points and whether what you have done would count as development.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE Directed Reading: Write in the correct genre/text type. You are not going to be faced with a genre we haven’t spent time on. Stay in character. Look at the task you have been asked to write and decide whether there is a formality or informality that should accompany it. Develop ideas. Don’t just repeat the passage. Ambitious vocabulary/Paragraphing/Punctuation. Finish. The very definition of a piece of writing is that it has a beginning, middle AND END. Without the last part it is incomplete and, therefore, difficult to pass.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE Analysis Explain the EFFECT of the author’s use of literary techniques, especially imagery. It is vital that each quotation you pick out should be analysed in depth and then focused back on what it tells us of the effect it has on our reading of the passage. The language used will allow us to see whether we are supposed to like/love/be scared/hate/adore/mock/despise the particular character or place. Your job is to help us see how the language does that. It is crucial though that you provide us with both the working (how) and the effect (why) the writer creates.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE Analysis Start with an opening sentence. This should sum up the overall effect of the paragraph you have been tasked with analysis then being used to prove it. In each paragraph you analyse, you should analyse at least one image. You should then pick out another 3 examples. These can be images if you like. Word choice = connotations then the bring it back to the effect it has. Imagery = just as…so… then bring it back to the effect it has.

SOME HOMEWORK EXAMPLES We shall now rest my poor dying voice and hear from you. I shall choose several pupils to read out their opening sentence from their analysis homework. We will then judge if these effectively introduce their analysis. We will then hear from several others about their analysis. We will then judge if they fulfil the criteria we are looking for. We will start with…

NOTES + SUMMARY This is different from how it looks in the past papers as this has changed a little this year. Now you must only worry about Passage B. Read the task which will set you a specific question about the passage. Your job is to write in note form the answers in a series of bullet points. They don’t have to be in your own words but if you are just lifting from the passage, make sure the answer works in context. You need 15. In the past papers, just answer the question for Passage B – you may only find 10 or so because this is the old format.

NOTES + SUMMARY There will be more than 15 correct answers in the Mock. If you put 16 or 17 answers down then the one or two extra will just be ignored. So…if you aren’t sure, write it down because you may get credit anyway. But ensure that you do actually answer the question.

SUMMARY This is worth 5 writing marks. It should be in your own words. It should be based on the answers you gave to the previous question. It should be concise and to the point. It does not and (perhaps) should not need to be in the order of the passage but in the order that allows you to summarise most effectively. You do not need an introduction or a conclusion. Get straight to the point. Watch the word limits.

A QUICK BREAK Okay shake it off people. The players gonna play play play play And the haters gonna hate hate hate hate We’re just gonna shake shake shake shake shake So let’s shake it off, shake it off.

DIRECTED WRITING – PAPER 3 Reading and digesting the task is vital. If you understand what is asked of you then everything else follows. Then think persuasive language. The discursive/persuasive essay has been removed from Question 2 because the Directed Writing allows you the opportunity to use those Persuasive Techniques we discussed earlier this term. Your job is to read a text and then take a very clear position and argue a case that will convince the reader of your position. You use the evidence from the text but what is most crucial is to develop these points and write in a convincing and persuasive manner.

DIRECTED WRITING – PAPER 3 When you write, try to blow the reader away. Don’t be cheesy but go all out and be powerful. Imagine it is down to you to save the world and you must convince the world of the truth of your argument. Don’t get me wrong – you still have to conform to the correct type of language and be formal. But be powerful and use the evidence that is there for you.

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING The second part of Paper 3 allows you the choice of either Descriptive or Narrative. I implore you to do Descriptive as we haven’t discussed Narrative at all (that will come in January). Remember to plan properly as this will allow you to avoid the pitfalls of the dreaded story-telling. Be sure you are fully covering all aspects of the question in your response. Think about whether you have words.

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Realism – are you describing the world as it is? Are you being clear? Are you using imagery consistently? Is your vocabulary up to scratch? Have you written in sentences? Have you used punctuation properly? Paragraphing? Is there a lot to highlight?

PHEW! Any questions? Anyone? Really? Please?

HOMEWORK Past papers. They are available online and they should be used regularly. Read newspapers. Pick out different language techniques you find in newspapers and explain their effects. Look up words you don’t understand and define them to broaden your vocabulary. Speak in metaphors all the way through lunch with your family to get into practice. Decide to persuade your parents that you need a pony. Use all the persuasive techniques you have at your disposal to convince them.

MOST IMPORTANTLY Do your best. If you can come out of the Mock and tell me that you did your very best and worked as hard as you can then I will be proud of you. Your best is all you can ever ask of yourself and then the rewards will follow. I do believe in each and every one of you. You all have different strengths and areas where you excel but you can do this! Perspiration plus inspiration!