Network events – GCSE English – Spring 2017

Agenda Preparation for the Summer 2017 exams Discuss how to plan revision effectively Consider approaches to preparing for the writing part of the papers Work with others to assess exemplar material and suggest formative advice to improve achievement in writing Share ideas and network with others

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN What  balance of teaching between Lang and Lit have you decided upon and why? How much integration do you build into the programme between Lit and Lang? How are you approaching skills development, (especially for Eng Lang, where there’s no content) in the final stages of the course? How much time are you planning to spend on revising the Lit set texts?

The final countdown: Westminster Academy’s approach

Paper 1 (40% of GCSE) 1 hour 45 mins (1 hour reading, 45 mins writing) Q1 1 mark Q2 2 marks Q3 6 Q4 15 marks Total reading 24 marks WRITING 1 out of two writing questions 40 marks This leaves no checking time for reading and it’s unlikely that students will be able to claw that back from anywhere. While we can tell them that this is roughly a minute per mark for reading, it is probably easier for them to all set their timers to give them 25 mins per section, knowing that they should spend no more than a minute per mark on the short answer questions. I am diverting from what is said in the Edexcel slides and am not sure if this works out the same, but I think it is easier if they deal with it in three parts ie text 1, text 2, both texts. And then go on to the writing. What do you think? MY CONTINUED CONCERN IS THAT ALTHOUGH READING AND WRITING ARE EQUALLY WEIGHTED IN MARK TERMS, THE DANGER REMAINS THAT THEY RUN OUT OF TIME FOR WRITING. AND , FOR ME (BUT NOT CHIEF EXAMINERS IT APPEARS) 45 MINS IS THE ABSOLUTE BAREST MINIMUM TIME I’D BE WANTING TO DEVOTE TO A SECTION WHUCH IS WORTH THE SAME AS ALL THE READING QUESTIONS PUT OTGETHER. SO I AM SAYING 50 MINS ON WRITING MINIMUM. I GUESS YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE A CALL ON THAT [The board are saying: Paper 2 timings as a very rough guide are 15-20 minutes reading time, then 50-55 minutes on the questions – this means around 14 minutes on question 3]

Total reading marks 56 marks Paper 2 (60% of GCSE) 2 hours = (1 hour 15 mins reading, 45 minutes writing) READING Text 1 Q1, 2, 3 2, 2, 15 marks Text 2 Q 4, 5, 6 1, 1, 15 marks Both texts Q 7a and 7b 6, 14 marks Total reading marks 56 marks WRITINGG 1 out of two writing questions 40 marks This leaves no checking time for reading and it’s unlikely that students will be able to claw that back from anywhere. While we can tell them that this is roughly a minute per mark for reading, it is probably easier for them to all set their timers to give them 25 mins per section, knowing that they should spend no more than a minute per mark on the short answer questions. I am diverting from what is said in the Edexcel slides and am not sure if this works out the same, but I think it is easier if they deal with it in three parts ie text 1, text 2, both texts. And then go on to the writing. What do you think? MY CONTINUED CONCERN IS THAT ALTHOUGH READING AND WRITING ARE EQUALLY WEIGHTED IN MARK TERMS, THE DANGER REMAINS THAT THEY RUN OUT OF TIME FOR WRITING. AND , FOR ME (BUT NOT CHIEF EXAMINERS IT APPEARS) 45 MINS IS THE ABSOLUTE BAREST MINIMUM TIME I’D BE WANTING TO DEVOTE TO A SECTION WHUCH IS WORTH THE SAME AS ALL THE READING QUESTIONS PUT OTGETHER. SO I AM SAYING 50 MINS ON WRITING MINIMUM. I GUESS YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE A CALL ON THAT [The board are saying: Paper 2 timings as a very rough guide are 15-20 minutes reading time, then 50-55 minutes on the questions – this means around 14 minutes on question 3]

TIMINGS AND TARIFFS In small groups, discuss with each other the advice you are giving/intend to give students about how long they should spend on each question on each of the papers.

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT WRITING?!

Interested in becoming an examiner? We are actively recruiting for GCSE and A Level examiners for Summer 2017. See the FAQs in your pack for details on how to apply. Exam paper Training dates 2017 Marking period 2017 GCSE English Lang Paper 1 27 May & 16 June 19 June - 10 July GCSE English Lang Paper 2 27 May & 26 June 26 June - 11 July GCSE English Lit Paper 1 14 May & 3 June 3 June - 19 June GCSE English Lit Paper 2 14 May & 9 June 9 June - 26 June

Pearson English Conference – Feb 25th 2017