“you can’t revise for en ish”- · pdf file“you can’t revise for...

“You Can’t Revise for English”-The Age Old Myth!

GCSE English Language: Understanding

and Producing Non-Fiction Texts.

Study Skills and Revision Tips

Aims and

Objectives

1. What does the exam look like?

2. What skills will they need to be successful?

3. How can you help your child revise and

prepare?

4. Questions.



The Exam

2 hours and 15 minutes

• It seems like a long time.

• It’s not.

• Time management is essential and has been the

most common reason for underperformance in

our mock exams.



The Exam

Part A: Reading: 40 marks

• Students will need to read three non-fiction

texts.

• They will answer four long-answer questions.

• They should spend 1 hour and 15 minutes on

this section and timings per question are

vital…



Question One

• 8 marks

• 15 minutes

• Looks at source one

• What do you

learn/understand about…

from source one?

What do you learn

about tribes in the Amazon

from the article?



Question OneWhat do you learn from Elisabeth Hyde's article about where she has been

and what she has been doing?

What do you learn from Ben Leach’s article about the issues and concerns

regarding the building of wind farms?

What do you learn from the article about the reasons behind Zaki

Badawi’s success?

What do you learn from Tim Jonze’s article about the popularity of the

Mercury Music Prize?

What do you learn from the article about the benefits of a third runway at

Heathrow Airport?

• Highlight the key words in the question.

• Highlight 8 pieces of information in the article as evidence.

• Summarise what you learn in your own words using the highlighted evidence to support

your points.



Question 1:

Revision ActivitiesUnit/Question Activity

Unit 1: Understanding and

Producing Non-Fiction texts

Question 1.

Read an article from a newspaper/magazine and highlight 6-8 key

quotations which tell you 6-8 different points about what you learn from

reading the article. Time yourself 5 minutes for this.



Question 1.

Read an article and then set a question 1 style exam question for the

article (starting with ‘what do you learn/understand about…’ Remember

that you’ll need to set a question which could be answered at length,

making at least 6-8 different points.



Question 1.

Answer your own exam question, using the steps (highlight key words in

the question; highlight 6-8 short quotations; write your response,

peppering your quotations). Time yourself 15 minutes for this.



Question 1.

Give your article and exam question to a friend to answer (time them 15

minutes) and then mark it for them. Tick each different point they have

made, highlight short quotations used to back up points and underline

where they have re-phrased a point successfully in their own words. Note

down any EBIs.



Question 1.

Create your own writing frame for question one which helps you structure

your response. You could start with ‘Firstly, we learn that…’



Question Two

• 8 marks

• 15 minutes

• Looks at source 2

• Explain how the

picture and the

headline are effective

and how they link to

the text.



Question 2:

Revision Activities





Question 2.

Read a newspaper/magazine article (these can be found on newspaper

websites/BBC news website) and come up with your own headline for the

article, using appropriate language techniques and considering the

audience/purpose of the article.



Question 2.

Create flashcards of the common language techniques that you might find in

a headline.



Question 2.

Cut out examples of headlines that use language techniques and use them to

create a poster, labelling the language technique and why it is effective.



Question 2.

Cut out a picture from an article and time yourself 5 minutes to annotate it.

You need to look for colours/ facial expressions/ camera angles/

juxtaposition/ landscapes.



Question 2.

Read an article and highlight 2-3 key quotations that link with the headline

and 2-3 key quotations that link with the picture. Time yourself 5 minutes to

do this.



Question 2.

Set yourself an exam question (Explain how the picture and headline are

effective and how they link to the text) and an article to do this on. Answer

your own question. Time yourself 15 minutes.

Question Three

• 8 marks

• 15 minutes

• Always looks at source three

• Explain some of the thoughts and feelings…

Explain some of Bill Bryson’s

thoughts and feelings towards

camping in the Bear

Encounter.





Question 3.

Read an extract from a non-fiction book and

highlight 6-8 quotations which show 6-8 different

thoughts/feelings that the writer has.



Question 3.

Think of an emotion and write a paragraph showing

your reader how you are feeling but without telling

them the emotion. Give your paragraph to someone

else and see if they can work out the emotion from

what you imply.



Question 3.

Read a non-fiction text and create a

diagram/timeline which tracks the emotions at

different points in the text.



Question 3.

Create a table with a column for thoughts and a

column for feelings. Read a non-fiction text and

place quotations from the text in either column.

Question 3: Revision Activities



Question Four

• 16 marks

• 30 minutes

• Compare the way language is

used for effect in the two texts.

• Looks at source 3 and

compares to either source 1 or

2 (your choice)

• This is the language question-

you need to analyse effect of

language on the reader.

• Source 3 is autobiographical so

will be very descriptive and

narrative.

What do the examiners say?

This is the question that most candidates struggle with.

Connotations- Students should look at the associations that we have with words as this will encourage exploration of shades of meaning.Key phrase = ‘‘‘‘This makes the This makes the This makes the This makes the reader feel… / think about…reader feel… / think about…reader feel… / think about…reader feel… / think about…’’’’Detailed exploration of a few words is better than obvious explanation of lots.



Things to Look For:

Question Four

• Focus on PAF

• Look at word level- powerful/descriptive or specialist?

• Look for techniques- APEARFOREST?

• Look at structure- long complex sentences/ short simple sentences? What is the impact?

• Look at tone- how would you read it if you read it aloud? Why? What is it about the language that leads you to do that?



Learn Mnemonics

Alliteration

Personification

Emotive language

Addressing the reader

Rhetorical question

Facts

Opinions

Repetition

Exaggeration

Statistics

Triplets/Rule of three



Purpose

Audience

Format

Genre

Audience

Purpose

Learn Stock Phrases

• This creates an image in the reader’s head of…

• This makes the reader feel a sense of…

• This shocks the reader because…

• This makes the reader feel a personal connection with

the writer because…

• This makes the reader trust the article because…

• This informs the reader and helps them to understand

because…

• This has connotations of…



Question 4:

Revision Activities





Question 4.

List all the comparative connectives you can think of on a poster or

flashcards.



Question 4.

Pick two books you have read/films you have seen recently and

write some comparative sentences showing the similarities and

differences between them.



Question 4.

Create flashcards/a revision poster with definitions and examples of

all the language techniques you can think of.



Question 4.

Read a non-fiction text and summarise the purpose and tone. Then

highlight quotations that show this.



Question 4.

Read two non-fiction texts and play spot-the-difference with the

language. List all the differences you can find in the use of

language.



Question 4.

Read a non-fiction article and highlight four sentences in which the

author has clearly crafted the language for a specific effect on a

reader. Annotate the effect and how they have achieved it.

The Exam

Part B: Writing: 40 marks

• Students will need to write two of their own

non-fiction texts.

• One will be a task asking them to write to

inform, explain or describe. The other will ask

them to write to argue, persuade or advise.

• They should spend 1 hour on this section and

timings per question are vital…



Question Five

• 16 marks (10 for content; 6 for skills)

• Spend 25 minutes on this question

• You need to plan 4-6 ideas, in response to the question

• Your writing needs to:

• Be well-organised, in paragraphs

• Be accurate in terms of spelling and sentence structure

• Be engaging, interesting, passionate and exciting!



Sample Questions

• Describe a person you admire.

• School students sometimes say they get bored in the long summer holidays. Write an article for a local newspaper informing students of the different things they could do to prevent boredom.

• Think about a decision you, or someone close to you, has made that has changed your life or the lives of other people. Explain what the decision was and the changes it brought about.



Question Six

• 24 marks (16 for content; 8 for skills)

• Spend 35 minutes on this question

• You need to plan 6 or more ideas, in response to the

question

• Your writing needs to:

• Be well-organised, in paragraphs

• Be accurate in terms of spelling and sentence structure

• Be engaging, interesting, passionate and exciting!



Sample Questions

• We have all seen ‘disaster holidays’ on the TV. Write a

letter to a travel company in which you try to persuade

them that your holiday was not satisfactory and that you

deserve compensation.

• Write an article for a school magazine advising Year 11

students what to do with their lives after their GCSEs.

• Write a letter to a magazine called The Explorer arguing

for or against expeditions to dangerous places.

SSentences/

paragraphs

Use a variety of different sentence

structures for effect.

Divide writing into clear

paragraphs.

TTechniques E.g. rhetorical questions,

humour, alliteration,

repetition, facts and statistics,

lists…

RRange of punctuation ! ; : … - () . , ?

OOpenings / Closings ‘Grab’ or ‘hook’ your reader;

leave a lasting impression on

them…

PPassion / Voice Anger, enthusiasm, sympathy,

knowledge, opinion…

STROPGCSE English Language: Understanding


Practice Makes

PerfectDownload past papers and mark schemes to practice and get used to the exam structure. (http://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/exams-guidance/find-past-papers-and-mark-schemes)



What can I do to support my child with past papers?

• Look over past questions and practice underlining key words.

• Ask students to rephrase the question in their own words.

• Ask students to explain what the examiner is looking for.

• Ask students to come up with a plan in 3 minutes or less for each

writing task.

• Drill them on marks/timings and question formats for each

question.

• Time them on practice questions; rather than sitting the whole 2

hour 15 min exam in one go.

• Complete an exam yourself! Get your child to grade and comment

on it.

Final Hints and Tips

• I cannot stress enough how important timing is.

You cannot afford to stare into space!

• You MUST finish the paper. Complete all

questions.

• Question Six is worth the most marks: make sure

you have time for it.

• DON’T GIVE UP! If you don’t know what to write,

move onto another question and come back to it

(but make sure you do come back to it).



Any Questions?

Unsure? E-mail me.

Alice Griffiths ([email protected])

Teachers and Classes:

11x1- Miss Griffiths ([email protected])

11x2- Miss Phippen ([email protected])

11x3- Mrs King ([email protected])

11x4- Mrs Brown ([email protected])

11x5- Ms O’Sullivan/Mrs Scane ([email protected])

11y1- Mrs King ([email protected])

11y2- Miss Phippen ([email protected])

11y3- Miss Brugnoli ([email protected])

11y4- Miss Griffiths ([email protected])

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