GCSE English - Argue Persuade Advise - Paper 1 Section B (3/4)

GCSE English - Paper 2 Section B - Inform Explain Describe (4/4)

What the mocks have taught us...

Have you been a wally? Did you really revise enough?

This week you'll get the marks back from your mock exam of Paper 2. Even before getting your result you will know what kind of performance you gave and which section was the trickiest for you. You also know if you bothered to revise - and so will your teacher so watch out if you haven't put the work in as they will be on your case and ringing home this week if they think you are slacking.

All I can say is this - if you are disappointed with your marks there is only one person who can help you. YOU.

Get your books out, get your CD in the disk drive and knuckle down if you have to improve.

This week we will be focussing on the writing sections of the Language papers (P1b and P2b). Prepare to INFORM/EXPLAIN/DESCRIBE and ARGUE/PERSUADE/ADVISE.

In the meantime listen to your podcasts and look at the writing sections on your revision CD. You could also have a look at the short videos that I have posted tonight... they give some top tips especially for persuading (paper 1) and describing (paper 2).

Week three: Mocks = revision.....simples!

Hello everyone.

A good friend of mine, Vidal Sassoon said "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." How right he was. To get good grades you have to put the blood, sweat and tears in.

You should be revising for your Paper 2 Mock exam this week.
In section A you'll be tested on your knowledge of poems from other cultures and your ability to compare and contrast two of them at the same time.

There are really good power point presentations on your free CD that show you how to get from a D to a C and for some of you there are hints and tips for getting an A in this section of the paper. There's even an essay for you to read and get ideas from. The key things to remember are that you should:

• plan your answer for at least 10 minutes
• be comparing the following elements in every paragraph
ATTITUDES & REASONS
IDEAS & FEELINGS
VIEWPOINT
TECHNIQUES
• use comparative language (also, whereas, therefore, oppositely)
• use PEE in your paragraphs to get a C or above



In section B you have 45 minutes to write to INFORM, EXPLAIN or DESCRIBE... just one. You'll need to revise what techniques each type of writing requires and it's vital that you work out P A F (purpose, audience, format) so that you write in the correct style and tone. Spend between 5 and 10 minutes creating a really clear and detailed plan that will maximise your marks. Use the P2b file on the revision CD, it has lots of tips for successful writing skills.

The only barrier to your success is your failure to revise.
Go home and prepare for war!

Week 2

So guys, there are only 9 weeks until the first English exam. This week in class you should have been focusing on poems from other cultures.


You will sit a mock exam on 25th March and section A will focus on a comparison of two poems from your cluster. There are lots of brilliant revision resources to help you get 'mock ready'.

Here are some of the best ones:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/poemscult/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/audio/english/
http://www.podcastrevision.co.uk/page22/page6/page8/page8.html
http://www.podcastrevision.co.uk/page22/page6/page9/page9.html (for Miss Watt's group only)


From tomorrow you will be working on how to write a good comparative response that links two of the poems together. You'll be using many of the skills for poem comparison that you have learned so far in your preparation for the literature exam.
You have to make sure that you cover the following 4 areas in your response...there are marks set aside for each so cover every one!

What?
Ideas and feelings

How?
Techniques and their effect

Why?
Poet’s attitude and reasons

You?
Your response

By the end of the week you need to be confident that you can compare any two poems from the cluster and explain the four key points as outlined above. You will get homework and revision for this section of the exam... you have been warned!







Have a good week!

The Final Countdown

There are officially ten weeks until you sit your first English exam in the hall.

BUT

Have no fear, the English department in its infinite wisdom has decided to bombard you with help in the run up to the 16th May so that you can maximise your potential and do your very best when it counts the most.

Every week this blog will summarise what you've done in class and give you hints and tips for revision to do at home.

The English exams are as follows:
Paper 1 - 16th May 2011
Paper 2 - 18th May 2011
Literature paper - 24th May 2011