GCSEs 2018 (8) Dozens of DCs, 1 DH and Flashcards in the fridge

[mmzz]

Previous thread

Who offered English exam tips?

There’s too many posts to scroll and find it......🙈🙈🙈

Please can you post them whoever you are.

TIA. 💐

Bonne chance to those doing French tomorrow.

I did O levels way back but I'm amazed how you can all remember so much about your exams.........I was clearly queen of the cramming as I promptly forgot everything within 2 days of taking them

Hiding hope you and your DD manage to have a well earned restful few days.

I've got a weird memory, Bluebelle. I can remember all sorts of insignificant details - like what someone wore in 1977. I used to take photos of the text book pages with my minds eye and then just read them back in exams.
Unfortunately, that was one of the rare times it was useful. Otherwise it's just good for locating lost objects. It freaks people out sometimes, so I usually don't say anything.

Calzone - it waslooseattheseams who offered English exam tips

Thank you.

I hope everyone is bearing up. Apologies for jumping in, I've just created a new thread in the hope someone can help: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3252446-GCSE-Higher-Physics-exam-combined-not-triple-next-Weds-23-5-2018?watched=1

Stressful household this evening....if anyone could help with this it would be brilliant. I've suggested the obvious, ie asking the Physics teacher for a copy but ds says he's not there tomorrow and exam is next Wednesday.

Thanks all

Dont no apologies for jumping it. It was your thread originally which we all hijacked. Welcome back. Grotto g off to look at your physics query (but DD is triple).

Stickerrocks Yes had Mrs Telford for French for a while. Also had Mr Reader for maths but then moved up Mr Step's class. My memories are mostly of him chatting the girls up and waxing his surfboard on the front row of desks in our lessons! My head of year was Mrs Ellis.
Don't have too many fond memories of those years. Wouldn't want to be that age again.

AQA French writing today. DS is ok about this one - it was only listening he was anxious about. But he said it feels strange that he will never have another French lesson in school.

Just joining in - nearly end of week one and we’ve survived no thanks to Triple Biology.

French and Drama here today.
DD seems fairly relaxed about both. Not looking forward to next week though.

to anybody going through it with the extra stress and anxiety of illness on top, I can't even imagine how difficult it must be.

I did GCSEs in '96 and nobody got straight A's. My best friend was top of our year and I think she got something like 5 As and 4 B's, and she was an Oxbridge applicant.
I got a couple of A's and couple of C's and the rest B's and was over the moon.
We definitely didn't work nearly as hard as our DCs are having to. Certainly didn't start thinking about revision until exam leave started! And we had literally no idea about mark schemes etc.
It is so different now.

Edexcel French: Writing at 9am today, too.

It shows how quickly this exam taking has become normal that I’m thinking that it’s an easy day.

DS (dysgraphic) has to handwrite for this one. I only hope whoever marks it, can read what he has written. There will be a lot of times when the examiner will have to decide whether or not to give him the benefit of the doubt about his spelling. Frustratingly, his spelling is almost faultless.

Same here DS has an hour PE exam, he said its a relaxing day.......hope he doesn't regret saying that

Good luck to those doing exams today.......English next week

Those mark schemes are my personal bugbear. They are just so boring. In maths, you need to refer to them every time and they make marking slow and painful!

Drama today here...DD spent a lot of time on Facetime to her best friend (who doesn't do drama) last night apparently "revising".
Only three exams next week before it goes a bit crazy after half term.
I did GCSEs in 1992 and I got an A in dance. I remember having to go to county hall to have my photo taken for the local paper. There were three students from my school and about twenty from the county. Each of them had just one A. It was a big deal then.
My niece did GCSEs in 2005 and got 11 A*. Dropped out of sixth form in three weeks as she found A Levels too hard. Make of that what you will.

Oh my goodness snozzle* but Mr Step was so old, even then!

Calzone will do a summary for English language today. I’ll see if I can find the literature advice on the previous thread and cut and paste it too if that helps?

Good luck to those doing French, drama and PE and anything else I’ve missed!

Best of luck to all DC for today m. What a week it's been!

Day 'off' for DS1 today, although he does have to go into school for a history revision session. Next up are history and Latin on Monday.

DS1 is regretting not making himself available for cricket tomorrow. Looks like a lovely day.

Thanks Loose
Cannot believe how quickly it has become normal - French writing today.
Good luck to everyones DCs.

DD has Eng Lit, Physics and Maths next week...so just 3 exams but all very important.. then 10 days to prepare for History and I think she will probably need all 10 days , she has not yet managed to pass a History exam for one reason or another- mainly to do with slow writing.

Dd has PE paper 2 today and is feeling pretty chilled. After today she will have completed 3 of her GCSEs - English Language, Art and PE. By the end of Monday she will have finished History and by this time next week she will have finished English Lit. For everything else she will have just paper 1 under her belt

Good luck to all examinees today

Here we go, bear with me for doing this paper by paper...
English Language Paper 1 is the creative writing one. AQA use one extract from 20th or 21st century fiction. 50% marks on comprehension and 50% on creative writing. Timing is essential, as is attempting every question. As a rough rule it’s a minute per mark.
Skim read the extract as soon as you open the paper.
Q1. Very easy - the information is definitely there. Usually only need lines 1-5 or similar.
Q.2 - This asks a question about how the writer uses language about a specific thing in one section. Look for interesting words, techniques or sentence forms related to that thing only in that part of extract. Sentence forms means short sentences or long, complex descriptions. Make sure you say why the writer used that device and what it conveys about that thing. Nothing else. You only have 8 minutes!
Q.3- structure. The question is trying to get you to say why the author varies the beginning/middle/end so you’re looking for changes. Start with the beginning - is this description or dialogue? Are we outside or inside etc. Imagine you’re directing a film and notice at which point you have to change - what’s the difference now and why? Now look at the ending - is this different again? Does it refer to the beginning or has it moved the story on? Why has the author done this? (imagine a small child in your head saying ‘But why?’)
Q. 4 has a statement referring to part of the text and asks your opinion on that statement. You are safe in agreeing with it. You will do even better if you mostly agree but find a point of disagreement; if you completely disagree you will struggle to find enough to write about. The best technique is to take a step back and give your overall impression as the starting point and the rest of the answer explains why you think that - because of the way the writer uses language and structure. Include short quotations as part of your argument, commenting on the use of language as you go. Show you can make inferences from the text based on the author’s skills in using language and structure.
Section A should take 45 minutes. Terms should be used accurately but it’s even more important to comment on the effect of language. This means using phrases such as ‘this conveys the impression’, ‘suggests that’, the reader may infer from this... etc. Remember that the writer implies something, but the reader infers.
No marks awarded or deducted for spelling in this section but try to allow 5 minutes to check it over.
Back soon with section B.

Thanks loose ufferent board here but tips and principles apply - we need all the help we can get !!

Teenmum your timetable is remarkably similar to ours and DS will be spending all half term trying to get to grips with all that history. He loves it but the content is huge and essay writing so hard. Having said that the breadth study of British democracy from magma carta to present day,though hard, has been brilliant / ds does have a much better understanding of current day British current affairs now. So I do have some sympathy with some of the principles behind the new gcse s - but as usual the implementation has screwed all that up