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Secondary education

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Panicking about GCSE English Literature revision

40 replies

annaistrying · 11/04/2023 18:45

DDs been really good and working hard revising but has been really focusing on sciences, maths, geography and business. She’s started English literature last week and is feeling really overwhelmed. How on earth do you remember quotes and all the details required about all the characters and scenes etc for all the books? She’s doing Edexcel and doing an Inspector Calls, Macbeth and A Christmas Carol. Any help would be so appreciated.

OP posts:
TrashPanda20 · 13/04/2023 17:13

This is a bit out there, but for short quotations has she tried singing them to a memorable tune? I'd also be a bit wary of relying on film and TV adaptations too much as it's surprising how far some stray from the text itself. Less so An Inspector Calls maybe as that's a relatively modern play, but even Shakespeare gets messed around with an awful lot....

When I studied literature the dinosaurs were still about but we were taught a standard essay layout, introduction, 3 to 5 points answering the exam question, conclusion.

Look at themes, character development and comparisons, settings (world building as it's known now in some areas), plot, use of language including dialogue, description, pathetic fallacies, comic relief juxtaposed with serious scenes and themes etc. Our Shakespeare teachers loved a bit of iambic pentameter and/or sonnet structure and for everything we studied we also looked at the context and historical setting although not in great depth, and if you could compare a work with a couple of others from the same time period or author that sometimes got extra brownie points.

clary · 13/04/2023 22:15

if you could compare a work with a couple of others from the same time period or author that sometimes got extra brownie points.

Asked dd about this (she got tippy top marks in her Eng lit in2017) and she says no need, she didn't. She says you do need an argument for a top grade. To what extent do you agree...

I asked about her grade bc if she was hoping for a 4/5 then that woukd be a different way of working. If she is looking for a 7 the ideas here are good. Was thinking about Macbeth - if you take Lady M's big speech "unsex me" and "direst cruelty" are two quick quotes which would cover Lady M, supernatural (she is appealing to the underworkd), violence, power and ambition (why she is asking this).

Planning out several essays on each book is great as the chances are when she gets to the exam she will be able to use or at least adapt one.

doglover90 · 14/04/2023 08:54

^ Yes, comparing a work with others from the same author or time period at GCSE gets no extra marks in the exam. I get that people are trying to be helpful but unless you know the current specifications and mark schemes, it's probably best not to weigh in on these threads so as to avoid confusing the OP's DD.

herlightmaterials · 14/04/2023 11:37

doglover90 · 14/04/2023 08:54

^ Yes, comparing a work with others from the same author or time period at GCSE gets no extra marks in the exam. I get that people are trying to be helpful but unless you know the current specifications and mark schemes, it's probably best not to weigh in on these threads so as to avoid confusing the OP's DD.

It's fine! They were quickly corrected and their other ideas were great.

TrashPanda20 · 14/04/2023 11:37

Fair comment on the curriculum. The exam board my school did was known for being very academic (despite my school being an inner city state one, God only knows why they insisted on it). Out of 60 of us who sat the GCSE English exam in my year, only 7 of us passed, the teachers had omitted to tell us we had to answer five questions, not four. The only reason I passed was because I'd read a book outside the core curriculum. So I did add "SOMETIMES" as a caveat.

Younger members of the family are taking their GCSEs in English in a couple of months' time and it's the only subject they're finding difficult. They will be absolutely ecstatic when they can move into a world where they don't have to worry about the current (Gove-inspired??) approach and can go back to the science subjects they enjoy far more where answers are more clear cut.

taxguru · 14/04/2023 11:43

If she doesn't have time to re-read the books, the York notes revision books are excellent as they outline all the basics - the themes, the characters, the important quotes, synopsis of the story etc.

herlightmaterials · 14/04/2023 13:13

No she should not read the York notes instead of re reading the book. That's a terrible idea.

taxguru · 14/04/2023 13:42

herlightmaterials · 14/04/2023 13:13

No she should not read the York notes instead of re reading the book. That's a terrible idea.

I said if she didn't have time to re-read the books!

herlightmaterials · 14/04/2023 15:14

She must re read the books - nothing replaces that. There's no option not to have time to read the books!

annaistrying · 14/04/2023 19:08

She’s read the texts as well as seeing the plays and is pretty familiar with them luckily.
If she prepares an essay plan for each theme within the books and how it relates to each character do you think that would cover all bases for the exam? She’s trying to think of the most effective way to prepare.

OP posts:
SequinsandStilettos · 14/04/2023 19:37

I still love Bitesize and I like Sparknotes key quotes
A fantastic version of A Xmas Carol with Mark Gatiss is still available on iplayer
I would remember you can learn one word quotes like fiddlesticks and unsinkable for an inspector calls
Themes - Macbeth: Kingship/Appearance vs reality/Supernatural/Order vs disorder
An inspector calls and A Xmas Carol: accountability/collective responsibility/Scrooge and Sheila's redemption arcs

Macbeth - GCSE English Literature Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize
silver skin laced with golden blood
look like the innocent flower,/But be the serpent under't'
I am in blood / Stepped in so far
BBC Sounds - Bitesize GCSE English Literature - Available Episodes

An Inspector Calls - Plot summary - Plot summary - AQA - GCSE English Literature Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize
Fiddlesticks
Unsinkable
A Christmas Carol - GCSE English Literature Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize
Malthusian quote about the "surplus" population
Scrooge being solitary as an oyster

Macbeth - GCSE English Literature Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

GCSE English Literature Macbeth learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zgq3dmn

StagsLeap · 14/04/2023 20:15

I think that would be a waste of time. She should look at past papers and talk through her answer. Lots of them seem to involve a lengthy chunk of text you’re asked to read and answer a question on — like Lady M’s ‘the raven himself is hoarse’ speech from early in the play, and to show how Sh depicts her as dangerous in (1) that speech and (2) in the play as a whole. Can she talk that through?

PercysPurseIsEmpty · 15/04/2023 08:16

The best thing you can do as a parent is look at the past papers yourself, look at what they are asking for each text and then look at the mark scheme and understand the different parts she has to hit to get top grades. I am assuming like most of the country she is sitting AQA, so look at descriptions for Level 6, 5 etc and what comes under AO1, AO2 etc then look at how those apply to say the Macbeth question. This includes language AO2, I am not sure when some posters had children sit their GCSEs but some suggestions on here are a bit off kilter.

There are themes for Macbeth which my children didn't study, Ds2 is now year 12 so this is relatively fresh in my head, but looking at Mr Salles on YouTube (fantastic resource) the main themes are listed as Ambition (hamartia), Masculinity and cruelty, Divine Right of Kings, Tyranny, Fate, Violence, Psychology of Guilt and Reality and Appearance. There will be a quote bank on these themes, either school will have given her one or you can google, there are plenty out there. Some quotes cover more than one theme. Themes should have more than one character referencing the theme.

Essay planning is simply knowing what you will write for each theme or character, a very short list. Also if it is AQA, Salles recommends not "starting with this extract" there is nothing in the mark scheme to suggest you have to do this, it is merely given for the lower ability students to have something to write about rather than sitting there writing nothing. Start with the start of the book, where do we see the theme/character in the question, work through the book with key moments for theme/character, then hit the extract, where does it fall in the book? But as it is given in front of you, you are better off using your knowledge of the rest of the text so only talk a little bit about it. Also the end, how does the end leave you? What does the author/playwrite want? These are made up, fictitious characters and events, it is a manipulation of the reader/watcher. AO3 -context in which it was written, if Lady Macbeth -role of women in society at that time, beliefs in supernatural, stars, etc.

I will be honest, Ds2 hated English Lit, he was very high grades for everything else except English. In November mock he scraped into a 5. He didn't re-read the books they had done them to death in school, this was exam technique, we (and I mean we) looked at mark schemes, past papers, watched Salles, essay planned, flash carded for what happens when ie Act 1 sc 1 brief outline. Especially important for the Shakespeare stuff, but also A Christmas Carol etc what order do things happen in. He got an 8 in the actual GCSE.

annaistrying · 15/04/2023 08:51

Thanks everyone. Dd is definitely starting to feel better about English Literature following all your great advice. Love the YouTube videos links too! She’s pretty familiar with the characters now just really needs to memorise the quotes more. Going to start on themes today. Then we’ll start looking at past papers.
Annoyingly she’s doing Edexcel for both English’s and most resources are aimed at AQA. I assume they’re similar though??

I’m finding it fairly overwhelm but Dd is much more positive now after a meltdown a few days ago so that’s the main thing.

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