Bear with :not a stealth boast I'm just perplexed. Dd English gcse next year

[Brilliantreader]

My dd has always been very strong in English, excellent clear writer, grasps grammer, spelling and has always been an incredible reader.
She did her end of year tests at school pre gcse and got incredible grades, 5 x 9 rest 8 and 7.
The one subject she doesnt seem to get higher than a 7 is English and I can't understand why.
There is must be something she's not quite getting. Yes I I now 7 is absolutely amazing but she's reading very heavy books and for her it's not a low mark but I would think it would be one of her best subjects?

English Language, or English Literature?

Both have quite set question structures which rewards specific things. Does she know where she is losing marks?

For both.
No

Have a search online for the mark schemes for the relevant English Language/lit papers for the last few years and read about exactly how papers are marked. It should help focus what she needs to do to get the extra marks.

@Brilliantreader You can be an "excellent clear writer, grasps grammar, spelling and has always been an incredible reader" and not grasp what it is the examiner is looking for. It is about understanding how marks are awarded. Mark schemes are good for this for both lang and lit alongside the relevant past paper. Plus whatever school have set out. They will talk about (if AQA English lit, AO1, AO2, AO3 and also AO4 which you says she has which is the spelling/grammar etc) if she doesn't hit all those boxes for content then she won't get a 9. She needs to learn how to get a level 6 in each component.

School should also provide a "WAGOLL" or what a good one looks like. Usually colour coded too to show the use of AO1 etc. Normally the students are asked to highlight an answer to show they understand why it is a WAGOLL. Have a look in her school books. Basically she is almost there, just needs to learn exam technique. Lots of videos on youtube from teachers and students. Just make sure she watches the correct exam board.

Without some examples of teacher feedback it’s hard to say. Generally a 7 in Lit is clear and fluent but lacks the detailed and nuanced analysis of language needed for 8/9. Thoughtful analysis with some personal engagement and lots of it. Language tends to be more formulaic but it depends a bit on the exam board. Her teachers should be able to give her specific advice. As others have said there are exemplar essays available online.

Thanks for the responses, we gave something potions where we can look at.

@Brilliantreader, this thread might be interesting to you https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4939416-odd-question-i-know-english-specific-exceptional-reader-year-11kindly-knowing-answers-only-please?page=3&reply=130632571

On what basis were those marks given? Were they on actual GCSE papers, or some internal assessment the school devised?

It's possible to give a student English Lang GCSE papers at quite an early stage - for other subjects, it can't really be done as they won't have covered enough curriculum.

Basically I'm wondering if you are comparing apples with pears - if the English mark is "what they would get if they sat GCSE today" but other marks are "compared to where we think a child should be at the end of Year 10", there's probably no actual different in her relative performance.

Otherwise, I agree with PPs - getting a high grade is about ticking all the relevant exam marking boxes. The key thing is for your DD to work out what she needs to do get the missing marks (my DD went from a 6 in Year 11 mocks to a 9 in real GCSE simply because she devoted all her energies to working out how to write the perfect GCSE answer).

Mr Bruff on YouTube is excellent for support with English.

I was a prolific reader. I read Lord of the Rings at 6yo, and, yes, I did understand it. I would read or reread 10+ books a week through my teens.
I love writing, but I'm actually not that good at the sort of essays I had to do for English. English was a struggle. My dsis who was nothing like a reader like me, was much better at English.

For my dc, my middle one is the reader. She will have three or four books on the go at once.
But dd1 is much better at writing to the exam. She looks at how to get the marks and applies it carefully. Whereas dd2 writes in a lovely stream of consciousness.
This means that dd1's don't always sound as good; at times they're very stilted, but they get the marks.
Ds (#3) only really reads factual books with rare exceptions.
They've all done GCSE and dd1 did the best (8), followed by dd2 (7), followed by ds (6). But ds was only just off what dd2 got, if he'd got 3 more marks he would have had the same.