Any point in revising for English Literature?

[RevisiontipsGCSE]

Trying to help DD who is in year 10 with a revision timetable as MOCKS are in a few weeks.

Last Mocks: English Language:4. English Literature: 2 Teacher said they are hoping for a 5 in both. Maths: 3. Science: 5

I am thinking we should simplify and focus all energy in Maths and English Language. The upcoming mocks will be for English Literature not Language mock until December. There will be Mocks for maths and science too.

Shall we just forget about English literature? She has lots of coursework in her main subject/qualification too.

use chat got - put in her exam boards areas that she's strong at and those that are weaker and ask it to build a revision timeline- maybe 90 mins per day or 2/3 slots of 30 mins and any other commitments and it can be really helpful

it can also build practice questions and model answers

re 30 poems group them into themes for the analysis

It’s not 30 poems (not sure why a PP said that) it’s 15 as @HarshbutTrue2 said. And there is no need to learn all of them; more than possible to pick out a few that cover most themes.

Anyway that is for the future. Agree with @HarshbutTrue2 she will have two texts to revise now and that's more than possible and will help come next summer.

Haven’t read the other comments but our twins are in the middle of their GCSEs so I’m speaking from current experience. There are LOADS of amazing English resources on YouTube - Mr Salles, First Rate Tutors, and Mr Bruff. They tell you what you need to know and how to answer the questions. The Physics and Maths Tutor website has past papers and mark schemes for all main subjects, as well as lots of revision guides/flash cards etc. First Class Maths website is amazing for videos and practice. Also Cognito Science. With a little effort each day your daughter can get there. Little and often way better than leaving it all til late. If you can go and watch Macbeth at the theatre, it would help enormously! Good luck

Thank you. There is definitely lots of resources; far too much choice. Will ask her to focus on what she finds helpful

Revise ALL subjects that are being taken. It really isn't onerous at GCSE.
English Lit is just as important, if not more so quite honestly than English Lang to revise as she will not perform well if she doesn't know her set texts inside and out. Open book exams do not make it easier, if you want a good grade you need to know it not rely on the book.

Having read all our comments, it shouldn't matter if you, as the parent, know the subject and books. You don't have to sit the exams. Your role is to ensure she's putting the time into revision and supporting healthy study- making sure she eats well, stays hydrated, gets plenty of sleep and isn't zoning out on social media when she's supposed to be revising. I have to say that if you're attitude is that 6 hrs at school (for 3/4 of the year) should be enough you're not really setting her a good example for work ethic. She should probably be doing 2-3 hours a night and at least one weekend day right before mocks- giving her plenty of time for all the subjects.

Can I suggest that it’s also worth looking at what your daughter might like to do after GCSEs and the entry requirements? It’s probably worth working out what she needs for her next stage now as that will help her focus her attention - eg if she needs 5 5s to include English lang and maths, and lit could be one of those - well worth making the effort!

The bbc bitesize English lit podcasts are really good. I swear it's why my non revising, hardly ever read a book DS got a grade 6. We used to listen to it in the car.
If you're anywhere near London go and see macbeth at the globe. Or go and see it anywhere local, it'll help her.

Thank you

This is super helpful,

We are very nearly finished with GCSEs and have found Seneca useful. It has all the GCSE content by exam board and unlike bitesize you can see which topics you've studied, what score you got on the quizzes etc. School sometimes set work on it too.
We had the free version for ages and just upgraded to the paid version a few months before the exams.

Somehow the majority of British students manage it every year… so it can’t be impossible considering most of us have done it.

I very much doubt a school will allow her to drop English Language, it is a core subject.

Maths and English Language are the two you really want to pass, English Literature is slightly easier to pass apparently, just get the key gist for each character and try to remember some quotes for each character or if that’s a struggle just some main points of each book.

Google or BBC Bitesize are great tools which compact the information.

She is year 10.
There's still a long way to go before she sits her exams for real. Mocks are a really good practice and a dose of reality about how much work - briefly really, it's intense, but only for a few weeks - needs to be put in for decent grades.
She shouldn't drop literature - that's so defeatest at this stage. It may not be her favourite subject but with some effort she's predicted a 5, that's a decent grade.
It's useful also to mix up your revision so she doesn't get heartily sick of maths.
A realistic schedule should be suggested by the school - my top tips having gone through this and A levels with kids - is to create a good atmosphere for revision either at home, or encourage use of school libraries/local libraries, study with friends if she likes that and provide encouragement and regular snacks. If they can't find motivation themselves there's not much you can really do. They will usually be under some pressure from school and parents adding to it may not be helpful - it depends on the child

Thank you all

She is cracking on with the revision for all MOCKS 🙏 I think she is motivated but this process requires parental involvement and encouragement too.

What do you mean for a few weeks? How long in advance your kids started revising?

Hire her a tutor if you’re that worried that your inexperience of the education system is restricting her.

From about Easter to end of exams in June.

During Year 11 revision is ongoing on top of learning new content. Some subjects such as Maths, English language and Sciences build on the skills already learnt, others are topic/text based and earlier content would need to be refreshed. Schools tend to run through past papers and may offer additional sessions after school or during holiday periods to boost grades.

We are going to have to as I feel completely hopeless; apart from the practical and emotional support.

Is she not understanding the content the first time it's taught?

A tutor will go over the same topics as the teacher, identify where there are gaps and help with exam technique.

They won't (and can't) do the work for her. If it's simply that she's going to class, coming home and not revising the content she's learned, then a tutor will be a waste of money.

Some students do better when they immediately recap the content from the day every day after school throughout the school year and regularly revisit, maybe an hour a day all year round, including holidays where they might spend a bit extra time on the subjects they are finding trickier. Some students will not be able to focus without the pressure of an upcoming exam so will need to revise solidly for several hours a day from Easter onwards.

I'd agree with this.
She needs to keep up with coursework throughout the year. Good practice would be a recap at the end of term - schools usually test termly. Revisit any bits you don't understand.
Revision proper starts from Easter the year you take the exam. It's not meant to be learning it again from scratch - you should have done the bulk of the learning and it's refreshing knowledge and filling gaps.

Mocks are revision
If she learns macbeth in detail now, it will be much eassier next year