How to achieve a C in English Word doc - St John's School and ...

English, English Language and Literature
- Active and Diploma pathway students: English GCSE
- Core-pathway students: English Language GCSE and English Literature GCSE
The students at St John’s follow the AQA English, English Language and English Literature courses. Full details of the
specification and criteria can be found at www.aqa.org.uk.
What do the students have to do for their English GCSEs?
Controlled Assessment
All the GCSE courses are assessed through final examinations and ‘Controlled Assessment’. ‘Controlled Assessment’
is what we knew as ‘coursework’. Students cannot work on this at home or improve controlled assessment that they
have already completed. Most controlled assessments have now been completed.
English
Controlled Assessment – 60% of the total GCSE marks
Speaking and Listening (20%): 3 tasks assessed in lessons by class teacher.
Understanding Creative Texts (20%): 2 written tasks (poetry and ‘Of Mice and Men’).
Producing Creative Texts (20%): 2 creative writing tasks (autobiographical writing and recreations task).
English Language
Controlled Assessment – 60% of the total GCSE marks
Speaking and Listening (20%): 3 tasks assessed in lessons by class teacher.
Extended Reading (15%): Written essay response on a literature text (‘Of Mice and Men’ or ‘To Kill a
Mockingbird’).
Creative Writing (15%): 2 written tasks (Recreations and Moving Images)
Spoken Language Study (10%): Written investigation into how internet language compares to spoken
language.
English Literature
Controlled Assessment – 25% of the total GCSE marks
The Significance of Shakespeare and the English Literary Heritage (25%): Written essay response that
compares William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
Remaining Controlled Assessment
- English Literature: The Significance of Shakespeare and the English Literary Heritage.
- All students Speaking and Listening: Discussing
Specific texts and questions
Information regarding precise details of texts studied can be obtained from the individual class teachers.
Incomplete Controlled Assessment
Throughout the academic year the English department has been arranging lunch time catch up sessions and if
necessary, days off timetable for students to complete all their controlled assessment pieces.
Marking Controlled Assessment
All controlled assessment marks are moderated by the English department, to ensure fair and accurate marking. The
final marks are submitted to the exam board prior to the examinations themselves and are then reviewed and
moderated by AQA’s examiners and moderators.

The Exams
Any students on the Diploma or Active pathway will be sitting one exam in the summer. Core-pathway students will
be sitting three final exams.
English and English Language
Unit 1: Understanding and Producing Creative Texts (4 th June 2013) is 2 hours and consists of 2 sections.
It is worth 40% of the total GCSE Marks.
Section A: Reading (20%)
This consists of a variety of questions on a number of unseen non-fiction texts (newspaper articles, advertisements
and/or internet documents)
At higher tier – 4 questions on 3 texts
At foundation tier – 5 shorter questions on 3 shorter texts.
Students are asked to identify key arguments; explain why various facts and opinions are used; comment on the
context of the piece (i.e. author and target audience) and analyse language features (such as formal/informal
language, persuasive devices, and emotive language). They also need to understand and analyse presentational
devices (layout, font, sub-headings, text organisation, and images/symbolism).
Section B: Writing (20%)
This section consists of two compulsory tasks:
1) Writing to inform, explain or describe (16 marks)
2) Writing to argue or persuade (24 marks)
This is where students are assessed on their writing ability including spelling, punctuation and grammar. Ability to
write to suit purpose and audience is also important, as well as paragraphing and use of vocabulary.
English Literature
Unit 1: Exploring Modern Texts (20 th May 2013) is 1hr 30 mins and consists of 2 sections.
Section A: Modern Prose or Drama – Essay response from a choice of two questions.
Section B: Exploring Cultures – Candidates answer one question, in two parts, on the set text. (a: response to
a passage from the text / b: candidates link the passage to a whole text).
Unit 2: Poetry Across Time (23 rd May 2013) is 1hr 15 mins and consists of 2 sections.
Section A: Poetry Cluster from the Anthology (45 mins 36 marks) – Essay response on the ‘Relationships’
cluster. Candidates compare one named poem with another chosen by the candidate.
Section B: Responding to an unseen poem (30 mins 18 marks) – A compulsory unseen poem. Candidates
answer a compulsory question about the poem. (F tier – question is in two parts).
Revision tips
Tips on what students need to focus on for the exams and how they can revise are to follow. However, some useful
revision websites include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse

English Exam – Tips and Guidance
English/English Language (All Students)
Unit 1: Understanding and Producing Creative Texts (4 th June 2013) is 2 hours and consists
of 2 sections.
Section A: Reading non-fiction and media texts (20%)
Students are given 2/ 3 texts to read and answer questions. This could be a newspaper article, advert, webpage etc.
- Skills being assessed: using quotes as evidence, comparisons, understanding fact and opinion, presentational
devices, linguistic devices.
- Ways to revise:
• Read a range of newspapers at home: identify GAP, highlight the techniques, facts, opinions, layout and
presentation used etc. (Use AQA tips for students sheet)
• Look at the number of marks and plan out response which takes approximately 2 minutes per mark.
• Use mnemonics to remember techniques: AFOREST (alliteration, fact, opinion, rhetorical question, emotive
language, statistic, triplet/rule of three etc.)
• This is the part of the exam paper that students most often find difficult. This is often because they struggle
with the language of the exam question, or do not properly focus on only writing what is being asked for
(mistakenly believing that the examiner wants their opinion on the extracts.)
• Practise writing paragraphs on authors’ use of language; presentational devices; fact and opinion...
- Tips for students:
• Read the questions carefully and ignore any irrelevant information.
• Look at the number of marks designated to the question and divide your time accordingly.
• Use the exam texts: highlight, annotate, underline, circle...
• Use the language of the exam question
• Read the texts more than once – the second time with the questions in mind.
Section B: Writing (20%)
Students need to answer two compulsory questions; this means they need to be prepared to write different styles of
text.
1) Writing to inform, explain or describe (16 marks)
- Students are being assessed on effective use of paragraphs; use of interesting and appropriate vocabulary;
matching style and tone to the reader (specified in the question); accuracy of spelling and punctuation.
- Ways to revise:
• Write a description of a variety of people, places and things using all 5 senses
• Use a thesaurus to develop vocabulary
• Use SAMSOAP mnemonic for descriptive writing (senses, alliteration, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia,
assonance and personification)
• Practise spellings: look, cover, write, check
• Practise writing for different forms: newspaper articles, letters, speeches (use real texts as models)
• Look at past answers from lessons and redraft/improve them
2) Writing to argue or persuade (24 marks)
- Students need to be clear of the differences between persuade and argue. This part of the paper is worth the most
marks.
- Students are being assessed on effective use of paragraphs; use of interesting and appropriate vocabulary;
matching style and tone to the reader (specified in the question); accuracy of spelling and punctuation.
- Ways to revise:
• Memorise a list of connective words and phrases
• Practise spellings: look, cover, write, check
• Use AFOREST techniques in exam answers – when revising, ask someone for an issue or opinion then invent
an argument which includes these techniques.

• Look at past answers from lessons and redraft and improve them.
- Key tips for students:
• Always plan your response (by paragraphs to ensure you use them)
• Spend less time on the first writing task than the second
• Always proof read your work: check for spelling, capital letters and punctuation.
• Who is your target audience? Make sure your writing suits them.
• Avoid slang and ‘ordinary’ vocabulary.
• Practise writing timed responses so that you can write under pressure.
English Literature
Unit 1: Exploring Modern Texts (20 th May 2013) is 1hr 30 mins and consists of 2 sections.
Section A: Modern Prose or Drama (Lord of the Flies or An Inspector Calls)
- What students are assessed on:
• Analysis of language, structure and form
• Ability to support answer uses textual evidence
• Understanding of key themes and characters
Section B: Exploring Cultures – Candidates answer one question, in two parts, on the set text. (a: response to
a passage from the text / b: candidates link the passage to a whole text).
- What students are assessed on:
• Analysis of language, structure and form
• Ability to support answer uses textual evidence
• Understanding of key themes and characters
• Awareness of social and historical context
- Ways to revise
• Creating mini plans to practise essay questions
• Analysis of key quotations and key extracts (language)
• Create timeline of key events (structure)
• Mind-map on how form influences meaning e.g. play, audience, novel, reader... (form)
• Mind-maps/notes on key themes and characters
• Practise using P.E.E/P.E.A paragraphs
Unit 2: Poetry Across Time (23rd May 2013) is 1hr 15 mins and consists of 2 sections.
Section A: Poetry Cluster from the Anthology (45 mins 36 marks)
-What students are assessed on:
• Analysis of language, structure and form.
• Ability to compare and contrast poems on a theme/topic
• Awareness of author’s techniques
Section B: Responding to an unseen poem (30 mins 18 marks)
- What students are assessed on:
• Awareness of poem’s underlying meanings
• Awareness of poet’s techniques and their effects
• Analysis of language, structure and form.
Ways to revise
• Creating mini plans to practise essay questions: Use STIFF/TSLAP to structure essay.
• Create a grid comparing ‘relationships’ poetry
• Practise analysing unseen poetry using P.E.E/P.E.A paragraphs
• Revise key terminology