Exam success! How to help revision for GCSE English

‘I don’t get it…’ Many pupils are unsure or unaware of how to revise for their English GCSE. This session will aim to help you suggest ideas of how you can support your child when revising for their exam.

What will they be doing? Sets 1-3 Exam in May on Poetry Anthology. Resit exam in May on Animal Farm (literature), Of Mice and Men (language and literature) and transactional writing (language). Sets 4-6 Controlled assessment on Poetry Anthology. Potential resit in May on Shakespeare text, transactional writing and Of Mice and Men? Depending on results in March.

First steps The first step to exam success is to make sure they know their set texts inside out. Unfortunately for them, this will mean rereading the set texts! They can ask their teachers for a copy of the texts to get themselves prepared.

How to revise: Novels and Plays Once they have read the text, they then need to familiarise themselves with all the important themes, characters and language techniques used in the book. Useful revision websites:

How to revise: Novels and Plays There will also be extra revision sessions run by the English department in the build up to the exams. These are normally on a Tuesday and Thursday, after school. Each session lasts no more than an hour. Encourage your child to check the timetables that are posted around the department!

Revising at home Revision can sometimes seem daunting but the trick is to establish a focus for each revision session, i.e. by the end of these two hours, I will understand the theme of dreams in ‘Of Mice and Men.’ Break down each section into manageable chunks, i.e. don’t expect them to understand a whole novel by the end of just two hours. Although rereading the texts is essential, encourage them to do something active with it.

The key to effective revision Useful revision involves DOING SOMETHING with the information they are trying to learn and remember. This is vital to allow their brain to learn, make connections and remember. Different people find different activities useful, and they need to find out how best to revise.

Other revision ideas: at home Mind maps are a useful tool to get a visual representation of the novel, poem or play: Of Mice and Men Themes Characters Key quotations

Other revision ideas… Another top tip is to produce notes (shorter each time they revise a particular area) noting key points, phrases or words. Use pictures and get them to design posters of important ideas and have these up around their bedroom. Create flash cards with questions relating to key points on one side and the answer on the other. That way your child can test their knowledge of the subject.

Essay practice Once your child feels confident with their subject knowledge, the next step is to practice answering exam questions in test conditions. Encourage them to do this at home, in test conditions and with a time limit of 45 minutes per section. This will help them know what to expect in the exam or controlled assessment.

Essay practice This is a vitally important part of the revision process; they may have an excellent subject knowledge but this can be wasted if they can’t answer the question correctly or answer it in the time allowed. Encourage your child to ask their English teacher for practice papers or visit – they will be more than happy to mark these and give feedback.