Easter Revision

Hi all,

Last quick post before I hop on a plane. I was hoping to re-release my exam guides as well; perhaps I can fire one or two blogs out from the other side of the world. No promises.

Here are some Easter revision tips:

Easter Revision Advice

1)     Know the three exam papers and audit your knowledge – if there’s a poem or a part of the exam you’re not sure about, it’s up to you to sort it out. There’s loads of help out there. And you can still email me if you’re desperate for help. You can find my exam guides on the blog here (soon to be updated).

2)    Read the news – any article could be the basis for Section A of the English Language paper. Think about how your article gets across its key points using  language and presentational devices. This will help you get used to noticing a writer’s techniques in a previously unseen text.

3)    Re-read Of Mice and Men and/or An Inspector Calls. This is vital – you’ll pick up much more the second time around. Reading Of Mice and Men will take around three hours.

4)    Read 2/3 poems a night. Knowing the poems inside out is much more valuable than revising your notes. The more you’ve thought about the poems, the more you’ll be able to respond to the question rather than awkwardly trotting out ideas and techniques you jotted down in your anthology. We can tell! Try using the ‘comparing poems’ sheet. You could also test out your ‘unseen poetry’ skills by reading poems from sections outside of Character and Voice.

5)    Revise the Lit poems in thematic clusters. Eg: power, identity, male and female relationships, outsiders  etc. These themes allow you to predict questions. Use the comparing poems sheet to show how you’d compare them. Try a practice question!

6)    Use the blog!

mrmuraleeenglish.blogspot.co.uk

7)    Use your exercise books – you have your own revision guide!

8)    Don’t forget about writing – plenty of advice on the blog. Revise persuasive techniques and practice. If you have a particular weakness (eg. paragraphing/ apostrophes), work on it.

Useful sites:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
• http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/drama/inspectorcalls.htm
• http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/prose/ofmiceandmen.htm
• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/
• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Of-Mice-and-Men.id-101.html

Have fun (but not too much!)

Mr M