How to Revise for English Language. CAUTION! Don’t revise everything! Look at teacher feedback (PENS) to help you decide on your priorities. Make sure.

How to Revise for English Language

CAUTION!

• Don’t revise everything! Look at teacher feedback (PENS) to help you decide on your priorities.

• Make sure that you look at your January exam paper to identify areas where you did not achieve full marks.

• Try to avoid only revising by yourself- try working in revision ‘clusters’ so you can ‘verbalise’ ideas.

Don’t forget to use the revision guide that you bought last year- remember that you can identify key chapters to revise.

Useful Websites

www.geoffbarton.co.uk

www.gcseresult.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english

Practical IdeasMake little cards with key terms on one side and definitions on the other (e.g. imperative verb- a verb that is a command such as sit or listen.)

Buy the good quality broadsheet newspapers- select an article and highlight all the language features you can.

Collect charity leaflets and advertising ‘junk mail’- highlight how the texts are persuasive- what words/ phrases do they use.

C+ do as many cards as you can and then sort them into categories of language, structure and presentation.

A* write down the effect on the reader of using each of these techniques.

C+ look at how the images, captions and layout is also persuasive.

A* identify the writer’s intention when using these techniques.

C+ do this with two articles and compare how language is used differently.

A* find the same article in a tabloid and broadsheet newspaper and compare how they are presented to different audiences.

You could do these in your ‘revision clusters’

Practical IdeasCreate a mindmap of all of the features of language, structure and presentation that you can think of.

Have a look at some writing tasks- spend 5 minutes brainstorming what you would include in your response.

Have a look at some past papers (ask your teacher, look on NorTLE and the ‘F’ drive) and identify the key instructional word (e.g. ‘list’ or ‘explain’) so you are clear on what the question is asking for.

C+ add examples of each to your mindmap.

A* add the ‘effect’ on the reader of each technique.

C+ ensure you can define each word.

A*order these instructional verbs from hardest to easiest skill.

C+ identify how the language you will use in your response is appropriate for your audience and purpose.

A* consider how you will structure your text for maximum effect on the reader.

You could do these in your ‘revision clusters’