STUDYING FOR ENGLISH

You may have heard some people say that it’s not possible to study for English although this is simply not the case.

Below you will find tips and ideas as to how best to prepare for your English exam in May.

THE EXAM

The exam itself consists of two papers:

Paper 1 – CLOSE READING – 1.5 hours

Paper 2 – CRITICAL ESSAY – 1.5 hours

CLOSE READING

There are three different types of questions in the Close Reading paper: Understanding (U), Analysis (A) and Evaluation (E).

It really isn’t possible to ‘study’ for understanding questions as you will not know what the passage is about until the day of the exam.

It is however possible to study for both Analysis and Evaluation questions.

The best way to do this is by practising specific questions from past papers – your teacher will give you these if you ask – unless of course you have a book of them already.

The analysis questions that cause candidates the most trouble are Word Choice, Imagery, Tone and Sentence Structure.

· WORD CHOICE – Remember to say what the word ‘literally means’ and then give your answer on what that word ‘suggests’ to the reader.

· IMAGERY – You must always explain the literal root of the image before going on to explaining the metaphorical meaning.

· TONE – There are many, many different tones and it is up to you to identify the most appropriate. Be wary of saying something is a humorous / boring / angry tone.

· SENTENCE STRUCTURE – Sentence structure questions always ask you how a sentence is put together. They are never checking your understanding of the sentence.

· EVALUATION – This is often the last question which is worth a substantial amount of marks.

Top Tips for Answering the Last Question

· Read the last question first, even before you read the passages. By doing this you will know what you’re looking for as you work through the paper.

· Remember that you may be asked on Style OR Ideas, you may also be asked to comment on both. READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY.

· Style relates to the technical aspect of language – Word Choice; Tone; Imagery; Anecdote, Sentence Structure etc.

· A good way to begin an answer to the last question is:

‘Although I think passage x is effective in terms of style/Ideas due to the fact that …I prefer passage x as …..’

CRITICAL ESSAY

The only way to guarantee successfully writing a Critical Essay is by knowing your texts inside out. The more informed you are about your texts, the better your responses to them will be.

It is crucial that you begin to organise your notes now. See the attached sheet for ideas on how to make your initial notes.

Choosing a Question

· Remember to read the box at the top

· You MUST always mention the Central Concerns of the text – otherwise known as themes.

· For drama questions, you should make reference to the effect on the audience.

· Read the questions thoroughly. When you have chosen a question, ask yourself if you really have enough to say to sustain a whole essay.

· Remember to address the second line of the question – especially the second part of the second line. This is, after all, the task you’ve been asked to address.

Structuring Your Essay

· In your introduction it is important that you mention the name of the text, the genre and the author. You should also give a brief summary of the plot and make reference to the task.

· You should have at least 4 main points which will make up the main body of your essay.

· Use the P.E.A.R format to help you – (P) Point (E) Evidence (A) Analyse (R) React

· Don’t wait until the conclusion to address the task.

· REMEMBER – You will never be asked to write everything you know about a text so don’t be tempted to – most critical essays fail as they are not relevant to the task.

FINAL TIP

TIMING IN THE EXAM IS VERY IMPORTANT. TO PREPARE FOR THIS YOU SHOULD BE USING THE PAST PAPERS AND TIMING YOURSELF.