English language GCSE: It is essential you understand the following terms and word classes.
Language features: Alliteration, Repetition, Facts, Statistics, Opinion, Rule of Three, Rhetorical Questions, Anecdote, Hyperbole and Humour. These terms are used in persuasive writing (Paper 2)
Language Techniques: Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Repetition, Hyperbole, Descriptive Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs and unusual Nouns. Sentence Forms: Compound Sentences, Complex Sentences and Simple Sentences.
It is imperative you understand each of the above terms. It is essential you can spot them in text and comment on them. It is also essential, you can use them when you write text.
You must be able to write using sentence structure– compound- complex and simple sentences. Using these forms will help your punctuation, but only if you understand the rules of sentence structure.
You must be able to offer a constructive and well thought out comments on the language features and techniques you discover in text. You must be able to give your opinion.
Knowing these terms will help you understand English literature papers 1 and 2 (including poetry analysis). Knowing these terms is essential for English Language Papers 1 and 2. In paper 1-Question 5 you are asked to write a description or a story. This is when you use your knowledge of sentences structure, and Language techniques; you must use similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, descriptive verbs, adjectives and adverbs in your story. In school there is very little practice of creative writing. in the exam, it carries 40 marks. the whole paper is worth 80 marks.
In paper 2: You will need to know the language features off by heart, they must be memorised, they are absolutely essential. Paper 2 Question 5: you are asked to write a persuasive letter, or speech, or article. This is when you use your language features. Paper 2 question 5 is worth 40 marks. the whole paper is worth 80 marks. If you don’t use your language features in question 5 you will not get a good mark. At Step Up we show an exam technique guaranteed to work with Question 5.
We will practice all the above. We will work with past papers and mark schemes. At the end of the GCSE course. You will understand how to answer each question, you will have memorised all the language features and techniques and you will know exactly what the examiner is looking for when he marks your work. If you apply yourself and listen to what we teach, you will pass these exams.
English Literature: You will study one of Shakespeare’s Plays. You will also study a contemporary Play (An Inspector Calls, A View From, A Bridge or another) You will also study Poetry (conflict or relationships) and either A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde, Lord of the Flies, Jayne Eyre or one of several others. Once more your knowledge of language features and techniques is vital to achieve success in these exams. When studying the plays and novels, you must know the characters inside out. Know if they change through the book or stay the same and know the novel or play inside out. For ease of study most of Shakespeare’s plays are in side by side text and are accessible on line. Poetry analysis once more on your knowledge of Language features and techniques.
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