Year 11 GCSE English Language Resit

Year 11 – if you are resetting the Unit 1 exam (same as last November), the exam is on Tuesday.

Take a look at the following advice in preparation for the exam:

http://blog.geoffbarton.co.uk/site/Blog/Entries/2014/5/30_Final_Training_for_GCSE_English.html

Also take a look at the old blog posts from last September, October and November – take a look here:

https://missthedogatemyhomework.wordpress.com/category/gcse-english-language-3/unit-1-understanding-and-producing-non-fiction-texts/

Finally 

Miss O

Improving Accuracy

Great site here for any Year 11s resetting their Unit 1 English Language exam and also any Year 10s looking to focus on their accuracy ready for next year’s exam. Take a look here – BBC Skillswise and BBC Skillswise Games.

 

Miss O

Good Luck Guys!

Exam Tomorrow starts at 9am

Tomorrow’s exam starts at 9am

Normal Timings (9.00-11.15)

• 9.00am Read Question 1, read and highlight Source 1, then answer Question 1.
• 9.15am Read Question 2, read and highlight Source 2, then answer Question 2.
• 9.30am Read Question 3, read and highlight Source 3, then answer Question 3.
• 9.45am Read Question 4, read and highlight your 2 sources, then answer Question 4.
• 10.15am Read Question 5: 2 minutes planning, 20 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 10.40am Read Question 6: 2 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 11.15am DONE!

Extra 25% Timings (9.00 – 11.48)

• 9.00am Read Question 1, read and highlight Source 1, then answer Question 1.
• 9.20am Read Question 2, read and highlight Source 2, then answer Question 2.
• 9.45am Read Question 3, read and highlight Source 3, then answer Question 3.
• 10.10am Read Question 4, read and highlight your 2 sources, then answer Question 4.
• 10.35am Read Question 5: 2 minutes planning, 25 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 11.10am Read Question 6: 3 minutes planning, 35 minutes writing and 5 minutes reading.
• 11.48am DONE!

Miss O

Specimen Paper – Mock Exam Mark Schemes

4 days to go.

If you haven’t done any revision this half term – now is the time to crack on. To those of you who have been revising – well done and keep going! You should complete some or all of the Specimen paper I gave you as an additional mock.

As promised here are the mark schemes for said paper. We will spend some time looking at this in class during Monday’s epic 3 hour session. But we have a lot to get through on Monday so the more time you spend looking at the mark scheme, the better understanding you will have of how to ace this exam.

Higher Specimen Mark Scheme

Foundation Specimen Mark Scheme

 

Miss O

Exam Timings – Memorise them!

Tuesday’s exam starts at 9.30am.

Normal Timings (9.30-11.45)

• 9.30am Read Question 1, read and highlight Source 1, then answer Question 1.
• 9.45am Read Question 2, read and highlight Source 2, then answer Question 2.
• 10.00am Read Question 3, read and highlight Source 3, then answer Question 3.
• 10.15am Read Question 4, read and highlight your 2 sources, then answer Question 4.
• 10.45am Read Question 5: 2 minutes planning, 20 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 11.10am Read Question 6: 2 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 11.45am DONE!

Extra 25% Timings (9.30 – 12.18)

• 9.30am Read Question 1, read and highlight Source 1, then answer Question 1.
• 9.50am Read Question 2, read and highlight Source 2, then answer Question 2.
• 10.10am Read Question 3, read and highlight Source 3, then answer Question 3.
• 10.35am Read Question 4, read and highlight your 2 sources, then answer Question 4.
• 11.05am Read Question 5: 2 minutes planning, 25 minutes writing and 3 minutes reading.
• 11.35am Read Question 6: 3 minutes planning, 35 minutes writing and 5 minutes reading.
• 12.18am DONE!

Keep revising!

Miss O

General Revision Help

BBC Skillswise English

AQA Past Papers

BBC BItesize Writing Help

BBC Bitesize Reading Help

Mr Bruff Videos – Look for AQA GCSE English Language Videos

Also have a look at the following if you need to extend your vocabulary:

Beautiful and Ugly Words

 

Accuracy

A rather boring post but have a look if you struggle with your accuracy. Two good websites at the bottom of this  post! Take a look!

Apostrophes

The apostrophe does two jobs

1. It is used to show that a letter has been left out (contraction)

I am going on holiday BECOMES I’m going on holiday.

The apostrophe sits above the missing letters.

2. It is also used to show if something is belonging to another person or thing (possession/ownership)

The cat’s whiskers. (One cat)

The girls’ laughter was very loud. (Two or more girls)

Homophones

there/their/they’re

•  There = place or general point – I left it there yesterday/There is too much noise in this room!
•  Their = belonging to someone/thing- Their dog is in our garden again.
•  They’re = ‘they are’ – Ignore them. They’re only looking for attention.

its/it’s

•  Its = belong to it – The elephant lifted up its trunk and took the bun.
• It’s = ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ – It’s been a wonderful day

your/you’re

•  Your = belonging to you – Your hamster has got out of its cage.
• You’re = ‘you are’ – You’re late!

to/too/two

•  To = shows direction or action – I want you to work hard today/Last year, we went to Japan.
• Too = ‘as well’ or ‘very’ – We’ve got Maths next too/It’s too cold in this room.

Others to avoid

aloud/allowed, bare/bear,  brake/break, by/buy heal/heel, here/hear, piece/peace, right/write, see/sea, week/weak, weather/whether

Spelling plurals

If there’s more than one thing/object/person, you add an ‘s’ to the end of the word.

But…

If the word ends in ‘y’ after a consonant, drop the ‘y’ and add ‘ies’ baby>babies; lady>ladies

If the word ends in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, usually drop the ‘f’ or ‘fe’ add ‘ves’ wolf>wolves; leaf>leaves

If the word ends in ‘o’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ or ‘x’ usually add ‘es’ tomato>tomatoes; bush>bushes; pitch>pitches

Sometimes the vowels change man>men; foot>feet; tooth>teeth

Other common spelling errors

alot > a lot

aswell > as well

infront > in front

defiantly > definitely

sincerly > sincerely

trys > tries

should of > should have / should’ve

Have a look at the following websites – these are great to ensure your writing is accurate:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_41.htm 

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl

Miss O

Nailing the genre – tips on writing formats

Writing Genres …

Letters – Formal Letter Writing Help

• Always set it out like a letter. Your address top right, their address underneath on the left and a date (on either left or right).
• Think about the audience of the letter. Is it to someone you know? Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Mr. Brown
• Always finish the letter in the correct way – Yours sincerely (know their name – Dear Mr Brown) and Yours faithfully (if it starts Dear Sir/Madam).
• Include your signature and your name underneath.

(Image taken from http://www.goodletterwriting.co.uk)

Leaflet

• If the question asks for the text of a leaflet
• Remember to use headings, sub-headings, bullet points, fact boxes, boxes of essential info.
• Make your points clear.

Article – http://www.gcseresult.co.uk/attachments/13045.pdf

• Headline/title and a subheading.
• Draw a box to identify where the picture would be.
• By-line (By Matthew Smith)
• You could include reference to the magazine/newspaper name.

Blog Entry

• Headline – grabs reader’s attention
• Subheading – summarising blog entry
• Informal even humourous tone.
• Demonstrating relationship between the reader and writing – mix of first person (I) and second person (you)

Speech –  BBC Bitesize: How to Write a Speech

• Key thing to think about is that it is written to be read aloud. Try to imagine what it would sound like as you read it.
• Speeches often use rhetorical questions, repetition, personal anecdotes, humour, personal pronouns etc.

Remember

If in doubt as to what you are being asked to produce in Section A, look back to Section A of the exam. Are any of the texts used there the kind of text you are writing? If so, look at the form and the presentational devices they use.

Miss O

Question 6 (Foundation and Higher) Recap

This question has the most marks – 24! Therefore it is important that you nail your timings and give this question the time it requires – 35 minutes! The question will ask you to either argue or persuade. You still need to use a variety of sentence structures, interesting vocabulary and solid discourse markers in this task.

Writing to Argue

If the question asks you to Argue – you show both sides of the argument. Ensure you squash the other sides view. Use the ‘Boxing to Argue’ structure to create a response: use AFOREST techniques, strong discourse markers and squash the other side of the argument.

Writing to Persuade

If the question asks you to Persuade – you must be biased and give just one view. Use the plan/structure you compiled in class and AFOREST techniques – start and end with a rhetorical question.

Past questions have included:

Higher

• There is evidence that many young people are not eating, exercising or spending their leisure time properly and that this is damaging their health and life chances. Write an article for Living Today magazine which persuades young people to improve their diet and lifestyle.
• ‘There’s no point making the effort and taking the risk of travelling the world, disturbing people and animals as you go, when you can see it all on TV or the Internet.’ Write a magazine article which persuades young people either to travel or stay at home.
• A recent report states: ‘Homelessness in the UK is a crisis that is destroying the lives of people, especially young people.’ Write an article for your school or college newspaper persuading young people to support charities which help the homeless.
• It has been said that: ‘People who save lives or help improve the lives of others are the true role models of today.’ Write an article for a newspaper in which you argue your view about what makes a good role model.
• ‘Life is too easy for young people today. They lack challenges and don’t have to fight for anything.’ Write an article for a magazine of your choice which persuades your readers that this statement is either right or wrong.
• Many people believe that it is our duty to cut back on our use of the world’s resources, and that we must invest in greener forms of energy for the future – whatever the cost. Write an article for an environmental website which argues for or against this idea.
• Your school or college is inviting entries for a writing competition. The topic is “Dangerous sports activities and pastimes are selfish, often put others at risk and should be discouraged.” Write your entry arguing for or against this view.

Foundation

• “Young people today waste too much time watching TV and playing computer games.” Write an article for a magazine of your choice arguing for or against this statement.
• Write the text for a leaflet to persuade students to help make your school or college more environmentally friendly.
• ‘Governments, doctors, and the media are right to tell us what to eat and what not to eat.’ Write a speech for a classroom debate arguing for or against this opinion.
• Write a letter to a well-known person persuading them to visit your school or college for the benefit of the students.
• ‘Sports stars are good role models for young people.’ Write an article for a magazine of your choice arguing for or against this view.

You could have a go at the above questions – you could plan a response or even write a response. Alternatively make up your own questions (you never know they might be in the exam) and plan/write a response.

Alternative revision tasks:

1. Write to the Examination Board to persuade them to award GCSEs on controlled assessment grades alone and to stop all examinations. Write five paragraphs and then check your work. What do you need to do to improve your work? Have you used AFOREST? Make those improvements!
2. Write a plan where you compare arguments for and against the sport of boxing. Now create a speech in which you argue for or against the sport, supporting your points with reasons, evidence and references to wider social and moral issues.
3. Here is the opening to an essay: ‘Write a persuasive article for a teenage fashion magazine about whether following fashion is important’: “Whether or not you choose to follow fashion depends very much on you. Some people like to wear whatever is cheapest. Others want things that are warm or practical and others want to look like they’ve stepped off a catwalk or out of a high street shop. Some people just HAVE to be seen in the latest trends, whatever the cost.” Rewrite this essay so that it is really punchy and persuasive – remember who your audience is and what your purpose is.

Miss O