GCSE English Language and
Literature
What’s involved with each?
GCSE English Language
GCSE Literature
• Exam 40% 4th June
• S&L Tasks 20%
• Controlled
Assessment (4
essays) 40%
• Exam 1 40% 20th
May
• Exam 2 35% 23rd
May
• Controlled
Assessment (1
essay) 25%
What Can You Do To Help?
• Controlled Assessment
Deadline: 4th March
– Complete folders
– Improved controlled
assessment grades
• Revision
– Discussion of texts
– Resources: poetry
anthologies, short story
anthologies/An Inspector
Calls, Of Mice & Men, CGP
guides
– Encourage students to
attend revision sessions.
Currently underway..
Language
• Retake of one
controlled
assessment essay on
Tuesday’s from 2.40.
• CGP Revision Guides
for all students
• Revision sessions to
begin after half
term
Literature
• Retake of
Shakespeare
controlled
assessment essay on
Wednesday’s from
2.40
• Revision sessions to
begin after half
term
What is in Each Paper?
• GCSE English Language
– Exam 1
– Reading: Non-fiction and Media Texts
– Writing: Argue, Persuade or Advise
– Writing: Inform, Explain or Describe
• GCSE English Literature
– Exam 1
– Novel: Of Mice and Men by John
Steinbeck
– 7 short stories from ‘Sunlight on the
Grass’ Anthology or ‘An Inspector Calls’
– Exam 2
– Poetry: 15 poems from one section in the
‘Moon on the Tides’ Anthology
GCSE English Language: Writing
Section
• Check through previous
work, paying attention to
teacher’s comments and
targets.
• Do some practice questions
and look for the obvious
things:
– Paragraphs
– Variety of Sentence
Structures
– Correct use of
punctuation
– Spelling
GCSE English Language: Reading
Section
• Collect your junk
mail!
• Look at a variety
of texts including:
– leaflets,
– fliers,
– articles,
– web sites
– and biographies
Purpose
Audience
Language
Presentation
Literature Exam 1
• Section A: Short Stories/
An Inspector Calls
Read the stories/play and discuss
themes, characters and ideas with
them
• Section B: Of Mice and Men
– Read the book and discuss it
with them
– Discuss the different
characters and your opinions of
them
– Discuss how the characters
reflect 1930s American life
Literature Exam 2
Poetry Cluster
Know the 15 poems from
ONE of the Clusters and talk about:
– WHAT the poet is trying to say
– HOW the poet gets the message
across
Compare the poems:
-Choose any 3 poems and play ‘Odd One Out’ to start
thinking about similarities and differences between the
poems.
Revision
• Revision Timetable from Monday 25th
February
•
Tuesday
•Literature Revision: Mrs Pentney, En3
•Language Writing Higher: Mrs
Matchett, En6
•Language Writing Foundation: Miss
Cork, En4
Wednesday
•Language Reading Higher: Ms
James, En7
•Language Reading Foundation: Miss
White, En2
Websites
– BBC Bitesize – on-line revision activities
– AQA Website – past exam papers