PGCE and School Direct Secondary English
Subject Knowledge Audit
This audit will help you to identify strengths and gaps in your subject knowledge in the
following areas:
 Literature
 Language
 Media
 Drama
Complete each section honestly – you are not expected to know everything! Reflect on the
breadth and depth of your knowledge, considering how to address areas for development.
Literature
This section considers authors that are commonly studied at secondary level. Reflect on your own experience and
answer the questions posed.
Authors widely read at KS3
David Almond
Nina Bawden
Malorie Blackman
Tim Bowler
Theresa Breslin
Robert Cormier
Sharon Creech
Gillian Cross
Roald Dahl
Charles Dickens
Anne Fine
Catherine Forde
Alan Gibbons
Maurice Gleitzman
Susan Hill
Nigel Hinton
Anthony Horowitz
Janni Howker
Michelle Magorian
Geraldine McCaughrean
Michael Morpurgo
Beverley Naidoo
George Orwell
Philip Pullman
Celia Rees
Willy Russell
Louis Sachar
Marcus Sedgwick
Darren Shan
William Shakespeare
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Swindells
Robert Westall
Benjamin Zephaniah
Authors widely read at KS4
Maya Angelou
Jane Austen
Alan Bennett
Harold Brighouse
Charlotte Bronte
Arthur Conan Doyle
Robert Cormier
Roddy Doyle
George Eliot
William Golding
Willis Hall
Thomas Hardy
Susan Hill
Barry Hines
Harper Lee
Arthur Miller
George Orwell
J B Priestley
Willy Russell
William Shakespeare
Mary Shelley
John Steinbeck
Bram Stoker
Robert Swindells
Meera Syal
Mildred D Taylor
HG Wells
a) Highlight authors whose work you know well.
Suggest other authors suitable for study at KS3:
b) List at least three authors with whose work you
intend to familiarise yourself:
a) Highlight authors whose work you know well.
Suggest some of their works that are suitable for
KS4:
b) List at least three authors with whose work you
intend to familiarise yourself:
Reading - range
The 2014 National Curriculum states that pupils should be encountering a wide range of reading, including ‘high
quality works’ in the following categories. For each category, list works that you consider might be appropriate for
study. State which key stage they might be suitable for.
a) pre-1914 prose, poetry and drama
b) Contemporary prose, poetry and drama
Texts from different cultures and traditions
KS3
John Agard, Maya Angelou, Kwesi Brew, Anita Desai, Deborah
Ellis, Athol Fugard, Jamila Gavin, Nadine Gordimer, Gaye
Hicyilmaz, Beverly Naidoo, Grace Nichols, C Everard Palmer, Bali
Rai, John Steinbeck, Meera Syal, Mildred D Taylor, Mark Twain,
Adeline Yen Mah and Benjamin Zephaniah
KS4
Chinua Achebe, John Agard, Monica Ali, Moniza Alvi, Maya
Angelou, Isaac Bashevis Singer, James Berry, Edward Braithwaite,
Anita Desai, Emily Dickinson, F Scott Fitzgerald, Athol Fugard,
Jamila Gavin, Nadine Gordimer, Doris Lessing, Arthur Miller, Les
Murray, Beverly Naidoo, RK Narayan, Grace Nichols, Ruth Prawer
Jhabvala, Bali Rai, Wole Soyinka, John Steinbeck, Meera Syal,
Mildred D Taylor, Mark Twain, Derek Walcott, Walt Whitman,
Tennessee Williams, Adeline Yen Mah and Benjamin Zephaniah.
Poetry
The Lady of Shalott
The Highwayman
The Listeners
Not Waving but Drowning
a) Highlight the writers you know well.
b) Comment on the value at studying texts
from a range of cultures and traditions:
c) Which cultures and traditions, if any, do
you feel knowledgeable about through
literature?
d) Which literature from different cultures
and traditions would you like to explore
further?
a) For each title, can you name the author
and the period?
The Daffodils
To Autumn
Dulce et Decorum Est
To His Coy Mistress
The Tyger
Stop All the Clocks
Warning
Sea-Fever
Jabberwocky
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
Please Mrs Butler
The Old and the Pussy-Cat
Blackberry–Picking
Pike
The Eagle
b) List some poems you would like to teach:
c) Comment on your own knowledge and
confidence in exploring poetry:
Shakespeare and Drama
a) List the plays of Shakespeare that you have studied/know well:
b) List other plays that you have studied/know well:
c) Comment on your confidence in discussing Shakespearean language:
d) Comment on your ability to confidently discuss dramatic conventions:
Literary terms and devices
Could you explain these terms to a class? Circle the ones you are unsure about.
allegory
allusion
ambiguity
analogy
antithesis
bathos
alliteration
rhyme
metre
trochee
dactyl
tetrameter
free verse
prose
bias
burlesque
characterisation
figurative language
form
imagery
irony
Language choice
motif
paradox
parody
pathos
non-fiction
verse
dramatic irony
sonnet
stanza
direct discourse
narrative voice
onomatopoeia
rhythm
iamb
anapaest
trimeter
pentameter
blank verse
fiction
satire
symbolism
setting
theme
literary non-fiction
drama
soliloquy
ballad
script form
indirect discourse
ode
Teaching literature
Indicate your level of confidence for each of these skills:
1
(very
confident)
Reading aloud to pupils
Selecting texts and extracts appropriate to age
and ability
Explaining and making texts accessible to pupils
Helping pupils to appreciate the language and
specific features of a text
Setting up tasks to help pupils understand and
explore texts
Stimulating and supporting individuals’ reading
Literature – note any target areas for development:
2
3
4
(not
confident)
Language
Could you explain these terms to a class? Circle the ones you are unsure about.
morpheme
affix
prefix
suffix
phoneme
syllable
synonym
antonym
noun
verb
adjective
adverb
determiner
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
connective
cohesion
coherence
phrase
clause
subordinate clause
main clause
active and passive
sentence
paragraph
subject
object
auxiliary verb
modal verb
adverbial phrase
non-finite clause
noun phrase
imperative mood
dialect
accent
standard English
received
pronunciation
colloquial
idiom
cliché
cloze
etymology
dialogue
direct speech
indirect speech
tense
syntax
Sentence types – give examples of the following, together with an explanation of each
a)
a simple sentence:
b) a compound sentence:
c) a complex sentence:
Punctuation - explain the following:
a) The use of the semi colon
b)
The use of the colon
c) The rules for direct speech
d) The use of apostrophes
e) A comma splice
Text type conventions
a) Choose one of the following text types, and list the typical conventions of this type of text, e.g. tense,
person, structural features
b) Circle anywhere you are uncertain of the conventions
information, explanation, persuasive, argument, advice, instruction, recount
Teaching about language
Indicate your level of confidence for each of these skills:
1
(Very
confident)
Explaining terminology to pupils
Assessing pupils’ individual language strengths
and weaknesses
Helping students to appreciate how knowledge
about language can enhance their English work
Making knowledge about language relevant and
accessible to classes, groups and individuals
Prioritising pupils’ needs
Providing meaningful, appropriate targets for
pupils
Supporting pupils who use non-standard forms
of English in an inappropriate context
Language - note any target areas for development:
2
3
4
(not
confident)
Media
Consider what these terms refer to in a media studies context. Could you explain these terms to a class? Circle the
ones you are unsure about.
audience
multi-media
voiceover
code
narrative
bias
connotation
representation
caption
denotation
FX
byline
genre
stereotype
masthead
mise-en-scene
shot
storyboard
montage
blue screen
deconstruct
Media – note any target areas for development:
Drama
Consider what these terms refer to in a drama context. Could you use these techniques with a class? Circle the
ones you are unsure about.
mime
tableaux
flashback
role play
thought-tracking
script work
improvisation
role on the wall
directing
hot-seating
forum theatre
guided tour
simulation
ice-breakers
rolling theatre
Drama – note any target areas for development: