How to Revise for GCSE
English Literature and
English Language
Mr. J Dunford
What Are Your Exams
Literature (75% of your Overall
Grade)
Language (40% of your Overall
Grade)
 A662: Contemporary
Poetry—A View From the
Bridge (45 minutes)
 A653: Non-Fiction and
Media Paper /A680:
Information and Ideas (120
minutes)
 A663: Prose from Different
Cultures—Of Mice and Men
(45 minutes)
 A664: Literary Heritage
Prose and Contemporary
Poetry—Dr. Jekyll & Mr.
Hyde and Carol Ann Duffy
Poetry (90 minutes)
Assessment Objectives-Literature
 AO1-Respond to texts critically and imaginatively;
select and evaluate relevant textual detail to
illustrate and support interpretations. (View)
 AO2—Explain how language, structure and form
contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes
and settings. (View, Duffy, Dr.J, Mice)
 AO4-Relate texts to their social, cultural and
historical contexts; explain how texts have been
influential and significant to self and other readers
in different contexts and at different times. (Mice)
What should you all be doing to
revise for you English Exams

Timed Writing—develop confidence, experience and time management

Reading/Listening to the Text

Looking at past questions—identifying the key words in each questions—
mind-mapping how you would answer the question

Doing Past Exam Questions—Peer Assess Them/Assess them Yourself/
Look at Mark Schemes

Reviewing Notes from Lessons

Attending Revision Sessions

Revising Language, Structure and Form Techniques—know WHY they
are used and their EFFECTS

Reading Sparknotes, cliffsnotes, york notes
Some ‘Alternative’
Methods
1.
Character/Theme/Context Connecting Activity
2.
Drawing Actions Activity
3.
Poetry Graphic Organiser
4.
Identify the Technique Activity
5.
Story Plot Activity
6.
Make a Prezi, View a Prezi
7.
Make Visual Flash Cards of Language Techniques
8.
Make a Podcast of the Topic; download it to you Ipod.
9.
View Youtube videos on the Topic
10.
Peer/Self Assess Timed Writing Activities
11.
Read—Read in silence—increase your reading fluency
12.
TIMED WRITING—THIS is VITAL
Character/Theme/Context
Connecting Activity
Task: Match characters to themes and context areas. On each line,
explain their connection.
Drawing Actions Activity
Task: Listen to sections of the play and draw body movements,
facial expressions. You could also comment on voice
tones/expressions. For ‘View’ you MUST comment as if you
are in the audience
Poetry Graphic Organiser
Task: Read each poem and then make a table about each poem. You need
to know all fourteen poems. You’ll answer on only one in the exam,
from a choice of six.
Story Plot Activity
Task: Read a short summary of the story and make bullet pointed list of
ten major events in the plot. Reread these parts of the text, noting
techniques.
Identify the Technique Activity
Task: Take quotes from a texts and annotate them for techniques.
Perhaps then write your own and then annotate them.
Make a Prezi, View a Prezi
Task: Visit Prezi.com and make a visual graphic organiser. Or, use the
explore option to search for the text your are studying. Making one is
the best option—it helps you remember the text.
http://prezi.com/aliccit_9nmp/wintering-by-carol-ann-duffy/
Make a Podcast
Task: Visit soundcloud.com, sign-up, record you podcast andn
then download the podcast to your Ipod.
Watch Videos on Youtube
Task: Visit Youtube and watch videos on your topic. Here are some.
There are many more. Take some notes.
Of Mice and Men—
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5063FCAH8mM
View—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVv_9jKRODI
Dr. J-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxC5ETN8Zc&feature=plcp&
context=C336adffUDOEgsToPDskITpdjDpw_Ou4uk5HY8Ur_R
Make Visual Flash Cards of Language
Techniques
Task: Take the language and structural techniques you know and make
note cards. Put them up around your house. Review some before
heading to bed.
Make Visual Flash Cards of Language
Techniques
1. Peer/Self Assess Timed Writing Activities
2. Read—Read in silence—increase your
reading fluency
3. Look at the rest of this PowerPoint.
4. Find Additional Resources at
www.mrjdu.wordpress.com
5.TIMED WRITING—THIS
is VITAL
How to Revise for the A662: Modern
Drama Paper (View)
 Know what you are being Assessed on—Assessment
Objectives (AO1 and AO2)
 Listen/View the Play—you need to answer as if you
were an audience member; not a reader of the text
 Know the ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’
A662: Contemporary Poetry—A
View From the Bridge (45 minutes)
Things To DO/Successful candidates:

see the texts as plays in performance and themselves as members of an audience
 see the stage directions as part of the dramatic action of the scene
and visualise this onstage action
 pay explicit attention to the wording of the question and balance
attention on each strand of the question
 construct succinct and purposeful opening paragraphs, focusing
specifically on the given question
 select and integrate brief quotations to explore the dialogue and to
support and amplify their ideas
 avoid pre-conceived model answers and formulaic approaches and
trust their own direct personal response.
How to Answer the Extract Based
Question—’A View From the Bridge’
Successful candidates:
 devote at least two-thirds of answers to discussing, quoting from
and commenting on the extract itself, but still convey understanding
of the whole play context
 begin their response by locating the extract in the context of the
whole play
 succinctly establish the dramatic context for the characters and
audience in the opening paragraph
 ground their reflections on the whole play firmly in the detail of the
extract
 pay close attention to the build-up of dramatic detail throughout the
extract.
A662: Contemporary Poetry—A
View From the Bridge (45 minutes)
Things NOT TO DO/Less successful candidates:

see the texts as pieces of writing only and themselves as readers

see the stage directions merely as pieces of bolted-on written
communication and ignore their significance to the onstage action

start with a pre-conceived introductory paragraph, which is unhelpfully
generalised, biographical or list-like and says nothing specific about the play
or question

lose the focus of the question and use pre-prepared material which has little
direct relevance to the question

misread the question and write about the wrong character or moment

become detached from the dramatic action and resort to listing features
How to Answer the Extract Based
Question—’A View From the Bridge’
Less successful candidates:
 produce generalised answers with limited attention to the given
extract , or approach the extract as if it is an "unseen" exercise
and give little sense of the rest of the play
 produce a sweeping opening paragraph and largely ignore the
question
 rarely offer quoted material from the extract or, conversely, copy
out large chunks without any attempt at commentary
 miss the reference to the given moment in the question and, as a
result, answer on the play as a whole with little or no reference to
the printed extract.
 distance yourself from the task by providing unhelpful
biographical details or historical background—context is not
assessed in this question.
How to revise for the A663: Prose
from Different Cultures—Of Mice
and Men (45 minutes)
 Know what you are being assessed on--AO2 and
AO4
 AO4—Context, Context, Context---Make links to
context—AO4 is worth more than AO2
 Make sure you explain connections between context
and the evidence in the extract
A663: Prose from Different
Cultures—Of Mice and Men (45
minutes)
Don’ts regarding lack of focus on the passage
 give a introduction that generally focuses on the author
 give a lengthy statement of intent – in this essay I will…
 write extensively on the lead up to the passage, and the lead
away, including the use of quotations from outside the extract
 inclusion of detailed contextual material not directly or
specifically linked to the passage
 extensive focus on how characters behave similarly or
differently at other points in the novel.
A663: Prose from Different
Cultures—Of Mice and Men (45
minutes)
Don’t regarding lack of focus on the question
 fail to refer to key words in the question at the start
 have a pre-prepared list of points to make about this particular
episode, not related to the question
 have another prepared agenda, often relating to style and
narrative technique – foreshadowing, emotive language,
sentence length, use of dialect and slang
 include long quotations with inadequate linking to the
question
 include of long passages of contextual information with
inadequate linking to the question
How to revise for A664: Literary Heritage
Prose and Contemporary Poetry—Dr. Jekyll &
Mr. Hyde
 Know that you are being assessed on AO2
 Practise writing answers fro this question—many
candidates have a difficult time managing their time in
this exam and/or don’t finish
 Support all points with textual evidence
 Don’t comment on context—no marks given
 Don’t ‘retell the event in the extract—weaker responses
tend to paraphrase the extract set for extract-based
questions, not making a personal response.
 Higher responses consider the effects of literary devices.
How to revise for A664: Literary Heritage
Prose and Contemporary Poetry—Carol Ann
Duffy Poetry
 Know that you are being assessed on AO2
 Practise writing answers fro this question—many
candidates have a difficult time managing their time in
this exam and/or don’t finish
 Support all points with textual evidence
 Don’t comment on context—no marks given
 Don’t ‘retell the event in the extract—weaker responses
tend to paraphrase the extract set for extract-based
questions, not making a personal response.
 Higher responses consider the effects of literary devices.
An Overview of the Language
Paper—Higher Higher Tier
 There are TWO Reading Passages….
…..But THREE questions: questions 1 & 2 on the first
passage and question 3 on the second passage.
Question 1 will ask you to respond to WHAT the passage
is about: it carries (about) 10 marks out of 40.
Questions 2 & 3 will ask you to respond to HOW the
passages have been written: each carry (about) 15 marks
out of 40.
Don’t forget this when you are planning your time
management in the examination.
An Overview of the Language
Paper—Foundation Tier
 There are two reading passages (which are shorter than the
passages in the Higher Tier) and one question (split into sub
sections) on each passage.
 The first question on the first passage will ask you WHAT the
passage is about
 The second question on the second passage will ask you HOW the
writer has presented the material.
 Each question is worth 20 marks.
 In both tiers you should not necessarily expect to spend the same
amount of time on reading and writing……..
Managing Your Time

It is absolutely critical that you read each passage very thoroughly before you start
to consider the questions and this may mean that you spend rather longer on the
reading than the writing.

f you do: DON’T WORRY!

Most candidates can produce excellent written work in less than an hour: and most
need more than an hour to read.

DON’T start the reading questions until you are confident that you have:-

Read the passage to the end

Formed a view of what it is about

Considered some of the ways the writer has tried to communicate his/her point of
view.
Reading and Understanding the Questions: 1
 “Outline concisely”. You will need to LOCATE the material that is
relevant to the question and REORGANISE it into a coherent and
concise answer.
 “Own words”:
 DON’T copy or lift directly from the text.
 DO use your own words : but don’t worry if you are content that
you understand and are used to using the words in the passage:
use them in you own prose style.
 DON’T spend too long or write too much on this question.

Reading and Understanding the Questions: 2
& 3.
 All you write must examine how the passage has been
written and produced: make points about structure,
information and language which are supported with
examples from the text.
 “How does the PRESENTATION of the article”…….. This
means the headings and the pictures and anything else that
isn’t in the body of the text.
 Comment on the ways they have affected your response to
what you have read.
 DON’T mention features (e.g. it’s bold and therefore
attention catching) without saying why your attention has
been caught and what that says about the passage.
Reading and Understanding the Questions continued….
 “How does the writer’s use of language……..”
 Again DO NOT use literary terms without saying exactly how
words have contributed to your response to what you have read.
 DO NOT “spot” metaphors/ similes etc. etc. for their own sake:
keep referring back to the question to ensure what you saying is
relevant and well supported.
 DO feel free to talk about how the effects of the RELATIONSHIP
between the words and the presentational features has contributed
to your reaction to the text.
 REMEMBER! You cannot talk about HOW a passage has been
written until you are confident that you understand WHAT it is
about.
What the Examiners are
looking for: Q1
• Understanding of TASK and TEXT.
• An OVERVIEW of the material.
• A clear focus on each separate, relevant point you make without
overlap into other points.
• Confident use of “own words” with NO copying/lifting from the
text.
• A range of (but nor necessarily all of the) points.
What the Examiners are looking for: Qs 2 & 3
• A range of relevant points (about information,
language and structure as appropriate).
• Effective supporting reference to the text with a
clear attempt at analysis of what is referred to.
• A good understanding of the TASK and the TEXT.
Over to you for some HT
reading…..
 Look at “Wing and a Prayer” and read it, right
through to the end, however long it takes.
 THEN: look at questions 1 & 2.
 THEN go back to the passage and underline the
material that goes with question 1 and ring material
that goes with question 2.
 NOW: listen up! How many did you get?
OR: Foundation Tier
 READ The Krakatoa Volcanic Eruption right to the
end.
 THEN look at question 1 a, b, and c: and underline
the material which gives you the right answers.
 THEN look at question 1, d and do the same.
Writing
 Important introductory points: DO plan your work carefully! Take five minutes at least
to work out WHAT you are going to say and HOW you
are going to say it.
 DON’T write too much! If you are going onto more than
three sides ask yourself why!
 Remember that QUALITY is all important and that
QUANTITY need only be enough to show what you can
do at your best.
 Accurate spelling, punctuation and sentence structure
matter.
Planning your work
 You must have worked out a system: a “drill” for planning your
work in the examination.
 Decide on the AUDIENCE which may be specified, or may simply be
the examiner.
 Decide on the TONE OF VOICE you are going to adopt.
 Decide on the STRUCTURE and SHAPE of your essay.
 Remember that you need to use paragraphs which will develop
different aspects of the piece and which are linked together
coherently.
 Always leave time to CHECK your work at the end.
The Assessment Objectives
• Write to communicate clearly, effectively and
imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting
vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways to
engage the reader.
• Organise information and ideas into structured and
sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using
a variety of linguistic and structural features to support
cohesion and overall coherence.
• Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose
and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling
What the Examiners are looking for:- (Grade A)
• Full control of the material: effective use of linguistic devices.
• Confident understanding of what you have set yourself to do and
consistent relevance to it. Clear sense of audience where there is one.
• Use imaginative but appropriate vocabulary: show subtlety and ambition.
• Develop a clear structure to the work: it must have an opening, central
development and a clear conclusion.
• Use of paragraphs and coherent links between them.
• Use of a range of sentence structures to create effects.
• Secure and generally accurate spelling.
• Use ambitious and mainly secure punctuation.
What the Examiners are looking for:- Grade C.
• General control of the material: but some ambition, too.
• A relevant understanding of what you have set yourself to do.
Sense of the audience, where there is one.
• Some variety of vocabulary: “fit the word to the idea not the
idea to the word”.
• A clear beginning, middle and end.
• Effectively linked paragraphs.
• Generally accurate sentence structures.
• Mainly accurate spelling: possibly some errors in ambitious
vocabulary.
• Simple punctuation mostly accurate and secure.
Some Past
Papers…Candidate
Answers, Ect.

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61656_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66402.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61654_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66302.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61652_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66202.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61651_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66201.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61653_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66301.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61655_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66401.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/sm/ocr_39678_sm_gcse_unit_a664_csa.pdf

- http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/assess_mat/ocr_31048_sam_gcse_2010_sam_a664_h.pdf

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/pp_11_jan/ocr_61652_pp_11_jan_gcse_a66202.pdf
More
 http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/assess_mat/ocr
_31040_sam_gcse_2010_sam_a680_h.pdf
 http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/ms_11/ocr_622
20_ms_11_gcse_a680-02.pdf
 http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/ms_11/ocr_622
19_ms_11_gcse_a680-01.pdf