Lo and behold, three months later, the second post in my revision series is finally here- and it's (what I deem to be, anyway) a fairly comprehensive guide to revising English Literature at GCSE. Now, I don't know if I was looking in all the wrong places, but in Year 10... I was a bit baffled as to how you were meant to revise English Literature- and even to this day, I think it can be harder to revise for than a lot of subjects. However, I think- despite my first exam being an utter shambles- I finally cracked the key to revising English Literature this year, and want to share my methods here to help anybody else out who may feel the same way as I did. If there's anything I missed, be sure to mention it in the comments below, as well as your thoughts. Aside from that, I hope you enjoy this post and that it's useful!
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I have a fair few ideas to share with you in this post, so I'll split up the revision methods into three key topics: familiarising yourself with your texts, learning quotations and exam technique. At the end, there'll be a long list of resources which you may find helpful as well as some final top tips.
F A M I L I A R I S I N G Y O U R S E L F W I T H T H E
T E X T S
Before getting onto these other revision methods, keep in mind that you will still need a relatively good understanding of the texts to make these resources- I would definitely recommend, for this reason, re-reading each of your texts several times. As your skills progress, you will be able to spot far more subtle nuances in the text- thus be able to pick out unusual and original quotes/analysis, all of which will increase your marks! You also won't be left wondering where on earth the extract was in the book/play- which can make you feel more comfortable in an otherwise tense exam hall.
Also, these methods are very much tailored to learning about the three texts- and not so much the poetry. I'll be honest, the only method I found worked here was mind maps/poetry posters! Wow, wasn't that a long disclaimer...
Also, these methods are very much tailored to learning about the three texts- and not so much the poetry. I'll be honest, the only method I found worked here was mind maps/poetry posters! Wow, wasn't that a long disclaimer...
T I M E L I N E S / P L O T S U M M A R I E S
An idea which I found on the Studygram community was to make a timeline to summarise the events of a text- and I wish it's something I'd have found earlier! By the end of Year 11, I found that my knowledge of key events in the texts covered in Year 10 wasn't up to scratch, and having a timeline to read over can be very helpful for a quick refresh- you could even cover parts up with Post-It notes and test yourself on it! Above is the one which I made for 'A Christmas Carol', which really did save my plot knowledge last-minute!
C H A R A C T E R P R O F I L E S
Knowing your characters inside out is crucial for each of your texts, and what better way to do this than to make a character profile? In these profiles, I focused mostly on character traits and their development throughout the play/novel, as many specimen/past paper questions tend to focus on this. To make life easier in the long run, I also made sure to back up my points with evidence and, if possible, try to find some more 'unique' quotes. I also included the interactions with other characters and any content as well. As with timelines, you could cover the profile with Post-It notes to test yourself and make flashcards of points which you can't recall. Although you can make a mind map, I'd highly suggest typing it up as I did above, as you will be able to add more points to profile as you come back to revise each text!
If you would like any of my profiles for 'A Taste of Honey' feel free to reach out to me via my Studygram (Everylittlethingstudy) or my email ([email protected]).
If you would like any of my profiles for 'A Taste of Honey' feel free to reach out to me via my Studygram (Everylittlethingstudy) or my email ([email protected]).
T H E M E / C H A R A C T E R M I N D M A P S
As with characters, knowing your key themes is crucial! Whenever I couldn't get my head around a theme, I'd make a mindmap- adding key details from some online research. On themed mindmaps, I'd usually include: characters it relates to; how the theme develops over the text; a note of possible extracts; key quotations; context and writer's purpose (why the theme was included and what it represents). I'd find that after making these mindmaps, I'd usually have a clear understanding of the theme- but, as with the methods mentioned above, could easily cover it up and test myself to check. You could also make a character mindmap as an alternative to a character profile!
L E A R N I N G Q U O T E S
Q U O T E F L A S H C A R D S
For me, quote flashcards were by far one of the most useful revision tools- I made mine by hand, but I've also heard that Memrise can be a great online flashcard tool. Firstly, I'd go through these flashcards by reading the quote once, saying it aloud 5 times and then writing it out 5-10 times. After every 10 or so flashcards, I'd come back to them to make sure I could still recall them, and put any aside that I couldn't to go through again. I'd often combine this method with blurting (see below) the next day to make sure I could remember them. I would also use Blu-Tac to put the cards around my room- and I found this super helpful as I would learn the quotes subconsciously through everyday activities!
Q U O T E P R O F I L E S
To accompany my quote flashcards, I made some quote profiles. Here, I set up a simple Google Slides document with a table featuring 3 columns: quote, theme/characters, analysis. I would split the text into chapters- so in Macbeth, for example, I'd split it into acts- jot down the key quotations, then the themes/characters it relates to and finally, analyse the quotes with a fine tooth comb. To make sure I would get the best analysis, I would do extra research on all quotations and add in any alternative interpretations of my own. At the end, I knuckled down the quotes to a learnable (is that a word?) amount so I'd have the best quotes- after all, I'm sure we can all say Tiny Tim was "as good as gold"!
If you would like my quote profiles for Macbeth and A Christmas Carol, feel free to reach out to me again via my Studygram (Everylittlethingstudy) or email ([email protected]).
If you would like my quote profiles for Macbeth and A Christmas Carol, feel free to reach out to me again via my Studygram (Everylittlethingstudy) or email ([email protected]).
B L U R T I N G
This is a technique I got from UnJaded Jade on YouTube (I'll link the video here), and have found it incredibly helpful for most subjects- not just English! The rough idea is that you set a timer (I always set mine for 10 minutes) and, without any of your notes, you jot down everything you know about that topic- only afterwards can you look at your notes, see what you missed out and put an action in place to fix that. For English, after learning my flashcards, I would: pick a text, blurt all the quotations I know in 10 minutes, review/ add any I missed and then made sure to go over quote flashcards I missed.
R E C O R D I N G Y O U R S E L F
This isn't something I used personally- but I know that for auditory learners, it may be helpful to record yourself saying quotations (splitting them into chapters/acts, for example) and playing it back whenever you have spare time. In this way, you can follow along the recording and after a while, you should be able to predict the quotes that come up next- as well as reciting them without needing the recording. However, even for auditory learners, I'd recommend also using another method- as this will not encompass the spelling and punctuation for each quote.
E X A M T E C H N I Q U E
Something which I couldn't really include as a point of its own is familiarising yourself with how your exam is marked and what you need to do to get those marks- more specifically, your assessment objectives. I really recommend writing these down and picking them apart- what does AO1 ask for, how would you put that in your own words? Knowing these facts will mean you can better tailor your essays to fit these, and boost your marks. For example, in the AQA exam, there's no use in making half of your essay related to context when AO3 (which concerns context) is only worth 7.5% of your marks for each paper!
E S S A Y P L A N S
Essay plans were a saving grace for me in Year 11; while I would have a few ideas about how to answer I question, I would struggle to go beyond the obvious or to articulate my ideas in a logical way- and here's where essay plans came in to save the day! I did many untimed plans where I simply jotted down all the ideas that came to my head, and began to think about how I would link and structure it- but it's also important to practise some (very rough) timed plans; I didn't do this myself and spent too long planning in my first literature paper, which really knocked my timings and marked the downfall of that exam!
P R A C T I S E E S S A Y S
At the end of the day, you can make as many essay plans and flashcards as you want- but neither of these, or other methods, will be of any use unless you can apply the knowledge in an exam scenario. Of course, you can write some practise essays in untimed conditions if you want to work on the quality of your writing- but you need to make sure you also do some timed essays, because timing is always very tight! To make sure you stay focused for this time, I'd recommend going to your local library or doing it in a quiet area of your house that isn't your bedroom.
R E S O U R C E S Y O U M A Y F I N D H E L P F U L:
YOUTUBE CHANNELS-
Mr Salles Teaches English- By far the best (and most underrated) YouTube channel for English! He also has great videos for English Language and helped me immensely in terms of exam technique.
Mr Bruff- A GCSE favourite, I found his context and poetry videos very useful!
MissHannaLovesGrammar- Very useful not only if you want to improve your writing style and accuracy, but also if you need some help with the 'Love & Relationships' poetry analysis/quotations for key texts, such as 'A Christmas Carol'.
Miss West's English Revision- She isn't active anymore, but has some very helpful revision videos for 'A Christmas Carol'!
English Psycho Teacher- Again, I don't believe she's active but has great videos for those studying 'Macbeth'!
Mr Bruff- A GCSE favourite, I found his context and poetry videos very useful!
MissHannaLovesGrammar- Very useful not only if you want to improve your writing style and accuracy, but also if you need some help with the 'Love & Relationships' poetry analysis/quotations for key texts, such as 'A Christmas Carol'.
Miss West's English Revision- She isn't active anymore, but has some very helpful revision videos for 'A Christmas Carol'!
English Psycho Teacher- Again, I don't believe she's active but has great videos for those studying 'Macbeth'!
WEBSITES/REVISION GUIDES-
SparkNotes- If you're struggling to understand some of the Shakespearean language, never fear as SparkNotes has a line-by- line translation! As well as this, there are key notes on characters
LitCharts- From the creators of SparkNotes, LitCharts has a vast array of useful notes- whether it be a plot summary, key symbols or themes. I found this site very helpful when I was making mindmaps!
Genius- Despite it being a website for song lyrics, there are some surprisingly good analysis of quotes for key GCSE tests- you can also use this to find some more unusual quotes and interpretations!
BBC Bitesize- Another GCSE classic, but it's very helpful if you want a concise summary of events, characters and themes!
CliffsNotes- If you didn't have enough notes already, here's a site that'll give you some more food for thought! What I like most about this site is that it has a scene-by-scene analysis of Macbeth- the more depth the better, am I right?
TES- Though it's technically a site for teachers, there are some incredible resources here- both free and paid.
GoConqr- This site has many resources made by fellow students, and allows you to make your own also- whether it be flashcards, mindmaps or more!
Revision World- Again, another site with a vast array of resources produced by fellow students- there really are some hidden gems on these sites, you just have to look!
Quizlet- There are some amazing flashcard sets on here, all you have to do is search and look for them!
Memrise- As with Quizlet, there are also some great flashcard sets here- and, of course, you can create some of your own to add to the list!
In terms of revision guides, I only bought the CGP GCSE AQA English Literature Complete Revision & Practice Book- but in all honesty, I wouldn't say it was the most helpful (other than for the example answers and exam technique) and I didn't reach for it a lot. However, my school did lend us a CGP Poetry Guide for the Love & Relationships Anthology- and I found that one amazing! Not only did it have good analysis of each poem, but had many practise questions to do as well as key points for comparison and some example answers. I haven't bought any others, so if you're interested in getting some text-specific guides, I'd perhaps look at the Amazon reviews and reach out to a few people that have bought them!
It's also important to add that if you search for your text plus 'analysis' or 'revision guide', many schools have made fabulous resources/revision guides of their own- and I'd definitely recommend looking at these, as they have provided me with some of my best points!
Finally, if your book has information about the novel/play prior to its actual beginning, do not hesitate to read it! For 'A Taste of Honey', at least, there were some phenomenal context/character points which aren't available online- and which I certainly couldn't have thought of by myself!
LitCharts- From the creators of SparkNotes, LitCharts has a vast array of useful notes- whether it be a plot summary, key symbols or themes. I found this site very helpful when I was making mindmaps!
Genius- Despite it being a website for song lyrics, there are some surprisingly good analysis of quotes for key GCSE tests- you can also use this to find some more unusual quotes and interpretations!
BBC Bitesize- Another GCSE classic, but it's very helpful if you want a concise summary of events, characters and themes!
CliffsNotes- If you didn't have enough notes already, here's a site that'll give you some more food for thought! What I like most about this site is that it has a scene-by-scene analysis of Macbeth- the more depth the better, am I right?
TES- Though it's technically a site for teachers, there are some incredible resources here- both free and paid.
GoConqr- This site has many resources made by fellow students, and allows you to make your own also- whether it be flashcards, mindmaps or more!
Revision World- Again, another site with a vast array of resources produced by fellow students- there really are some hidden gems on these sites, you just have to look!
Quizlet- There are some amazing flashcard sets on here, all you have to do is search and look for them!
Memrise- As with Quizlet, there are also some great flashcard sets here- and, of course, you can create some of your own to add to the list!
In terms of revision guides, I only bought the CGP GCSE AQA English Literature Complete Revision & Practice Book- but in all honesty, I wouldn't say it was the most helpful (other than for the example answers and exam technique) and I didn't reach for it a lot. However, my school did lend us a CGP Poetry Guide for the Love & Relationships Anthology- and I found that one amazing! Not only did it have good analysis of each poem, but had many practise questions to do as well as key points for comparison and some example answers. I haven't bought any others, so if you're interested in getting some text-specific guides, I'd perhaps look at the Amazon reviews and reach out to a few people that have bought them!
It's also important to add that if you search for your text plus 'analysis' or 'revision guide', many schools have made fabulous resources/revision guides of their own- and I'd definitely recommend looking at these, as they have provided me with some of my best points!
Finally, if your book has information about the novel/play prior to its actual beginning, do not hesitate to read it! For 'A Taste of Honey', at least, there were some phenomenal context/character points which aren't available online- and which I certainly couldn't have thought of by myself!
F I N A L T O P T I P S :
1. Answer the question you are given, not the question you want to answer; it's surprisingly easily to stray off-focus in an essay, but you can't afford to let this happen! One way I tried to do this was by, from time to time, including a concluding sentence at the end of the paragraph which sums up the point and includes the 'buzz' word or key theme; for example, in an essay about good versus evil in Macbeth, I concluded a paragraph with "As a result, audiences are left with overwhelming optimism- perhaps for Jacobean audiences, fortifying how the evil ‘witches’ of their society will also be ‘slain’, like the once ‘brave Macbeth’". You can also do this at the beginning by writing something like "The battle between good and evil continues to seem hopeless in the extract...".
2. Try to write and learn an impressive introduction for each of your texts that would fit with most characters/themes. Not only will this save you a lot of time in the exam, but an introduction is the first thing an examiner will read- so you want to make your first impressions as positive as possible, something which can't always be done in a stressful exam scenario.
3. Learn as many synonyms as you can for 'suggests'- for example, 'implies', 'connotes', 'signifies'... This will keep your writing more sophisticated, varied and less dull, all the better for an examiner marking hundreds of essays!
4. To hit the top bands, examiners want to see a personal and critical response- you can achieve this more easily by learning and implementing phrases such as 'this compels the reader to', 'successfully portraying', 'this perhaps implies', 'alternatively, this could suggest' and so forth.
5. Finally, make your revision resources as you go along- there's pretty much a never-ending list of things which you could do for English Literature, so there'll be a lot to catch up if you leave it!