Year 11 Revision Tasks

YEAR 11 GCSE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

REVISION GUIDE

(Foundation Tier)

WEBSITES TO HELP YOU REVISE

Our WIKISPACE : http://stjamesenglish.wikispaces.com/

·  http://www.gillianclarke.co.uk – Lots of information on the poet Gillian Clarke

·  http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/ - a site created by super-boff Andrew Moore. Helpful content on all the poems and Of Mice and Men.

·  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/

·  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/

·  www.samlearning.com

·  http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/ - great for revising the Writing parts of the two exams: Inform, Explain & Describe and Persuade, Argue, Advise.

·  http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/english.html - has good sections on the Writing parts of the exam, the Reading Media & Non-fiction texts, and some of the Poems from Different Cultures

·  sparknotes.com– will have comprehensive study guides for ‘Of Mice and Men’

·  englishplus.com (A site on English grammar; If you struggle with your apostrophes or semi-colons then this is the site for you)

·  http://www.podcastrevision.co.uk/podcasts.html - revision podcasts on all aspects of the two exams.

·  http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/mice/index.html - the student survival guide for ‘Of Mice and Men’.

Miss Holden

March 2010

YEAR 11 REVISION TASKS

Key things to remember:

You have three exams, two for English Language and one for English Literature and the papers break down as follows:

Literature paper TUESDAY 25TH MAY 9.00AM

Pre & Post 1914 Poems section A (1 hour)

Of Mice and Men section B (45 mins)

Language Paper 1 TUESDAY 8th JUNE 9.00AM

Reading media and non-fiction texts section A (1 hour)

Writing to Persuade, Argue & Advise section B (45 mins)

Language Paper 2 THURSDAY 10TH JUNE 2.00PM

Poems from Other Cultures (Cluster 1) section A (45 mins)

Writing to Inform, Explain & Describe section B (45 mins)

·  Make sure that you are absolutely sure of the date and time for each exam.

·  Make sure that you have everything you need, pens and pencils wise, and spares!

·  Make sure you have your ‘Of Mice and Men’ for the Literature exam.

·  Make sure you are aware of the timings for each exam so you know how much time to spend on each section.

Revision will ensure your success in exams – focus on two key areas: subject knowledge and practising exam essays.

On the following pages will be revision tasks for each section of each exam. Make sure you read through my comments carefully before completing each task, and always make sure that where practising essays you replicate exam conditions and the time you are allowed on each.
Remember: all the PowerPoints from lessons and other helpful revision documents can be found on our WIKISPACE : http://stjamesenglish.wikispaces.com/. Use it to help you revise.
Remind yourself of when I am running revision sessions after school – especially those on the Poems from Other Cultures. Put them in your diary and make sure you attend them.
Take your time, don’t panic and have confidence in yourself: we’ve covered everything, it’s just a case of you revisiting it, learning it, applying it to different questions and getting it down in an essay – EASY!!!!

THE WRITING QUESTIONS: PRACTICE

The key for the writing papers is to get the timing right so you are writing for the maximum time and so you have time to plan and also to check your work once you have finished. If you take the time to check your work then you will, without doubt, improve your mark because you will correct small, silly mistakes which would have cost you – even going through marking where you should have put paragraphs will stand you in good stead.

Try and use the following timing: 5 minutes planning (using a spider diagram, a list … whichever way works best for you), 35 minutes writing and then 5 minutes checking your work at the end.

Remember, your planning can aid the structure of your writing and prompt you to write in paragraphs. If you have six points coming off your spider diagram, then that gives you six paragraphs….

Always remember the basics; capital letters, spellings, full stops, paragraphs, that you’ve written in the same tense throughout, that you’ve varied the length of your sentences, and that you’ve written in a style required by the identified Purpose, Audience and Format (PAF).

Think about the more advanced techniques: varied vocabulary, original structure, writing techniques like lists of three, rhetorical questions, repetition, similes/metaphors, build up of suspense and tension.

WRITING TO PERSUADE, ARGUE & ADVISE

Write an article for a TV magazine persuading readers to watch a programme entitled ’The death of dinosaurs; a mystery solved.’

Write a letter to your local paper in which you try to persuade the reader that more bike-friendly measures should be introduced in your area and say what they might be.

You work for a newspaper, answering readers’ problems and queries. Write a response to a letter from a parent who is asking for advice on how to cope with teenagers. Remember to:

·  Use language suitable for a parent to read

·  Use language appropriate for a newspaper

·  Make sure you advise the parent

·  Use specific examples for problems

Write a letter to a relative who is taking up a career in teaching. Use your experience as a student to give advice to this new teacher on how to deal with a difficult class.

‘Growing up has never been easier.’ Argue for or against this view. Remember to:

·  Plan your argument first

·  Argue for or against, not both

·  Us language suitable for an argument

Write an article for a school magazine in which you argue that more should be done in school to improve the health and fitness of pupils. You might write about:

·  Sports facilities

·  The timetable

·  School meals

·  Health education

·  Cycling training

WRITING TO INFORM, EXPLAIN & DESCRIBE

Explain how an incident from your life affected you in an important way.

There are many pressure son young people today. Explain what you think the main pressures are and how they affect your life and the lives of people you know.

Describe yourself.

Describe your ideal world.

Schools often organise school trips. Write a letter to the parents informing then about the school trip and about the educational value of the trip.

Choose a relative of yours. Write an informative article about them for a local newspaper entitled ‘Local Heroes’.

People are shaped by their experiences. Choose an experience that you feel has helped you develop into the person you are, and inform a reader about this event and how it shaped you.

READING MEDIA & NON-FICTION TEXTS: PRACTICE

Choose a media text e.g. a newspaper or magazine article, a leaflet or brochure, or an advert with a significant amount of writing in it. Make sure it is a written text and not one that you’ve seen on TV or listened to on the Radio (you won’t get one of these in the exam!).

Write an analysis of this text, commenting on:

·  The use of facts and opinions. Which have been used and why.

·  Layout and presentation and why these are effective (good) or not. (Think colour, pictures, headings, sub-headings, captions, bullet points, fonts, print styles, logos, maps, graphs/diagrams, alliteration, columns…)

·  Structure – why has it been structured how it is? Is this effective?

·  Language – any particular class of words been used? Emotive language? Linguistic devices? Poetic techniques? Why have these been chosen; what is the effect of them? Formal or informal in style? Simple or complex sentences?

·  Who do you think is the target audience for the text? Young? Old? Female? Male? A Mixed Audience? Why?

·  What is the purpose (s) of the text? Inform? Entertain? Persuade? Advise? Explain? Describe? Review?

·  As a whole, how effective do you think it is?

·  Anything else interesting that you’d like to comment on?

·  POEMS FROM OTHER CULTURES – PRACTICE ESSAY QUESTIONS

Remember, you have 45 minutes for this question and you will need to write about two poems, one will be named, the other you can choose.
As with other exam questions, you may well have bullet points under the question and these are to guide and help you and you therefore should make sure you consider them in your answer. Possible bullet points could be:
·  Explore the situation and/or people described in each poem
·  Consider the tone of each poem
·  Write about the poet’s attitude in the poem about what they are writing about
·  Write about the poet’s feelings in the poem
·  Consider the order in which the ideas of the poem are presented (how the poem is structured)
·  How language (words) is used to convey feelings?
·  The poet’s choice of form (shape) for each poem.
·  Which poem you prefer and why.

·  Choose two poems which deal with the theme of war and explore how this is reflected in the images in the poem. Named poem: ‘What Were They Like’.

·  Choose two poems that explore the concept of injustice or protest, and show how the poet has succeeded in doing this. Named poem: ‘Nothing’s Changed’.

·  Choose two poems that explore the concept of going from one place to another. Named poem: ‘Island Man’.

·  Write about two poems in which sound (rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia) is important. Named poem: ‘Limbo’.

·  Write about two poems that have a strong sense of place. Named poem: ‘Island Man’.

·  Write about two poems that have very strong imagery. Named poem: ‘Vultures’.

·  Write about two poems in which the form (shape) of the writing is unusual and why you think this form has been used. Named poem: ‘What Were They Like’.

·  Write about two poems that have a strong narrative (story) feel. Named poem: ‘Night of the Scorpion’.

·  Choose two poems that describe people suffering because of the time or place that they live in. Named poem: ‘Blessing’.

·  Write about two poems that feature contrasts. What point is the poet trying to make? Named poem: ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck…’.

·  Write about two poems that strongly feature people. What impression of the people do you get? Named poem: ‘Vultures’.

·  How is a sense of anger or frustration felt in two poems? Named poem: ‘Nothing’s Changed’.

·  How is a sense of happiness portrayed in two poems? Named poem: ‘Night of the Scorpion’.

·  Write about two poems in which the final line seems to be particularly important. Try to explain why it is important in each case. Named poem: ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck…’.

‘OF MICE AND MEN’ – PRACTICE ESSAY QUESTIONS

Remember, spend five minutes planning, 35 minutes writing and five minutes reading through what you’ve written, checking you’ve covered everything and used enough quotes. If there are bullet points underneath the questions make sure you address all of them in your answer: they’re there to help and guide you!

·  Do you feel sorry for Curley’s wife or do you despise her? Refer to how Steinbeck portrays her in the novel.

·  Hopes and dreams and very important to people in the novel. Explain this statement.

·  At the end of the novel, Slim says of Lennie’s killing ‘You hadda George. I swear you hadda.’ How far do you agree with him and why?

·  Steinbeck uses nature to great effect in the novel, and you can tell he feels passionately about it. Discuss this statement making close references to the text.

·  Discuss how Steinbeck builds suspense and tension in the build up to the shooting of Candy’s dog.

·  We learn most about the characters through the way they speak and what they speak about rather than there descriptions. Discuss this statement with reference to three or four of the characters.

·  Events in Of Mice and Men happen in a cyclical pattern, and therefore we should have been able to predict the ending. How far do you agree with this statement?

·  Desire for friendships and a feeling of loneliness motivate many of the characters in Of Mice and Men. How far do you think this is true?

·  Anger and violence feature highly in the men’s lives because of the nature of their existence. Discuss this statement in reference to three or four of the characters in the novel.

·  One person’s power over another is one reason why Of Mice and Men ends the way it does. Discuss this statement making close reference to the text.

·  Who do you think is the loneliest character in the novel? Justify your answer by making close reference to the text.

·  There are different views about George and Lennie’s friendship – explain what these are and how they are influenced by the context of the novel. (Context = the time and place the novel is set in.)

PRE & POST 1914 POEMS – PRACTICE ESSAY QUESTIONS

Remember, you have to write about one poem by Seamus Heaney, one poem by Gillian Clarke and two poems from the pre-1914 collection.
You can either write about all four poems in one essay or you can write two small essays, covering two poems in each essay. Sometimes the question will be set out to follow one method in particular (like the first question), but when it isn’t it is up to you which way you choose, depending on which way you prefer.
The key though in either method is to COMPARE the poems. You have 1 hour.

Seamus Heaney Gillian Clarke Pre-1914 Bank

Mid Term Break Baby-sitting The Eagle

Follower On the Train Song of the Old Mother

Digging Catrin On My First Sonne

Death of a Naturalist The Field Mouse I Love to see the Summer

Storm on the Island The Affliction of Margaret

Patrolling Barnegat

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1 (a) How is the effect of death on people portrayed in ‘On The Train’ by Gillian Clarke and ‘The Affliction of Margaret’ by William Wordsworth. And then

1(b) How is the death of a child portrayed in ‘Mid Term Break’ by Seamus Heaney and ‘On My First Sonne’ by Ben Jonson.

(2a) Compare how summer is presented in I love to see the summer by John Clare and The Fieldmouse by Gillian Clarke. And then