GCSE English

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GCSE English

• What you need to know

Intelligence is not what you know, its what you
do when you dont know - Piaget
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(No Transcript)
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Shift Happens

• Children can now multi-task in a way that
  adults cant
• It has been scientifically proven that
  childrens brains are changing
• Children interact with the world on a daily
  basis
• Education is increasingly focusing on the
  rapidly advancing technology we now have access
  to
• All areas of the curriculum, including post-16
  education, are becoming skills based, rather
  than content driven to help children to become
  independent, critical, creative and confident
  learners.

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Transition

• The transition from Year 11 to Sixth-Form
  College or work will be much smoother if
  students have already begun to develop a
  reflective and critical approach to their own
  learning.
• We offer the following advice on how to prepare
  for the forthcoming examinations in English, but
  ultimately, each student needs to tailor their
  revision to suit their own learning styles to
  equip them effectively for life-long learning in
  a rapidly changing environment.

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Qualifications

• The English course at Tanbridge enables students
  to achieve 2 GCSEs.
• GCSE English Literature
• GCSE English
• We follow the AQA A Specification in both
  instances.

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Examinations 2008
The English and English Literature examinations,
this year, will take place on
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Assessment
English Literature
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Literature Thursday, 20th May 2008
1 hr and 45 minutes. Students are assessed on
Post-1914 Prose and a selection of Pre- and
Post-1914 Poetry from the AQA Anthology.
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Assessment
English
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Paper 1 Tuesday, 3rd June 2008
1 hr and 45 minutes. Students are guided to read
the texts for the first 15 minutes and should
then split the remaining time between the two
sections, as below
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Paper 2 Thursday, 5th June 2008
1 hr and 30 minutes. Students are assessed on
Poetry from Different Cultures and Traditions
from the AQA Anthology and another writing
triplet.
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How to revise
Often students claim that you cant revise for
English, in actual fact, this is far from true.

• Tips on revising for exams
• Make use of your learning style when you revise.
• Plan in good time
• Active revision
• Past exam papers
• Pace yourself
• Youre not alone, revise with others sometimes to
  gain a different view
• Reward yourself
• Trust yourself and your memory
• Look after yourself
• (http//www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/exam
  s.htm)

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Coping on the day
You can organise your revision impeccably, but it
is just as important to be calm and clear headed
in the actual exam.

• It is crucial to
• Eat
• Trust your own knowledge and hard work
• Organise yourself and be punctual
• Be comfortable
• Keep calm
• Read the instructions carefully TWICE
• Allocate time to questions appropriately
• Plan your response, highlighting key points
• (http//www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/exam
  s.htm)

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Grade Criteria
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Boosting Grade D - C
- Poetry from Different Cultures Cluster 2
(Paper 2, Section A)

• Grade D skills descriptors
• Some extended and supported comment.
• A range of comment supported by textual detail.
• Comment on the effects achieved by the writer.
• Awareness of feelings, attitudes and ideas.
• The descriptors imply that understanding of the
  poems is superficial and not developed into a
  full analysis. Also no attempt is made to compare
  the poems.

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Boosting Grade D - C
- Poetry from Different Cultures Cluster 2
(Paper 2, Section A)

• Grade C skills descriptors
• Some cross reference.
• Effective use of textual detail.
• Awareness of writers techniques and purpose.
• Understanding of feelings, attitudes and ideas.
  
• There is immediately a difference because
  students are required to cross-reference, or
  compare, the poems to achieve a C grade.
• Also, a C grade student will identify the
  writers purpose and now their language achieves
  an effect.

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A range of comment supported by textual
detail. Effective use of textual detail
Some cross-reference Yes? No?
Grace Nichols is pleased to experience the
hurricane in the South of England, because she
was born in the Caribbean and remembers lots of
hurricanes, so she feels at home. She says come
to let me know/That the earth is the earth to
make the point that wherever you live, you can
experience the hurricane, even though they are
rare in England. She lists lots of African gods
to show there are lots of different ones and asks
lots of questions beginning with why and
what, because she cant understand why a
hurricane has hit England. In Presents to my
Aunts in Pakistan, Moniza Alvi doesnt know
whether she is Pakistani or English. She often
receives presents from Pakistan, because her
aunts want her to dress like a Pakistani girl
would, but she is happier in her English clothes
like denim and corduroy.
Comments on the effects achieved by the
writer. Awareness of writers techniques.
Awareness of feelings Understanding of feelings.
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Comment on the effects achieved by the
writer. Awareness of writers techniques
textual detail.
Grace Nichols begins Hurricane Hits England in
the third person and then suddenly changes in the
second stanza to Talk to me Huracan. Its as
though shes suddenly been caught up in the storm
and is very excited by it. She asks lots of
questions to give the impression that shes
trying to find out the sweet mystery of the
hurricane. Towards the end of the poem she seems
to be brought closer to the English culture and
be reunited with her past O why is my hearts
unchained? she asks. Imtiaz Dharker also seems
to be breaking free in This Room. She describes
how all the furniture is acting in a very strange
way. Even the Pots and pans bang together/in
celebration and there is also a feeling of
excitement that the improbable has happened.
Shes escaping from a boring life!
Some cross-reference Yes? No?
of feelings, attitudes, ideas.
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Boosting Grade B - A

• Grade B skills descriptors
• Integrated cross-reference.
• Effective use of textual evidence.
• Understanding of a variety of writers
  techniques.
• Appreciation of feelings, attitudes and ideas.
• Comparison between the poems is now integrated
  into the students analysis and quotation and
  evidence is used effectively.
• They show an understanding of a variety of
  language and structural techniques and their
  effect on the reader and the poets message.

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Boosting Grade B - A

• Grade A skills descriptors
• Consistent insight and convincing, imaginative
  interpretation.
• Conceptualised response (lots of thoughtful
  ideas throughout)
• Close textual analysis
• Rigorous Comparison
• Close textual analysis is now consistent and the
  students shows they can even interpret language
  and structure imaginatively, or even originally
  expressing a well-considered response to both
  poems. Their comparison is thorough and even
  throughout.

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Appreciation of feelings and attitudes combined
with effective use of textual detail and
integrated cross-reference.
What Were They Like? and Limbo both protest
strongly about the past. Limbo is a poem about
the slave-trading ships and how the captives felt
after being taken from their homeland into the
darkness, whereas What Were They Like? is about
the Vietnam War and how all the natives felt when
terrified and abused by the war. It is written
from the viewpoint of somebody asking questions
as if the Vietnamese culture had been destroyed.
Both poets seem bitter about the way people were
treated Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned
mouth. The short, snappy answer makes it sound
sarcastic. This sense of sarcasm is also found in
Limbo the dumb gods are raising me. These
dumb gods could be African gods who didnt help
the Africans during their time in slavery. In
Limbo there also seems to be a feeling of
suppressed anger, just as What Were They Like?
Both poets resent what has happened in the past -
whether it is suffering of the Africans or the
Vietnamese. In Limbo towards the end of the
poem, the frustration and anger seem to change
into joy as the sea journey ends. In What Were
They Like? there is a change of attitude to
regret for what has happened. The last line says
Who can say? It is silent now. The poet wants
us to share that sense of regret for what
shouldnt have happened.
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Some understanding of a variety of writers
techniques, but rather fragmented comment.
There is a strong sense of rhythm in Limbo,
created by the repetition of the word limbo.
This is helped by the repeated letter d, a
sharp plosive sound, emphasising how the ship
couldnt be stopped. Levertovs poem repeats the
letter b to make the remark more bitter - as
if its being spat out. The structure of both
poems are completely different. I think one was
written to be performed and the other to be read.
Limbo is in free verse with lots of choruses
What Were They Like? uses two stanzas with a
question and answer structure, to make you think
more about the questions before you read the
answers. Both poems use a great deal of imagery,
suggesting both poets want us to see what
happened clearly. e.g. the flight of moths in
moon light represents the soft gentle language
of the Vietnamese. I prefer Limbo because I
hate the idea of being forced to do something
against my wishes, which I cant stop. I think
this is shown in the constant rhythm of
Limbo/Limbo like me, but I still cant imagine
how terrifying an experience like that could be.
Similarly, What Were They Like? suggests such
terrible effects of war, that I cant really
imagine them.
Comments on imagery undeveloped.
Own response shows appreciation for feelings,
attitudes and ideas.
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Boosting Grade B - A

• Grade A skills descriptors
• Consistent insight and convincing, imaginative
  interpretation.
• Conceptualised response (lots of thoughtful
  ideas throughout)
• Close textual analysis
• Rigorous Comparison
• Close textual analysis is now consistent and the
  students shows they can even interpret language
  and structure imaginatively, or even originally
  expressing a well-considered response to both
  poems. Their comparison is thorough and even
  throughout.

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Limbo and What Were They Like? both focus
strongly on the past. Their poets, however, have
different reasons for this whilst Braithwaite
recreates the suffering of his African ancestors,
captured and transported to America by the
terrifying sea journey, Levertov protests at the
continuing involvement of America in the Vietnam
War, predicting the future where the peaceful,
artistic culture of the Vietnamese people is
forever silent. Both express their anger at
the way human beings are exploited for the
benefits of Western greed. Limbo is most
effective when performed, spitting out its
continuing chorus of limbo/limbo like me to
reinforce the ambiguous state of being on the
borders of hell imprisoned in the hull when the
silence is over me or dancing to the rhythm of
the African drums at a present day Caribbean
tourist resort. Long lines, suggesting the limbo
stick used for the beatings, stretch out across
the page. In contrast, What Were They Like? is
clearly separated into two stanzas to contrast
Vietnam before and after the war. The question
and answer format, where the questions precede
the answers, allows the combined responses to
shock the reader as Levertov plays on words to
highlight the terrible effects of war children
killed napalm burnings the peasants gentle
lifestyle smashed and the beauty of song
silenced. Unlike Limbo this is a poem to be
read silently, to absorb the effects of brutality
on a polite people who still preface passionless
direct questions with Sir.
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The tone of each poem changes towards the end
What Were They Like? ends with a strong feeling
of regret that little remains of a people whose
singing resembled/the flight of moths in
moonlight. This is such a poignant simile,
suggesting the delicate beauty of singing voices,
which soon vanish. It is silent now, Levertov
whispers regretfully, desperate to convince us
that theres still time for the USA to withdraw
from the conflict. Braithwaite, on the other
hand, puts hope back at the end. The drummers
are praising me, has a sense of being born again
for the slaves, whether in a new country with the
dumb gods no longer silent, or metaphorically,
perhaps, with the abolition of slavery. The
burning ground of new life contrasts with the
charred Vietnamese bones, no longer used for
pleasant ornament. Both poems made me question
inhumane cruelties committed in the past, whether
for trade or territory, but the line knees
spread wide affected me greatly, with its
metaphorical suggestion not only of personal
rape, but also of the humiliation of a whole
nation. The horrors depicted in What Were They
Like? may really have happened, but Vietnam
thankfully still retains its pride and its
culture as Braithwaites ancestors did, despite
their degrading experiences.
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Useful Guides

• Reading List
• You have been provided with a full copy of the
  recommended revision materials in your pack.
• Revision guides will also be available for
  purchase this evening.
• In addition, most local, high-street and
  web-based book retailers stock a wide-range of
  GCSE revision materials appropriate to the AQA
  specification in addition to those available
  tonight.

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Useful Websites
Websites In addition to the revision guides there
are several useful revision websites tailored to
GCSE revision. For example www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
gcsebitesize/ www.samlearning.com (Details of how
to access SAM learning are provided in the
pack.) Tanbridge Moodle This can be accessed via
the school website and will contain a variety of
resources that students will be familiar with
from lessons. AQA Past Papers and Resources
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THS Sessions
Further sessions are being planned will be posted
on the Tanbridge House website.
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Good Luck

• The harder I work the more luck I seem to have
• - Thomas Jefferson