Securing C grade and above in English Language and English Literature – Reading skills
Before the exam
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Practise tracking through non-fiction texts and identifying relevant
short quotations to improve your abilities to respond quickly.
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Practise answering the typical Reading paper questions with nonfiction texts. 15 minutes answering Reading paper questions 3 or 4
times each week will transform your grades.
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Revise language features that are often used by writers; practise
analysing how these are used by writers to persuade, explain or
entertain. Remember that you need to do more than identify
language features – you need to explain their effects upon the text
and the reader. Common language features are: similes; metaphors;
dramatic verbs and adjectives; contrasting words and ideas; emotive
language; patterns of three; hyperbole; anecdotes; statistics.
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Focus fully on practice questions in lessons so that you have a sharp
understanding of what you need to do to improve and so that your
teacher can you give the best advice.
Typical WJEC Unit 1 question stems:
‘What impressions…?’
‘What evidence is there…?’
‘Explain…’
‘List and find…’
‘How does the writer…?’
‘From both texts find information…Organise your ideas under the
following headings…’
Top tips to prepare for English Literature
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Re-read the three texts (Heroes; An Inspector Calls; Of Mice and Men)
As you re-read the texts, write down key quotations for each
character. Learn these quotations and practise analysing them.
Use past papers to understand the types of questions that you might
be faced with in the exam. Plan answers to these questions. Select
some questions to write answers for in the time given during the
exam.
Revise poetic devices. Practise analysing how feelings are presented
using language in poems.
Securing C grade and above in English Language - Writing skills
Before the exam

Revise the features of the types of writing that you might be asked
to produce. For example, you will be asked to write a letter: revise
the features of formal and informal letters.

Practise planning and answering typical questions under exam
conditions.

Learn and practise using ambitious new vocabulary. In particular,
focus upon learning new words to describe places or situations in
positive or negative ways.

Learn and practise using language features. For example: similes;
metaphors; dramatic verbs and adjectives; contrasting words and
ideas; emotive language; patterns of three; hyperbole; anecdotes;
statistics.

Learn and practise using different types of sentence structures:
short sentences for effect and different ways of creating sentences.

Review your work and revise high-frequency spellings and
punctuation – this is very important.
Writing formats you will need to revise
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Formal and informal letter
Review
Article
Speech
Report
Leaflet
Different ways of creating sentences
 Start with an adverb (obviously, clearly, surely, happily, sadly…)
 Start with a connective (furthermore, of course, also, as, in
contrast…)
 Start with a pair of adjectives (eg ‘anxious and overworked…’)
 Start with a preposition (above, around, behind, under…)
 Start with a verb ending in –ing (staring, laughing, sobbing…)
 Start with a verb ending in –ed (exhausted, depressed,
overjoyed…)