Supporting Success in English – Year 10
Preparation for reading assessments and general reading skills:
Always use the PEEA structure when writing about a text such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’, poems, ‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘To
Kill a Mocking Bird’ etc:
P – Make a point and give an opinion that shows you are answering the question e.g. Romeo shows love for Juliet
by using iambic pentameter.
E – Give some evidence which proves your point e.g. This is shown when Romeo says “Sin from thy lips? O
trespass sweetly urged”.
E – Explain what the quotation means and how it proves your point e.g. The line shows that Romeo would like to
kiss Juliet even though it isn’t allowed. The rhythm shows his love because it is a steady, relaxed heart beat which
shows how he feels close and romantic towards her. Shakespeare has Juliet respond with the same rhythm showing
they are a good match and are in harmony together.
A – Show analysis by picking a specific word and explaining in more detail and then use historical context to
provide interesting background to do with the quotation and point e.g. The iambic pentameter means the beat is
strong on the word ‘lips’. Shakespeare emphasises this word to show their physical attraction to each other. The
rhythm and use of physical language shows how romantic they are but also how rebellious they are being. Young
people in this time should not be courting or flirting without their parents’ permission. The fact that they are willing
to do this shows the extent of their attraction.
Combine these and they create:
Romeo shows love for Juliet by using iambic pentameter. This is shown when Romeo says “Sin from thy lips? O
trespass sweetly urged”. The line shows that Romeo would like to kiss Juliet even though it isn’t allowed. The rhythm
shows his love because it is a steady, relaxed heart beat which shows how he feels close and romantic towards her.
Shakespeare has Juliet respond with the same rhythm showing they are a good match and are in harmony together.
The iambic pentameter means the beat is strong on the word ‘lips’. Shakespeare emphasises this word to show their
physical attraction to each other. The rhythm and use of physical language shows how romantic they are but also
how rebellious they are being. Young people in this time should not be courting or flirting without their parents’
permission. The fact that they are willing to do this shows the extent of their attraction.
Top Tips for Improving Your Reading Skills;
Use the LRC to find reading material that will interest you!
Read a book that you enjoy for about 20 minutes before bedtime (try to do this at least 3 times a week)
Ask someone at home to read the same book as you, so that you can talk about it together.
Use websites such as BBC News, The Guardian, The Times etc, to regularly read non-fiction texts – always
consider the techniques being used and how they link to the purpose of the text. GAP!
Join a reading enrichment group – this way you’re guaranteed to do at least 1 hour of reading a week.
Develop your inference skills – when you are reading something, what hidden meanings can you find? What
is being suggested from the language that is not so obvious? Read between the lines!
Preparation for writing assessments and general writing practice:
POWER How to make your writing more powerful!
Planning: always make a quick plan (mindmap or bullet points) before you begin. Make sure your
plan is detailed and specific enough to actually help you when you’re writing.
Organising: number your ideas on your plan into a clear and logical order – think about how you
could use connectives to link ideas and add these to your plan. Your work should have an effective
opening and closing paragraph too.
Writing: less is sometimes more! Accuracy and variety, when you are practising your writing skills,
are often more useful than writing a lot.
Editing: read your work through carefully checking for mistakes in spelling, punctuation and
grammar. Go over and make corrections with a different coloured pen. Ask someone else to have a
look to see if there is anything that you may have missed.
Rewriting: rewriting is an essential part of making improvements in your writing, and will help you
to consolidate the learning that has taken place during your editing. Remember: making mistakes is
good – as long as we learn from them!
Writing: Top Tips!
Write less, giving yourself time to triple check your work
Focus on punctuation like capital letters, full stops, commas, question marks and speech marks (if you can
use these consistently well you will massively improve your mark). If you spot words like WHO, WHAT or
WHY at the start of a sentence, it usually needs a question mark.
Avoid comma splicing: this is where a comma is used to separate two complete sentences/clauses
(Remember – a comma isn’t strong enough to do the same job as a full stop or semi-colon!)
Pre-plan interesting vocabulary and have on planning sheet
Make sure you have at least two examples of complex and compound sentences in your work
Use effective paragraphs by creating topic sentences (the first sentence of the paragraph gives a clear sense
of the content of the paragraph overall)
Use your best writing skills whenever you are writing, not just for English work – this will help them to
become automatic, and will mean you don’t have to think about them during your assessment.
Use : http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english to help you (skills site for adults)
Non-Fiction writing tasks to practise at home:
Inform, Explain, Describe:
1. A place can appear to be very different if you visit it at different times of year. Choose a place that you know
well and describe it at two different times of year for a travel website.
2. Create a leaflet for a Young Person’s charity explaining what it is like to be a teenager living in the UK.
3. Write a letter to your local newspaper informing them about a charity event that you are arranging in your
area.
Persuade, Argue:
4. Choose an activity or hobby that you are interested in. Write an article for your school magazine persuading
other students to try it.
5. Write a speech arguing FOR OR AGAINST the introduction of laptops for all students in the UK.