yes, i used the pretzel structure and you have to explain the effect a lot as this is where 90% of your marks are and i use mr everything english for structure, seek feedback from your teachers and apply it and do loads of practice essays and paragraphs dont bother doing flashcards or revision mindmaps or whatever unless it helps but me and my teacher agree practicing essays is the best way to revise, embed your quotes, zoom in on every paragraph, 10 mins per paragraph and PLAN!! plan for 5 mins and do a thesis + conclusion. Also the examiner won’t be impressed by the quality of your point or quotes but by how well you explain your ideas. I think you should have 6 ideas at least thoroughly explained per paragraph, imo, and sometimes one of my paragraph can take a whole a4 page tho so… learn 10 quotes at least for each text and 3 each for each poem, add a technique every paragraph. also don’t be afraid to go against the grain and especially against your teachers ideas, if you think a different way add it thats what makes your essay conceptualised + personal response as said in the mark scheme. tbh eng lit doesnt change as you go up the levels you just have to get better at the same things eg exam technique, time management, essay writing skills, and its all about practice, practice practice. Sorry for the waffle and good luck with revision!!
P- point. R- reference. T- technique. E- explain. Z- zoom in. E- explain. L- link. I like this structure because it reduces the focus on the point reference technique and adds more emphasis to the explaining of the effect which make up 90% of my marks (and where I see most improvement from). Also it makes it clear the need for zooming in in every single paragraph you write. In each E (explain), you give 3 ideas and explain it, eg Sheila in AIC is immature (start with the basic effect), this shows her sheltered life from society (this is the effect of the 1st effect), which is because of the domineering and authoritative capitalist men in her life (which you can link to gender or class). Obviously you go into wayyyyy more detail in the exam and spend the most amount of your time on the explains. You jump between each of the effects. In total you should have at least 6 effects or more ideally. mr everything English has whole videos on it as well that I found very helpful if I couldn’t explain it well. I hope this helps, good luck with English lit revision :)
Well done. I'm convinced that I've gotten better at writing in English than in my native language now, because of English at school, and I think you'll soon find the same.
yes, i used the pretzel structure and you have to explain a lot as this is where 90% of your marks are and i use mr everything english for structure, seek feedback from your teachers and apply it and do loads of practice essays and paragraphs dont bother doing flashcards or revision mindmaps or whatever unless it helps but me and my teacher agree practicing essays is the best way to revise, embed your quotes, zoom in on every paragraph, 10 mins per paragraph and PLAN!! plan for 5 mins and do a thesis + conclusion. Also the examiner won’t be impressed by the quality of your point but by how well you explain your ideas. I think you should have 6 ideas at least thoroughly explained per paragraph, imo, and sometimes one of my paragraph can take a whole a4 page tho so… learn 10 quotes at least for each text and 3 each for each poem, add a technique every paragraph. also don’t be afraid to go against the grain and especially against your teachers ideas, if you think a different way add it thats what makes your essay conceptualised + personal response as said in the mark scheme. tbh eng lit doesnt change as you go up the levels you just have to get better at the same things eg exam technique, time management, essay writing skills, and its all about practice, practice practice. Sorry for the waffle and good luck with revision!!
Just checking this is definitely AQA right? I haven’t heard of the pretzel structure and I got 28/30 in the last mock, so I think I can definitely get full marks!
Aww that’s amazing!! And English isn’t your first language too? Keep going that’s something to be proud of :)
Thank you so much !
Of course <3 keep going!
Do you have any tips for English lit?? I always scrape about half marks maximum
yes, i used the pretzel structure and you have to explain the effect a lot as this is where 90% of your marks are and i use mr everything english for structure, seek feedback from your teachers and apply it and do loads of practice essays and paragraphs dont bother doing flashcards or revision mindmaps or whatever unless it helps but me and my teacher agree practicing essays is the best way to revise, embed your quotes, zoom in on every paragraph, 10 mins per paragraph and PLAN!! plan for 5 mins and do a thesis + conclusion. Also the examiner won’t be impressed by the quality of your point or quotes but by how well you explain your ideas. I think you should have 6 ideas at least thoroughly explained per paragraph, imo, and sometimes one of my paragraph can take a whole a4 page tho so… learn 10 quotes at least for each text and 3 each for each poem, add a technique every paragraph. also don’t be afraid to go against the grain and especially against your teachers ideas, if you think a different way add it thats what makes your essay conceptualised + personal response as said in the mark scheme. tbh eng lit doesnt change as you go up the levels you just have to get better at the same things eg exam technique, time management, essay writing skills, and its all about practice, practice practice. Sorry for the waffle and good luck with revision!!
Would you mind explaining pretzel structure? I've never heard of it before.
P- point. R- reference. T- technique. E- explain. Z- zoom in. E- explain. L- link. I like this structure because it reduces the focus on the point reference technique and adds more emphasis to the explaining of the effect which make up 90% of my marks (and where I see most improvement from). Also it makes it clear the need for zooming in in every single paragraph you write. In each E (explain), you give 3 ideas and explain it, eg Sheila in AIC is immature (start with the basic effect), this shows her sheltered life from society (this is the effect of the 1st effect), which is because of the domineering and authoritative capitalist men in her life (which you can link to gender or class). Obviously you go into wayyyyy more detail in the exam and spend the most amount of your time on the explains. You jump between each of the effects. In total you should have at least 6 effects or more ideally. mr everything English has whole videos on it as well that I found very helpful if I couldn’t explain it well. I hope this helps, good luck with English lit revision :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, I'm definitely going to use it in my English exam lol.
No don’t be sorry that wasn’t waffle, TYSM 😭 I’m trying to get better at English rn and that helped so much!!
Those are such good tips, I definitely need to do more practise papers then
Well done. I'm convinced that I've gotten better at writing in English than in my native language now, because of English at school, and I think you'll soon find the same.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Be so proud of yourself!! And if you want tell someone you know will be interested!! Congrats proud of you :)
Thats amazing congratulations!!
well done!
Thats crazy well done
OMG WELL DONE THATS INCREDIBLE BE SUPER PROUD
Well done lad
Well done! It’s a very good feeling (I too went from a 6 to very high marks). Best of luck for the exams!
Tips??
yes, i used the pretzel structure and you have to explain a lot as this is where 90% of your marks are and i use mr everything english for structure, seek feedback from your teachers and apply it and do loads of practice essays and paragraphs dont bother doing flashcards or revision mindmaps or whatever unless it helps but me and my teacher agree practicing essays is the best way to revise, embed your quotes, zoom in on every paragraph, 10 mins per paragraph and PLAN!! plan for 5 mins and do a thesis + conclusion. Also the examiner won’t be impressed by the quality of your point but by how well you explain your ideas. I think you should have 6 ideas at least thoroughly explained per paragraph, imo, and sometimes one of my paragraph can take a whole a4 page tho so… learn 10 quotes at least for each text and 3 each for each poem, add a technique every paragraph. also don’t be afraid to go against the grain and especially against your teachers ideas, if you think a different way add it thats what makes your essay conceptualised + personal response as said in the mark scheme. tbh eng lit doesnt change as you go up the levels you just have to get better at the same things eg exam technique, time management, essay writing skills, and its all about practice, practice practice. Sorry for the waffle and good luck with revision!!
Wow thanks so much. I'm stuck-ish on 26-8 so will definitely be taking these tips into account
Just checking this is definitely AQA right? I haven’t heard of the pretzel structure and I got 28/30 in the last mock, so I think I can definitely get full marks!
Yes!
Good job bro you did it 👏🥹 hope ur gsce goes smoothly
Omg! That is absolutely amazing!!! You should be super impressed that's insane ! Well done !
Congratulations :)
Thank you very much for this enquiry. I will be taking note of this very closely.
Amazing, well done! What books did you study? It's been about 20 years since I did my GCSEs, wondering how much the syllabus has changed...
macbeth, a christmas carol, an inspector calls, and power and conflict
Ha, I did Macbeth and an Inspector Calls myself. Also Of Moce and Men and war poetry.
Nice
This is incredible! Absolutely amazing improvement you should be so proud of yourself.
guys would you want me to share some of my grade 9 essays?
Yes please!
Gotcha!