9ENG steps towards success

Exam revision

9ENG steps towards success

Miss Macdonalds tips and tricks

Revision programme

As you are now preparing for your first exam at secondary school it is important that you develop revision strategies you can use throughout your school career.

Step one: create a revision timetable

Youre not expected to study 24/7 but you do need to set yourself specific times you can and will study.

Draw up a timetable with each of the days of the week (x axis). Then put hour blocks down the side (y axis). Colour in any times you cant study due to being at school or having activities on. Then mark in hour blocks each day you will dedicate to studying English.

How long to study?

Most people study most effectively for about a 20 minute duration. This is when your mind is sharpest.

Study in 20 minute blocks, then take a 5 to 10 minute break. During your break you could get a glass of water, take a walk or listen to some music.

Make sure you time yourself so you get back to study on time!

What to study?

Your exam consists of four sections:

- poetry short questions

- static image short questions

- literature essay

- formal writing

You need to make sure you study for each of these sections in order to do the best you can in the exam.

Poetry

You should learn the key language techniques/features we have studied over the course of the year. You should have a number of handouts regarding these terms. If you dont go to Miss Macdonalds blog and download them http://missmacdonald.wordpress.com.

Make sure you understand what the key terms are, how to identify them and what effect they have on the reader (what do they do?).

You need to know the terms onomatopoeia , alliteration, assonance (sound techniques) and such terms as adjectives, personification, metaphor and simile which create imagery (tap into our senses so we can experience the feelings of the poem).

You should also study the structure of poems and understand how poets use stanzas, lines, the shape of poetry and rhythm to add to the meaning of the poem.

Lets look at an example...

Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that accompany it.

Static images

This section of the exam is all about the visual techniques we have studied and how they communicate meaning to the viewer.

Visual techniques are the techniques we see (proportion, contrast, borders, symbols, colour, dominant image etc)

Verbal techniques are language techniques that are written (simile, metaphor, slogan etc)

In order to succeed in the static image section of the exam you should:

learn the terms and their effects

think carefully about the purpose of the static image before you write on it is it trying to inform, persuade or entertain?

make sure you fully describe visual aspects of the image and how they work together. If youre discussing a particular part of the image put it in words the small figure of a child in the bottom right-hand corner of the image represents all the children that are suffering from famine in African countries. The image is much smaller than the other parts of the image (such as the title and image of a plasma television) to show that the child is vulnerable.

Lets look at some examples...

Look at the static images closely then answer the questions that accompany them.

Literary essay

You must first read over your notes and choose which of the literary studies you want to focus on for your exam essay (novel, short text or film).

Identify your area of focus for your essay (either character development or main idea in the text)

Identify which techniques (verbal and if film, visual) you will discuss to show the marker you understand how the writer/director has increased our understanding of the texts characters or themes.

Identify key quotes from the text that highlight your main points or show the technique in use. You should try to use at least two quotes (with explanations of the significance of the quotes) in each paragraph.

Plan an essay from the list of questions provided in class.

Write an essay using the PEDAL model to structure your body paragraphs.

Once you have written your essay, you should read over it to make sure you have answered each part of the question clearly, used appropriate examples and made sure to explain the effect of techniques on the reader/viewer.

Formal Writing

You will be provided with a choice of questions to write on in the exam. You can expect the questions to be about something contentious (people argue about what is right or wrong)

You need to write a letter in a formal style (appropriate to send to the Mr Williams or the prime minister) that argues your point of view on the topic.

You should try to be as convincing as possible in your letter which means you should use evidence to support your ideas. You will be provided with some statistics you can include in your answer.

Argue three main points regarding the issue and make sure each point is in a new paragraph.

To be persuasive you might like to use language techniques such as rhetorical questions, case studies, share the experience you have had with an issue relating to your topic or appeal to the emotions of the person your are writing to.

Remember to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation as your accuracy is marked!

How to study

Each person has a different way of learning. You should think about how you learn best so that memorising key information (such as quotes) is easier.

You may respond to using different colours for your study notes

You may need to say the quotes out loud to remember them

You may need to write the quotes/information out several times

You may like to create acronyms for terms so you can remember them

You might need to move around while you read your notes

You could write your notes out on large paper and stick them to the wall of your room

You may need to be tested on details, techniques and quotes by a friend or family member

You might like to put cue cards in your pocket to refer to several times a day in the lead up to the exam

You may like to try singing the information or quotes

You could even record your quotes/information/techniques on a dictaphone and play it back to yourself.

Learning strategies

Mind map

Grids

Links diagram

Mnemonics and acronyms

And...

Microsoft Office

Word Document

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

8-9

School

School

School

School

School

9-10

10-11

11-12

12-1

1-2

2-3

3-4

Homework/tv time

Homework/tv time

Homework/tv time

Homework/tv time

Homework/tv time

4-5

Study English

Study Maths

5-6

Dinner

Badminton

6-7

Study Maths

Dinner

7-8

Study English

Microsoft Office

Word Document

The Sea by James Reeves

The sea is a hungry dog, Giant and grey.He rolls on the beach all day.With his clashing teeth and shaggy jawsHour upon hour he gnawsThe rumbling, tumbling stones, And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! 'The giant sea-dog moans, Licking his greasy paws.And when the night wind roarsAnd the moon rocks in the stormy cloud, He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs, Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs, And howls and hollos long and loud.But on quiet days in May or June, When even the grasses on the dunePlay no more their reedy tune, With his head between his pawsHe lies on the sandy shores, So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.

Name one language technique which is used in this poem and explain how it is effective in developing our understanding of the ocean.

Identify and describe one key aspect of structure in this poem and explain how it contributes to our understanding of the poem.

Microsoft Office

Word Document

What do you think is the main message of this static image?

Name one visual technique which has been used to reinforce the message of this static image.

Name one verbal technique which has been used to reinforce the message of this static image.

What is the main message of this static image?

Name one visual technique which has been used in this static image and explain the effect on the viewer.

Microsoft Office

Word Document

Microsoft Office

Word Document

Microsoft Office

Word Document

Microsoft Office

Word Document