SIX AMAZING SHORT STORIES – For anyone who wants to improve their reading and thinking skills

Here are Six Amazing Short Stories to help you improve your writing, reading and thinking skills. To write well, you have to be a good reader. Read that again. It’s something that’s so often overlooked by many of my creative writing students – it’s hard to juggle the balance of reading and writing for sure. […]

‘The Schooner Flight’ by Derek Walcott— Poem Analysis

Below, you will find a detailed analysis of the poem ‘The Schooner Flight, Chapter 11: After the Storm’ by Derek Walcott. Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more help with Derek Walcott’s poetry analysis, you can see our full course here. 11 After the Storm “There’s a fresh light that follows a storm while the whole […]

Descriptive/Narrative or Creative Writing: The Pyramids

This is a sample exam answer for the GCSE / IGCSE Descriptive Writing question on the English Language exam. It will be useful for any student studying Descriptive, Narrative or Creative writing. It’s an answer to the following question: “Describe a time and place, real or imaginary when you felt trapped. Concentrate on your surroundings […]

AQA Language Paper 2, Question 2 Answer + Feedback from an AQA Examiner

This page breaks down the process for answering AQA Language Paper 2 Question 2 – the language analysis question. You are advised to write PEE paragraphs for this question, if you aim for three detailed paragraphs that will be better than writing four or five smaller paragraphs. This was the student’s first time planning and […]

To Kill A Mockingbird Extract + Comprehension Tasks + Essay Questions

Below, you’ll find a ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Extract – The Radley’s Place, along with some comprehension tasks, essay questions, and close reading tasks. TASK 1: COMPREHENSION What reaction does Dill have to The Radley Place? Why do you think this is? How is the house described? What atmosphere does this create? Find two examples […]

A Reading List for Students Who Want To Improve Their Comprehension and Literacy Skills

It’s so important to read consistently, from a young age – and so many of my students admit to me, ashamed, that they never really find the time to read – or they don’t enjoy it – or they find it boring or too hard. Well, I’m telling you now – if you don’t read […]

An Inspector Calls: A* / L9 Example Intro + Paragraph

Here are some samples of an essay on An Inspector Calls, on the theme of responsibility. I wrote these myself as a teacher to show students an example of the standard required to get a high level at GCSE. I’ve also broken down the structure below so you can see what to put into each […]

A* Grade Robert Frost Essay: Compare the effects of two poems which Frost sets in wintertime.

This A* grade Robert Frost essay was completed by one of my students – not in timed conditions. She planned and thought thoroughly before writing, and edited the piece before handing it in. According to the mark scheme it received 23/25 (92%), which would translate to an A* grade at A-Level. However, the piece can […]

What is Unseen Poetry?

Lots of students find a section called ‘Unseen Poetry’ cropping up on their English exams. It’s quite a confusing term at first! It basically means that you have to read and react to a poem that you’ve never seen before, and write an essay on it in response to a question or prompt – all […]

How to get top marks in the AQA Power and Conflict Exam Question (by an AQA Examiner)

How to get top marks in AQA Power and Conflict Essay Question

Below, you’ll find an answer on how to get top marks in the AQA Power and Conflict Exam Question. This question can be a bit tricky! The first thing to do is understand all the themes and ideas of each poem. Then, practise planning and writing until you feel like the essay’s easy to do! […]