How to Generate a Discussion (A-Level Literature)

Introduction: How to generate a discussion? What is a discursive essay? When facing the prose section of Paper 2 (9695/02) you will have a choice of two questions to choose from. Here is an example below of what they look like: *The writer of this exam has done something I absolutely hate. For those of […]

Example Comparative Essay: Bayonet Charge + Charge of the Light Brigade

Here’s a comparative essay example completed by one of my students taking the “AQA Power and Conflict” poetry module. It was his first comparative essay, so he did amazingly well! However, there is also clear room for improvement – I would expect the same student to be on a minimum of an L7/A-grade by the […]

A Lot About a Little #2: Handmaid’s Tale Extract

A close reading of a sentence from Chapter 10 of The Handmaid’s Tale (extract), with reference to CAIE A-Level English Literature 9695 marking criteria. Thanks for reading! If you find this useful, take a look at our other English Literature and Language courses. In my last post, I discussed the importance of being able to […]

Macbeth: Act 1 Scene 6 – Text, Summary + Study Questions

Act 1 Scene 6 is a key scene in Macbeth, even though the tragic hero isn’t in it himself! King Duncan arrives at Inverness Castle with Banquo and a few other lords; he’s greeted by Lady Macbeth. He thinks that the castle is ‘pleasant’, and has no awareness of the fact that the Macbeths are […]

A Lot About a Little #1: Small Island Extract

A Lot About A Little Small Island Extract

A close reading of a sentence from Chapter 17 of Small Island, with reference to CAIE A-Level English Literature 9695 marking criteria. Thanks for reading! If you find this useful, you can take a look at our full English Language and Literature courses. There is a phrase which English teachers used to say to students […]

Descriptive Writing Task: How To Describe an Object

In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe an object in detail – and not just in a boring way! Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing. Thanks for reading! If you find this useful, take […]

Learn how to write a Perfect Conclusion

“There’s no point bothering to write a conclusion” is something I hear quite a lot from my students. “It’s just repeating what you’ve already said”, “It’s a waste of time” and other such phrases are often uttered in my classes. Of course, these opinions are all wrong! Thanks for reading! If you need more help […]

Descriptive Writing: What it is and How to do it

Almost all English exams require students to do ‘Descriptive Writing’ at some point, and on most exams that I teach this is the highest marked question on the paper – worth up to 50% of the paper as a whole. But what exactly is it? And can it really be taught? There’s a common belief […]

Macbeth and Tragedy

Shakespeare’s Macbeth fits within the genre of a ‘tragedy’, and it follows by and large tragic conventions. Classical tragedies have very strict rules and parameters. We’ve detailed the main points about tragedy and how they link to Macbeth below, to help you understand how the genre influences the play and its ideas. It’s important to […]

Narrative Writing: Student Example “On The Run”

This example narrative essay was written by one of my 15-year-old students, with my detailed notes on feedback and marking. This was one of her first attempts at writing (her exam board is AQA GCSE English Language, but most English exams have similar questions and mark schemes to this one ) and I think she […]