Watch your language! Sounding SMRT

Having just marked 60 or so mock literature papers it is clear that many of the skills required for the exam are secure but a real gain can be made in the fluency of the essays and the language used to express the ideas.

It is a bit like  having this as an idea but only producing it like this . Both are fine in their merits but we always want to produce something that is a bit more sophisticated as we progress through the years.

One thing that makes my blood boil as a marker is the word 'vibe'. The dictionary will offer you 'vibe - short for vibration' or 'vibe - slang for feeling. Now as you know that you don't use slang in an essay or exam, I can only assume you mean vibration when you say 'this gives a negative vibe'.

In all seriousness, this is an area where you can not only be smart in trusting your well-honed skills of analysis and evaluation but you can also sound SMRT.

The diagram below indicates how we use language. It is a bit complicated but shows how we can modify language along a continuum.

Thanks to this blog for introducing the diagram.

It shows that depending on the field (What we are talking about)  our language should be modified to fit the same area of the continuum below.

So in an exam we are talking about a specialised field (English Language or Literature) but we are often talking in very technical specific terms. By this diagram our language should be more to the right than left.

Therefore our language should be more formal than informal, we should be using more unfamiliar and academic vocabulary and we should use specialised vocabulary to make our essay seem more informed.

Our work is wholly written in an exam or an assessment and the examiner is someone 'distant' who does not share the knowledge that I as a teacher or one of your friends may have about the way you talk. Therefore your language must reflect this in being very clear and unambiguous.

So we have to be specific and clear. The examiner knows what a metaphor is so you don't need to define it but they aren't clear on what you think the effect is so you must be very clear in your analysis.

Formal Academic Vocabulary is often sophisticated (see here for some advanced vocabulary) and at GCSE level can be developed through linking phrases below. It also is using the appropriate vocabulary for the devices you are analysing and spelling the technical terms correctly (next person who puts an 'e' at the end of metaphor loses a finger!).

Talking about writer's craft:

The writer's use of language / words / tone of voice is significant.
Imagery is significant in this section.
The imagery of ....  is especially significant in this section.
The poet uses setting to convey ...
The characterisation of ... is developed in this section.
Structurally, this section is significant.

Evaluating

The poet seems to be exploring the them / idea of ...
From one perspective we could say ...  From another we might consider...
Developing the interpretation further, we could argue that...
This links with.....
This idea is repeated when......

 Introducing Quotations

We can see this in the quotation ...
We hear the character described as ...
The word ... demonstrates this.
Arguably, the most significant words are ...  and ...
The image of the ... is crucial to our understanding.

Writer's Intentions

The author seems to be suggesting ...
The poet is, perhaps, exploring  the idea of ...
The playwright is explaining, illustrating, uncovering, hiding, illuminating, developing,

Analysing

The words suggest / imply / convey ...
This word / phrase / image / character makes me think of ... because...
This conveys feelings of ... because....
The word / image contains several ideas.  For example...


So part of your revision should not just be learning quotations, honing your analytical and evaluative skills, it should be modifying the language you use to express yourself.


Monet's ideas are useless without the appropriate use of paints and oils. Your ideas aren't fully developed until you develop them in the appropriate language.

Language matters and it is your job to modify it. The examiner is distant and won't think you're quirky and accept your ideas because of you; they might just miss your ideas and assume you're not very SMRT!

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The Dreaded Question 4 - Top band answers

As one of my students put it in their exam comic, they got to question 4 in the January paper and were like :o the stared at it for a minute and were like :/ and after 20 minutes of trying to answer the question were ready to :'( .

There is no simple answer to hitting the very top band within this question. If you've read my deconstruction of the examiner's report, you'll find this statement:

Q4 - 'Those who attained marks in Band 3 or Band 4 of the mark scheme, were able to make appropriate selections of words and phrases from the chosen source texts, analyse how these were effective and then compare this use of language in relation to the different context of each source.'

Key Mistake -'Students whose mark resided in Band 2 attempted to select and compare but often resorted to describing content and purpose, speculating on audience or making generalised comments about sentence length. These students often identified features such as alliteration, hyperbole, triplets etc. but then offered only generalised comments that, for example, they ‘involved the reader’, or ‘drew the reader in’.'

To me, as your humble English teacher, what stands out are these words 'selection of words and phrases', 'analyse how these were effective' and 'compare this use of language in relation to the different contexts'.

Key mistakes seem to be general comments about audience and purpose.

Other English teachers may weigh in and comment on this but I believe the exam board are wanting you to look at the attitude of the writer and form of text and focus your comparison on those at the top level.

So what is the context of the text and how do you write about it?

Source 3

Have a look at the source above. What can you tell about the text with only a brief glance?

It is an online version of a newspaper and generally because it is online, it can be a little more extreme in its views rather than if it was a printed text. A quick glance of the headline seems to show sensationalising of the topic the titled 'Killed because of electronic age' seems certainly indicates hyperbole  and emotive language thus sensationalising (making the story seem bigger than it actually is) the topic. We also know that the Mailonline is a news site that likes to sensationalise stories and usually take an accusatory tone.

Source 1

Have a look at the source above.

Although I've linked it, it did appear in the print newspaper last year. Print media usually is more balanced and especially print broadsheet newspapers where they are widely thought of as producing in-depth and more newsworthy / important articles (more current affairs less celeb affairs) and the title certainly reflects a more balanced or fact based set of opinions.

So how do we compare these?

Well we go to our old faithful skills of analysis, picking out key quotations, judging why they've been used, zooming in on key words and talking about effect. Then (as the exam board seem to be indicating) we pop the cherry on top by relating the effect to context.

So in practice:

Source 3 seems to be taking a very dramatic approach to the topic of conservation. The headline 'Killed because of the electronic age' seems to sensationalise the article giving it greater urgency or importance. The emotive use of 'Killed' is especially effective in setting a grave tone which adds to the hyperbole of the headline.

This is where we have often stopped before moving on to making our comparison but the exam board seem to want you to go that extra mile:

The sensationalist treatment of the topic and accusatory tone are often features of online articles (especially the Mailonline) often presenting extreme and often biased topics. Hyperbole and emotive language are key in developing this particular tone and point of view.


Now we are really showing we are top level candidates and we can begin to make our comparison. There are few similarities between the articles so we will contrast:

In contrast, Source 1 takes a more balanced approach to the topic of conservation. The use of 'Sir David Attenborough' in the title immediately adds a sense of authenticity or importance to the article as he is a world renowned wildlife presenter. Not only does his prior work give importance to the ideas discussed in the article but the use of someone knighted in their field also gains the reader's attention as the article explores the conservation of some of the world's less known endangered species. Whereas the Mailonline uses emotive language and hyperbole in their headline to create an accusatory, the use of an important conservationist in the headline is something that ties in with the newspapers reputation of producing more newsworthy or important articles meeting the audience's expectations.

Put this all together and we have a well rounded answer that analyses key words focusing on the effect they have and not only compares use of language but compares the context the articles are produced for.

To summarise:

Point
Quotation
Explanation
Analysis (Zoom in)
Context
Comparative Point
Quotation
Explanation
Compare Analysis (Zoom in)
Compare Context

The bold red points are our key ideas and it is absolutely imperative that you compare as you go along. Writing about the texts separately only gets you to the top of Band 2. Develop a couple of paragraphs like the above and you are challenging the examiner not to put you in the top band. Give them no reason to give you less than top band marks.

Have a look at Source 2 which is an extract from a travel book exploring the Appalachian Trail.

What can you say about the context of a travel guide book? What is different from normal travel guides in this book?

Write a paragraph to compare to my MailOnline analysis and post below. Remember the contextual cherry on the top.

Source 3 seems to be taking a very dramatic approach to the topic of conservation. The headline 'Killed because of the electronic age' seems to sensationalise the article giving it greater urgency or importance. The emotive use of 'Killed' is especially effective in setting a grave tone which adds to the hyperbole of the headline. The sensationalist treatment of the topic and accusatory tone are often features of online articles (especially the Mailonline) often presenting extreme and often biased topics. Hyperbole and emotive language are key in developing this particular tone and point of view.

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6 Steps to top level thinking or 'What the author meant / what your English Teacher thought they meant.'

We talk in every lesson of the skills needed to successfully tackle an English Literature question. These skills don't change whether you are looking at a poem, a novel, a short story or a play and should be the mental ticklist as you construct any main body of an essay or response.

You are taught early on in Years 7 and 8 to PQE as your framework but you now need to look to strengthen and develop those skills.

A simple paragraph such as:

Shakespeare breaks tension in Act 2 scene 2 through the use of humour. The line ' his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches' makes the audience laugh as they know it is two people under Caliban's cloak and it makes Stephano seem silly for thinking someone can have two voices.

limits the potential of the piece of work because the explanation part doesn't really engage with higher order thinking skills of anlaysis and lacks depth.

Examiners always want to see the skills of writing a lot about a little and it is something we've worked on in class, in assessments and in exams. This was particularly well done in the Year 9 exam, the Year 10 poetry mock and the Year 11 Of Mice and Men assessment.

Taking PQE to the next level is key to your progress in reading tasks.

In our higher thinking skills pyramid we are only showing understanding with PQE. We need to target analysis and evaluation.

Analysis is the 'why' and the 'how'. Why is the quotation I've chosen important / strong / relevant? How is the writer creating this impression?

This is where we start with our camera analogy. Zoom in to the quotation to look at small details.

From the quotation 'his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches' what stands out to us? Not every word is relevant and if we are to look at what makes this line amusing we might pick out 'backward voice' and 'utter foul speeches'.

Why is this amusing? Well the 'backward voice' is humorous there is the dramatic irony of the audience knowing there are two people under the cloak and not one person with two voices. The 'backward voice' could also be euphemismistic. This could be Shakespeare engaging with the groundling crude sense of humour especially as we have one voice 'speaking well' and the second 'uttering foul speeches'.

Hang on a minute - this is quite sophisitcated! We are generating a lot of detail with our zooming in just like a camera zooming in finds more detail. If we put this together with our basic PQE we've got something a lot higher level.

Shakespeare breaks tension in Act 2 scene 2 through the use of humour. The line ' his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches' makes the audience laugh as they know it is two people under Caliban's cloak and it makes Stephano seem silly for thinking someone can have two voices. The dramatic irony of the audience knowing Stephano's stupidity in seeing one person where there are two is effective but the use of 'backward voice is to utter foul speeches' is especially effective. Shakespeare could be trying to engage with the base humour of the 'Groundlings' and offering them the 'backwards voice' as the bum and its 'foul speeches' engaging with a lower class Jacobean's amusement at bodily functions.

So we've zoomed in and analysed. But here there is more than one interpretation. That's another skill. Being able to find more than one way at looking at a quotation or finding more than one answer within a quotation is really high level. It is like looking at the image below from different angles.



Let's break that paragraph down:

Shakespeare breaks tension in Act 2 scene 2 through the use of humour. The line ' his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches' makes the audience laugh as they know it is two people under Caliban's cloak and it makes Stephano seem silly for thinking someone can have two voices. The dramatic irony of the audience knowing Stephano's stupidity in seeing one person where there are two is effective but the use of 'backward voice is to utter foul speeches' is especially effective. Shakespeare could be trying to engage with the base humour of the 'Groundlings' and offering them the 'backwards voice' as the bum and its 'foul speeches' engaging with a lower class Jacobean's amusement at bodily functions.

Ta-da: two different ways of looking at the same passage of the play.

So we've got Point Quotation Explanation Analysis and Alternate Interpretation in here. But the title states there are 6 steps to Extended Abstract thinking.

Well we're thinking outside the box already but our answer doesn't quite link everything together. Shakespeare is a skilled writer and he has crafted this for a reason. It is our job to now speculate (Please don't interpret this as guessing what the writer had in his head at the time of writing. I do not believe in the diagram below.) what may link all this together.



English is about what YOU think - not what the author meant or what I thought he meant. It is about how the text speaks to you. That is what I want to see 'I don't know what he meant' is just lazy.

To do this I have to zoom out and link my answer to what I know of the play. I have to see the bigger picture or as the Mulvihill model states: 'Zoom in and join the small dots and then stand back and look at the picture it creates.'

We know the play has been pretty heavy going so far with shock revelations, deceit and some weird creatures. We know Shakespeare has to please the lower classes as much as the upper classes. The language has been laden with allusions to ancient legends / myths and imagery and he has ramped up the tension to bursting point with storm, revelation, rape, mysticism, betrayal and mutiny. The audience need some light relief.

How do you incorporate this into your answer?

Throughout the play Shakespeare has increased the tension with lofty tales of betrayal and deceit but the audience can only take so much. In breaking the tension, he is able to engage the Groundlings in some bawdy humour whilst exploring the complex relationships of the characters on the island. This allows him to build to the climax of the play at the end.

Put it all together and you have the cherry on top of a piece of Abstract Extended thinking.

Shakespeare breaks tension in Act 2 scene 2 through the use of humour. The line ' his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches' makes the audience laugh as they know it is two people under Caliban's cloak and it makes Stephano seem silly for thinking someone can have two voices. The dramatic irony of the audience knowing Stephano's stupidity in seeing one person where there are two is effective but the use of 'backward voice is to utter foul speeches' is especially effective. Shakespeare could be trying to engage with the base humour of the 'Groundlings' and offering them the 'backwards voice' as the bum and its 'foul speeches' engaging with a lower class Jacobean's amusement at bodily functions. Throughout the play Shakespeare has increased the tension with lofty tales of betrayal and deceit but the audience can only take so much. In breaking the tension, he is able to engage the Groundlings in some bawdy humour whilst exploring the complex relationships of the characters on the island. This allows him to build to the climax of the play at the end.

So to recap. Start with your foundation of a good PQE then get out your camera metaphor and zoom in. Look at the close up from a range of perspectives and then zoom out. Show how the dots join to make the bigger picture or:

Point
Quotation
Explanation
Analysis
Alternate Interpretations
Evaluation

None of the above is certain. It is just my view on the text. Who knows why Shakespeare decided to break the tension with a little bit of humour but I know what I think and I enjoy what he has created.

Take a line from a play, poem, novel, short story and show me you can hit top level thinking by posting a comment below. Make your practice visible and act on my feedback for the best gains in technique.

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Poetry Unit 2 - The basics of the exam

So you have a poetry exam and you're ready to . You look at the poem and all you see is and you're feeling the exam is going like





The opening of this blog may seem strange and a bit unfamiliar to you but you have the tools to decipher the main idea. This is the same with the poetry exam. You have a short period of time to write in so every second counts. You can be prepared on every poem but still be stumped if your skills aren't honed and ready.

So let's start with your poetry toolkit. What do you have available to you?

First and foremost - the 6 Word Summaries we've made you do every lesson. Why have I made you do this? Your six word summaries give you at least 6 points you can make about a poem before you even get the question. You should never be stuck without a point to make because you've prepared 6n in advance.

The Clown Punk: Outcast, Pitied, Lonely, Misjudged, Loved, Feared.

This gives you 6 sentence openings:

'Simon Armitage presents the Clown Punk as ...'

Secondly - a high level back up.

Your one line wonder. Often the examiners get sick of seeing the same formulaic essays and sometimes it is nice to see something passionate and enthusiastic. Your one line wonder is your personal channel to the examiner and something you can use if your 6 word summary draws a blank with the particular question.

'A line that first captures me is '...' as the powerful use of imagery introduces to us a character who is complex yet yearning for a simple life.'

Thirdly - writing a lot about a little.

This is mentioned every year in the examiner's report. Can't think of many quotations to use? No problem! Just write a lot about the one you've found. This encourages our extended and abstract thinking by developing a range of different interpretations.

'The use of 'white' in the poem suggests the purity of the character but could hint at hidden depth of the character's dilemma. While highlighting the character's purity the poet could also be using white to symbolise the emptiness of the character perhaps hinting that the character is empty because of the pure way they lead their life. The lack of colour may suggest a lack of joy in the characters life all adding together to create the impression of a character who is isolated.'

All that from the word 'white'!


You've got all these skills to stop you from panicking when faced with the unknown element of the exam question and the unknown element of the unseen poem.

If all else fails:

Point
Quotation
Explanation
Analysis (zooming in on key words)
Alternate Interpretations
Evaluation (zooming out to look at what ideas the poet seems to be exploring)
Compare (Section A only)

Here are a few Section A questions to practice on:

How does the poet present the idea of isolation in 'The Hunchback in the Park' and another poem of your choice?

How does the poet present desperation in 'Give' and another poem of your choice?

How does the poet present identity in 'Singh Song' and another poem of your choice?

How does the poet present power in 'My Last Duchess and another poem of your choice?

Here is an unseen poem for you to tackle:

What is the poet's attitude to different classes and how does she present that attitude to the reader?

a song in the front yard

I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life.
I want a peek at the back
Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows.
A girl gets sick of a rose.

I want to go in the back yard now
And maybe down the alley,
To where the charity children play.
I want a good time today.

They do some wonderful things.
They have some wonderful fun.
My mother sneers, but I say it’s fine
How they don’t have to go in at quarter to nine.
My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Mae
Will grow up to be a bad woman.
That George’ll be taken to Jail soon or late
(On account of last winter he sold our back gate).

But I say it’s fine. Honest, I do.
And I’d like to be a bad woman, too,
And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace
And strut down the streets with paint on my face.

Gwendolyn Brooks

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Revision Videos Unit 1 Literature - Sunlight on the Grass

There are some great resources kicking around the internet to help you with your revision. This posting is aiming to collate some of these to allow you to have all your resources in the one place.

Remember -'Visible Revision' is key here. The more you write about and gain feedback about these stories the better you will become in performing under exam pressures.

I will post a range of questions at the end. Post your answers in the comments sections and I can feedback to you.

First of all - here are a collection of excellent revision videos on each of the stories put together by some people calling themselves Short and Sweet GCSE Eng  - we owe them thanks for putting together these resources which are available on Youtube but embedded below for your convenience.

On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning

Compass and Torch

Anil

The Darkness Out There

Something Old Something New

My Polish Teacher's Tie

When the Wasps Drowned

Remember your skills for each of these exams are very similar. You are looking to do the following things:

Point
Quotation
Explanations
Analysis (Zooming in on Key Words / Devices)
Alternative Interpretations
Evaluate (Zooming out linking your analysis to an over all message or issue the writer is trying to discuss)

What the examiner is looking for is some extended abstract thinking which shows you can delve into the depths of a text and look beyond the surface level meaning of a quotation.

You have 20 minutes per question in this exam so you need to be focusing on writing a lot about a little choosing one or two select quotations to use and linking them to the writer's ideas and the question. Trust your basic skills and show the examiner you can think outside of the box and you will be fine.

Here are a number of essay questions you can try:

1) How does the writer present childhood in their story?

2) How does the writer present growing up in their story?

3) How does the writer present self confidence in their story?

4) How does the writer present morality in their story?

5) How doe the writer present fate in their story?

6) How does the writer present appearances in their story?

7) How does the writer present family relationships in their story?

8) How does the writer present father son bond in their story?

9) How does the writer present death in their story?

10) How does the writer present different cultures in their story?

Ten revision questions for you to practise from. Only spend 20 minutes writing these and then post your answer so  I can give you your feedback.

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Visible Revision Part 1 - Examiner's Report and Advice

After each exam the examiner produces a report that outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates for each question.

By now you should have had, or can ask for, the mark you got for each question. This should highlight your strengths and weaknesses. I've colour coded everyone's marks so that if you got more than 60% of the marks of the question you are green, 60% amber and less than 60% red.

You should now be planning your marginal gains.

E.g.

Q1 - 4 marks

Q2 - 8 marks

Q3 - 6 Marks

Q4 8 marks

Q5 Creativity 8
      Accuracy 4

Q6  Creativity 10
       Accuracy 5


Here is where you can tailor your revision to make significant gains. You can focus your revision to make serious gains on question 1 and 4 - these are your weak areas which can bring you the largest gains. But only one of your questions is perfect - you need to keep the skills of this question ticking along as any lapse counters the gains you've made and there is still room for improvement.

A serious gain in marks would be 8 marks (in the past grade boundaries have been spaced at 5-8 mark intervals). This may sound huge but it averages out as 1 mark per skill you are marked on.

See Dave Brailsford talk about Marginal Gains:

See it in action with Scotland's greatest Olympian:

So the examiner's report is where you can start making some gains - knowing what is successful in training yourself for the exam is key and knowing what not to do is even more important.

Q1 - 'The most successful students showed detailed understanding by employing a combination of their own words and support from the text, together with pertinent and often perceptive interpretations of the issues.'

Interpretations of the issues is key here. The question has changed from 'learn' to 'understand' which means you've got to give the impression you get of the issue being discussed related to the question.

Top band answer - The use of 'moral degradation' highlights the severity of the impact on the audience of computer games but for the user the contrast is always in the 'exhilarating rush' of the violent simulation. At the heart of the article is the balancing of these two ideas.

Key mistake - 'A few students misunderstood the requirements of the question by, for example, offering a critique of the text or discussing the effects of language.'

Q2 - 'The most able made perceptive links to the content of the text'

We have all become adept at using our honed analytical skills but students who accessed top marks were more focused on how the analysis linked to the content of the text. The skill with analytical questions is writing a lot about a little and not just covering a range of analysis. Think about your last step of analysis -the alternative interpretation. The report suggests that this still doesn't get you to top bands without being able to link to the content of the text so this must always be an aim.

Top band answer - The scale of the jellyfish highlights the scale and devastation that can be caused by the sucking of the jellyfish into the nuclear plant yet the comedic image of 'slimezilla' seems to make light of a problem that would normally seem trivial contrasting with the initial danger shown in the image. 'Slimezilla' though hinting at the horror of godzilla seems to juxtapose this horror with the more light-hearted 'slime' perfectly illustrating the key idea within the article that the dangers of the jellyfish to nuclear plants isn't taken as seriously as it should do. 

Key mistake - 'Students who did less well relied on generalised comments about the effects of the headline, such as ‘it makes you want to read the text’ or ‘it tells you what went on’,

Q3 - 'This piece might have produced higher marks for some students had they read the question carefully. Too many students explained the thoughts and feelings of both Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz even though the question specifically required them to focus solely on the writer.'

Read the question - we have all been there and made the same mistake in not answering the question in front of us but we need to take the moment to identify 'task words' and 'content words' of the question. Across the year group this was one of the most poorly done questions. Top band answers won't just pick out one thought and feeling but they will show how these progress.

Top band answer - Although the writer feels scared in the opening, especially as he is describing the 'abyss that opened up in front of me', there is a sharp change to confidence further on in the text. 'Abyss' suggests a never ending darkness which could also represent his the seeming unlimited fear pouring through him, it is clear from the line he thinks that not being able to see the bottom is a negative point and not an adrenaline rush as the guide seems to be suggesting to him. This is completely contrasted by the end as he talks of his 'pleasure knowing no bounds' highlighting the exhilaration he now feels and the sense of accomplishment that is at the forefront of his mind. His thoughts and feelings go from limitless negativity and fear to limitless positivity and thrill.

Key Mistake - 'Treating this question as a ‘language’ question, or explaining the effects of the events on the reader did not receive any credit because that was not what the question required.'

Q4 - 'Those who attained marks in Band 3 or Band 4 of the mark scheme, were able to make appropriate selections of words and phrases from the chosen source texts, analyse how these were effective and then compare this use of language in relation to the different context of each source.'

This is the daddy of the reading questions. The one where everyone can make a gain. The key to the top band answers is linking to context. Context is the background of where the work has come from not limited to Form Audience and Purpose. Who is writing the articles? Why are they writing them? What kind of text is being published and for whom? These are all valid questions to ask yourself but you can also consider the stance and tone of the article and why they are approaching their subject in this way.

This is too complex to cover in a short example paragraph and will be covered in a future blog post.

Key Mistake -'Students whose mark resided in Band 2 attempted to select and compare but often resorted to describing content and purpose, speculating on audience or making generalised comments about sentence length. These students often identified features such as alliteration, hyperbole, triplets etc. but then offered only generalised comments that, for example, they ‘involved the reader’, or ‘drew the reader in’.'

Q5 - '...the writing which received marks in the highest band showed originality of thought, structure and vocabulary.'

This is a chance to show off. I haven't put together the A/A* Vocabulary link for nothing. The more you show the better you do. Think of the structure of your text. The likely reaction of your audience. The misdirection or mixing of humorous and serious points. These all take careful planning before hand and skill in craft and practice. This is a skill you should practice once a week always with the examiner as an audience in mind. Watch what the question is asking you. Christmas is a day not a time of year. A trap a few of you may have fallen into.

Key Mistake - 'Some of the weaker responses lapsed into narrative, interpreting ‘time of year’ for ‘specific event’ – often Christmas or a particular summer holiday'

Q6 - 'The majority of students promoted the idea of travel, though a good number successfully argued that staying at home was valid: ‘allow your inertia to control your life’ was the suggestion from one
student that was particularly compelling. Others cited David Attenborough and the beauty of HD
television as reasons for staying at home as well as the normal risks and cost of travel. Irony
and satire were employed convincingly by the most able writers.'

This is the being bold question. You are creating an argument or persuading so don't be afraid to go against the grain. Write the unexpected. We had some great ideas on charity and arguing against it. Surprise the examiner and if you know what your writing is unexpected point it out in explicit terms:

Top Band Answer - As you read this, you'll be expecting the thousands of student drones to churn out how travel broadens their horizons and makes them see the world in a new light. Ask yourself, as you read exam paper and exam paper and exam paper telling you to go and live with a remote Patagonian tribe to give you new perspective, is the repetitive nonsense about travel really the brave new world? Have horizons been broadened or has it just taught millions of teenagers to spout out 'somewhere over the rainbow' guff to line travel operators pockets. Stay at home. Watch your world through your massive telly and laugh as people go travelling and find exactly what they thought they would. Sit back and surprise yourself with the depths of the oceans that none of these hippies will ever see through their hacky sacks and alpaca ponchos.

Key Mistake - 'Weaker students, however, ignored the key words in the question and
simply wrote about going away on holiday. Another attribute of less successful writing was the
spurious use of statistics: ‘70% of teenagers have never been abroad’ and ‘25% of all flights
crash’ being examples. The evidence of formulaic writing was as apparent here as it was in
Question 5, and the conclusion was the same: the most successful writing is free of it.'

So there you have it. The magical exam elixir. Go away and work out which categories and plan your marginal gains.

Tell me how you are going to improve. What are you going to do, when are you going to do it and how will it improve your grade?

MAKE YOUR REVISION VISIBLE

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Frustration of Exam Results - Visible Revision Works

It has been as frustrating for your teachers as it has from you not knowing the grades of your results but we all can soldier on and show exam boards, regulators and government just what you are capable of.

Looking at the mark scores of each student and comparing it with the information I had from the revision survey, one thing is clear: those who revised on average did better than those who didn't and those who did 'visible revision' (copyright Milne2013) did better than those who did 'invisible revision'.

Let me explain what I mean by visible and invisible revision. Visible revision is something that I / your teacher can check and give you feedback on. Research shows that the easiest way to improve is to try and task, get feedback on how you have done, try it again and do better, get feedback on how you have done and try it again until it is perfect.

A little patriotic video to show what is drummed into a Scottish kid from a wee small age.

Trying and failing and trying again is education. At first you tried to write, it was scribbly and all over the place. Then you practised and got better. You weren't writing perfectly from a young age (or ever if you've seen my handwriting). You only fail when you give up trying to improve (see me and handwriting again).

So visible revision is something that you can check and get feedback on. The most popular response in the revision survey was 'read over notes at home'. This is all very well but how good are your notes? Do you understand your notes?

Someone suggested this as a revision task:

 'I believe that there should be revision tasks set where we bring In our own hand written revision notes and explain how we revised, this would therefore make the student know what their writing and how they are doing it, It also shows the teacher what their students are picking up and what they're not'

That is a great suggestion for 'Visible Revision' as it is something that can be checked and measured. 

School revision classes are great revision resources but you must also make what you've learned in the session 'visible' to your teacher to check understanding.

The next most popular mode of revision was using the blog. I'm astounded by the people who used the blog because many weren't in my class though only my class seemed to post responses. 

The blog is for EVERYONE. Even if you're not in my class you can post answers and I will feedback on them. It's ok; outside work, rugby and the gym I have no life. I will mark your work. The top achieving student was the top 'visible learner'. I saw the most in answers, feedback and retrying to the point of perfection from that student and it delighted me with their score.

'Invisible Revision' is great but not the most effective kind. If you don't check what your looking over at home your revision is not the as effective as it could be.

The best advice is be active, be visible and try hard.

'I just tried really hard; that was all' - If Robert the Bruce was tweeting today!

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