The last Exam question a week post- AQA

You are now 6 weeks away from your exam - have completed your Controlled Assessments and three mock exams and you now are fine tuning your skills for the main event.

Hopefully you've looked at any disappointing results as positives and worked out where you went wrong and how to put things right.

At this point I can point you to this post  on marginal gains and remind you that an improvement of one mark per question is an improvement of a grade when you add these together.

The last post has the questions you should attempt and some tips no mistakes I have seen from your mock exams.

First of all here are your sources:

Source 1 - Kenya To Deploy Drones in All National Parks

Source 2  - Google Glasses

Source 3 - The Toughest Expedition of my Life

Question 1 - What do you understand about the issue of Poaching in Kenya's National Parks? (Source 1)

This question is gradually improving. Remember 3-4 quotations with inferences linked to the key words in the question.

Key Mistake from Mock - Inferences should be in your own words not repeating the words from the text and for the sophisticated band your inference should make a connection that is not expressly written in the text.

Question 2 - Explain how the Headline, the sub-headline and the picture are effective and how they link to the text. (Source 2)

You need to anlayse one or two features of the Headline and the picture. Each point your make should have a specific link to a quotation from the text.

Key Mistake from the Mock - Not linking your analysis to specific quotations from the main text and jumping straight to colour in the picture. Remember only use colour if it is a clear choice of the article - don't forget scale is also important.

Question 3 - Explain some of the thoughts and feelings of the writer about his Atlantic rowing adventure.

3-4 Quotations needed here. Link your inferences to thoughts and feelings.

Key Mistake from the Mock - Not covering thoughts and inferences simply re-stating what is in the text. Sophisticated tip - if your quotation has a device in it, mention it!

Question 4 - Compare some of the ways the writers use language for effect. (Source three and either Source 1 or Source 2).

This question has seen the biggest improvement. Remember you need 3-4 quotations from each text analysed focusing on effect and evaluated for the top band.


Key Mistake from the Mock - The device is not important the effect is. Don't technique spot, tell the examiner what the language suggests. Sophisticated Band tip - Only focus on individual words; you don't have to write down lengthy quotations.


Question 5 - Describe an experience where you had to show mental toughness and explain how you overcame it for an online teen blog.

5 - 6 paragraphs needed here. Remember your variety hand to ensure you include all the relevant details of writing.

Key Mistake from the Mock - Remember your purpose(s). Your writing needs to be decriptive, informative , explanatory or a combination of purposes. Tick each purpose in the question as you meet it.

Question 6 - 'If we continue to take nature for granted, we will soon be the only living organisms left on the planet'.

Argue for or against prioritising nature for a newspaper article.

Here you need 7-8 paragraphs. Remember your variety hand to ensure you include all the relevant details of writing.

Key Mistake from Mock - Not showing balance in your argument. Even if it asks you to argue for or against, the purpose of Argue means you still need to show balance.

Remember your exam questions are due in every Wednesday.

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Revising for your Exams

As I always say, the best way to revise for any exam is to practise exam questions, have them marked by a teacher or tutor and then go back and improve it -correcting errors and checking it again with the teacher to see how you've improved (see here for advice).

However this can only make up part of your revision schedule as other subjects revision comes along and leaving time for the other essential part of exam revision - relaxation (not all the time though!). If you are over-stressed you can't function properly (just as if you are too relaxed you can't function properly) - so make sure you balance the two.

Throughout this post I'm going to link to some useful posts I've put together on how to prepare for exams.

This post was a big hit last year and helps you mentally prepare for exam - Stressed with revision? Click Here

There are two types of revision you can do - generic (focusing on all the things that could come up in the exam) and specific (weaknesses you know you definitely need to focus on).

Generic revision is everything you have covered in class but do you know what your specific weaknesses are? Your teacher should have told you, you should have written it down and you should be working on it. You will have done activities like the Writing MOT or feedback grids to help you identify this. Make sure you know your targets and what you need to put real time into focusing on.

Listed below are my top tips for short revision tasks for both Language and Literature examinations:

Language Exam

Mimicking Writing - Take an article from someone like Grace Dent, Charlie Brooker or Caitlin Moran. Take a paragraph and try to imitate their style (look at language, punctuation and sentence structure) about a different topic of your choice.

Top Trumps - Either check out my top trumps cards here  or make your own.

Language Forfeits - Check out the list of vocabulary here and use it in sentences with your friends. If anyone can't use a word or uses it incorrectly you choose their forfeit ( disclaimer... keep it clean: keep it legal).

What's the Point - See how quickly you can identify the topic sentences in a newspaper or web article. Time yourself highlighting them and check what you've highlighted with your teacher.

Write the Headline / Produce the Picture - Do a random google image search and write an effective headline for the picture you've found or vice versa - search an online newspaper and produce the picture (check these with your teacher).

Literature Exam

Quotations, Quotations, Quotations

Quotabix - A great idea I saw another teacher promoting - Stick quotations from the set texts to your cereal box and they are the first thing you see every morning. Read 5 each bowl of cereal you have.

Memory Palace - People with better memories do better in exams. Lots of people with great memories create a memory palace. A room or place that is familiar to them they visualise retrieving the information from. Place quotations around your bedroom and read them aloud each time you pass them. In the exam you should be able to picture your room and where the quotations are.

Sounding Smrt - As you progress through the marks in an exam you often gain more marks for the way you sound as much as what you write. Make sure you are using formal standard English. You might want to check this post and practice using the phrases between now and the exam.

Class Characters - To help you remember a character in a text or poem assign someone in your class or someone you know who has some similar attributes. When you are in the exam and you need to describe characterisation you could visualise that person.

Quotatoin Forfeits - Go back and forth between friends saying quotations from your set texts. If anyone can't use a quotation or uses it incorrectly you choose their forfeit ( disclaimer... keep it clean: keep it legal).

Check here for some Of Mice and Men Quotations

Happy Revision!

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AQA Exam - An exam question a week - supersized edition

As you begin your exam preparation, you may want to start practising your timings over longer sections than individual questions. So I'm going to group all the questions together in one post which will give you a question per week or you can do chunks at a time.

My advice is always to start with the last questions first and work your way forward. That way you can ensure you spend 1hr 30 - 1hr 40 minutes on the questions with the most marks and then quickly work your way through the 8 mark questions.



Here are a few ways to structure your revision questions.

Spend 1hr 40 minutes on question 6, 5, 4 in one go.

and

Spend 35 minutes on questions 1 ,2, 3.

or

Spend 1hr on Section B.

and

Spend 1hr on Section A.

or

Do the whole paper in 2 hours 15.

Do each question with the following times:

1 - 12 Minutes

2 - 12 Minutes

3 - 12 Minutes

4 - 30 Minutes

5 - 25 Minutes

6 - 35 Minutes

Here are your sources:

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Question 1  - What do you understand about the life of Christopher Knights and the impact on the local community?

Question 2 - Explain how the Headline, the sub-headline and the picture are effective and how they link to the text.

Question 3 - Explain some of the thoughts and feelings of the writer about coming out to his parents.

Question 4 - Compare some of the ways the writers use language for effect. (Source three and either Source 1 or Source 2).

Question 5 - Describe a piece of technology and explain why it is important in your life.

Question 6 - Persuade people for or against the idea of living without the internet.

Happy Revising.

Mr Milne

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AQA - An exam question a week - Question 6

This question asks you to argue or persuade

It is important that you consider the form you are being asked to write in and the audience you are writing for. There are subtle differences in the form of web article and newspaper article and these would be conventions that you would be expected to follow.

Don't worry about spending time thinking up a headline or title (these are not wholly necessary) but think about the variation in tone you might have for your purpose.

As with all writing you need to remember your five key areas:

But also think about the writing MOT you've received:

Your grammatical expression as well as spelling are important too.

Remember your difference between argue and persuade. One must be balanced (argue) and one biased (Persuade). Remember your types of paragraphs you can use for this like respectful, one sided, attacking the other side of the argument.

The top band for the creativity of your writing states your writing needs to be:

Subtle and Manipulative

You can achieve this with juxtaposition of language or juxtaposition of tone:

1) A mixture of both formal and 'informal language for effect' (notice the inverted commas around the latter part; informal language must be used for effect and often inverted commas can point this out to the examiner).

2) Varying the tone of your paragraph - mixing serious points and silly images.

3) For argue you can juxtapose paragraphs showing balance and respect with ones that are more one sided or accusatory in tone.

Your task is:

You have been asked to write a letter to a local newspaper.

Argue for or against the construction of a new extreme sports complex in your town.

Good Luck

Mr Milne

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AQA Question 5 - An exam question a week.

This question asks you to inform, explain or describe but in  the higher tier it normally focuses on two of these purposes.

It is important that you consider the form you are being asked to write in and the audience you are writing for. There are subtle differences in the form of web article and newspaper article and these would be conventions that you would be expected to follow.

Don't worry about spending time thinking up a headline or title (these are not wholly necessary) but think about the variation in tone you might have for your purpose.

As with all writing you need to remember your five key areas:

But also think about the writing MOT you've received:

Your grammatical expression as well as spelling are important too.

The top band for the creativity of your writing states your writing needs to be:

Subtle and Manipulative

You can achieve this with juxtaposition of language or juxtaposition of tone:

1) A mixture of both formal and 'informal language for effect' (notice the inverted commas around the latter part; informal language must be used for effect and often inverted commas can point this out to the examiner).

2) Varying the tone of your paragraph - mixing serious points and silly images.

Your task is:

You have been asked to write a online article for a website that publishes people's adventurous experiences.

Describe an adventurous activity you have taken part in and explain how it made you feel.

Good Luck

Mr Milne

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AQA: An exam question a week Question 4

This question is the one that most students struggle with. It is worth the most marks in Section A and requires you to compare two texts.

For any comparison question you must point out both similarities and differences.

You must analyse language and language only which could link to words that build the Overall Tone, Words with specific connotations or Language devices (OWL).

As you read through the texts you should also be quickly highlighting loaded phrase which relate to one of the above. If you don't have time to do this when you are going through your planning stages for Question 1 2 or 3 then spend the first 5 minutes scanning and making lists of quotations or devices which are used.

If you list these in columns then you can quickly draw lines to similarities and differences.

When comparing you should be analysing language (zooming in) and commenting on the effect this could have on the reader. At a higher level you could evaluate the success of the text in meeting the Purpose Audience or Form. You can see some more detailed thoughts on this post from last year: The Dreaded Question 4

You should be structuring your work like this:

Point
Quotation
Analysis
Evaluation of Purpose, Audience or Format
Comparative Point (similarity or difference)
Quotation
Analysis
Evaluation of Language of Purpose, Audience or Format

You must try to make 3-4 points like this using 6  - 10 textual references.

Remember you must always compare to Source 3 but can choose either Source 1 or 2.

Spend 25 minutes answering:

Compare the way writers' use language for effect. 16 Marks

Source 1 is here

Source 2 is here

Source 3 is below:

December 17, Hetta

We are in the midst of a super-cold snap, with temperatures falling below -30C. I can’t go outside for more than a few moments without fully suiting up in cold-weather gear. The insides of my nostrils crackle with frost; any hair left uncovered picks up a grey sheen, as though I’ve aged 50 years in minutes. Occasionally my eyelashes freeze together. I learn that if any part of my body sticks to metal, I mustn’t panic and wrench away, or I risk ripping the skin clean off. One of the dogs, Monty, lost half of his tongue this way as a pup when he licked a metal post. It nearly killed him, and it took months of careful nursing and hand feeding in the house before he returned to work.

But while the temperatures drop, the tourist season is hotting up. Lapland’s economy depends almost entirely on a few short weeks before Christmas when visitors flood in from overseas. Suddenly it’s all go as we try to run as many safaris as possible, often working from 7am till past midnight.

We have to sprint as we make up the dog teams – usually eight-strong, with an obedient pair up front as leaders and two of the strongest dogs at the back in 'wheel’ position: the brains and the brawn respectively.

In a rush this morning, I sped with my team out of the gates and took the first corner far too quickly. The sled flipped, dragging me through the snow on my stomach until the bar slipped out of my grip. By the time I’d jumped to my feet my dogs had overtaken the team in front and started a fight; I had had to throw myself between the two teams and wrestle them apart, growling and yelling. No harm done, but my nerves are jangling and my confidence has taken a knock.

December 21, Hetta

While freeing two dogs that have become tangled in the lines, I stupidly remove my gloves in -38C, and later find the colour has drained away from the tips of my fingers. They also have an unpleasant needling sensation. 'Congratulations,’ Pasi says. 'Your first frostbite.’ I’m thrilled and show them off to everyone.

December 25, Hetta and Valimaa

This week has been hard. We seem to be working non-stop and I haven’t seen daylight in three weeks. This is the polar night. The sun will not rise above the horizon for a further 10 days. It is dark enough to use head torches for most of the day, but at noon the skies are incredible, streaked with magenta and crimson and orange.

To tell the truth, I’m running on empty. Every waking moment for weeks has been spent feeding or harnessing or sledding or shovelling snow or shovelling shit. When, on Christmas Eve, I’m sternly told off for not cleaning kennels properly, I’m so tired and it’s so unfair that I find myself in tears, sobbing into a bucket of frozen meat as I chop it into pieces.

'Oh dear,’ Dot, another of the guides, says when she finds me. 'Feeling fragile?’ I laugh. It is a bit ridiculous.

Christmas Day itself is just as dark and cold as all the other days but it feels like we’ve turned a corner: the hardest part is over. The tourists will soon return to wherever they came from, the daylight will return from wherever it went. After a Christmas feast, five of us return to the wilderness farm. I drive; others grab some sleep while they can. When we arrive, past midnight, it strikes me how lucky we are. The air is so still and the sky is so clear, the stars so incredibly bright.

Edited from an article by Cal Flyn in The Telegraph - Full article available here

Good Luck

Mr Milne

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AQA Question 3 - an exam question a week.

Question 3 is another question mainly based on inference.

Your planning method should be as follows:

1. Skim read
2. Make inferences about thoughts and feelings - Higher Level should find a change of feeling. Put a star next to where you think this is in the text to remind yourself to find a quotation.
3. Scan the text for supporting quotations.
4. Write up embedding quotations.

You have 12 minutes to work in once you have read the text (skimming and scanning as you go along 5 minutes approximately). Make sure you are using quotations (at least 4).

Here is your question:

Explain some of the thoughts and feelings of Cal Flyn about her experience working on a Husky Farm.

December 17, Hetta

We are in the midst of a super-cold snap, with temperatures falling below -30C. I can’t go outside for more than a few moments without fully suiting up in cold-weather gear. The insides of my nostrils crackle with frost; any hair left uncovered picks up a grey sheen, as though I’ve aged 50 years in minutes. Occasionally my eyelashes freeze together. I learn that if any part of my body sticks to metal, I mustn’t panic and wrench away, or I risk ripping the skin clean off. One of the dogs, Monty, lost half of his tongue this way as a pup when he licked a metal post. It nearly killed him, and it took months of careful nursing and hand feeding in the house before he returned to work.

But while the temperatures drop, the tourist season is hotting up. Lapland’s economy depends almost entirely on a few short weeks before Christmas when visitors flood in from overseas. Suddenly it’s all go as we try to run as many safaris as possible, often working from 7am till past midnight.

We have to sprint as we make up the dog teams – usually eight-strong, with an obedient pair up front as leaders and two of the strongest dogs at the back in 'wheel’ position: the brains and the brawn respectively.

In a rush this morning, I sped with my team out of the gates and took the first corner far too quickly. The sled flipped, dragging me through the snow on my stomach until the bar slipped out of my grip. By the time I’d jumped to my feet my dogs had overtaken the team in front and started a fight; I had had to throw myself between the two teams and wrestle them apart, growling and yelling. No harm done, but my nerves are jangling and my confidence has taken a knock.

December 21, Hetta

While freeing two dogs that have become tangled in the lines, I stupidly remove my gloves in -38C, and later find the colour has drained away from the tips of my fingers. They also have an unpleasant needling sensation. 'Congratulations,’ Pasi says. 'Your first frostbite.’ I’m thrilled and show them off to everyone.

December 25, Hetta and Valimaa

This week has been hard. We seem to be working non-stop and I haven’t seen daylight in three weeks. This is the polar night. The sun will not rise above the horizon for a further 10 days. It is dark enough to use head torches for most of the day, but at noon the skies are incredible, streaked with magenta and crimson and orange.

To tell the truth, I’m running on empty. Every waking moment for weeks has been spent feeding or harnessing or sledding or shovelling snow or shovelling shit. When, on Christmas Eve, I’m sternly told off for not cleaning kennels properly, I’m so tired and it’s so unfair that I find myself in tears, sobbing into a bucket of frozen meat as I chop it into pieces.

'Oh dear,’ Dot, another of the guides, says when she finds me. 'Feeling fragile?’ I laugh. It is a bit ridiculous.

Christmas Day itself is just as dark and cold as all the other days but it feels like we’ve turned a corner: the hardest part is over. The tourists will soon return to wherever they came from, the daylight will return from wherever it went. After a Christmas feast, five of us return to the wilderness farm. I drive; others grab some sleep while they can. When we arrive, past midnight, it strikes me how lucky we are. The air is so still and the sky is so clear, the stars so incredibly bright.

Edited from an article by Cal Flyn in The Telegraph - Full article available here

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AQA An exam question a week - Question 2

Question 2 is the first of your analytical questions it always asks you to:

Explain how the headline, sub headline and picture are effective and how they link to the text.

This requires you to analyse the Headline (sometimes subheadline) and link it to the text and state how evaluate the impact of the headline and picture to access the higher levels.

To begin with you should scan the headline for loaded phrases (phrase which immediately catch your eye). These could be simply connotations of key words or they could be more sophisticated devices such as pun / paradox etc. You could also comment on any use of punctuation (Colons and dashes are ones to look out for here). Think about what tone is being set here (it is something you can link to later in your work) or is there any contrast / paradox set up that need to be clarified in the text?

Then scan the subheadline (if there is one) doing the same as above and the picture.

The picture is particularly interesting - it can set or contrast the tone. Look for what the picture could indicate about the article - are the characters confident / nervous / what about scale and colour?

Once you are at this point you can tackle the text. Scan the text for things that link to the headline  - this could be repeated words, things that elaborate on something from the title or contrasting information (the headline could lead you one way and the article take you another).

There are lines which could describe the picture, words that highlight what the picture shows or lines which have a similar tone.

As you write, you should be aiming to link 4 points in the headline / picture to the text and at a higher level be using some more evaluative phrases such as:

Effectively
Successfully
Subtly
Clearly
Efficiently

You have 12 minutes to work in once you have read the text (skimming and scanning as you go along). Make sure you are using quotations (at least 4 from the text and one or two from the headline - make references to the picture).

So here is your question:


Explain how the headline, sub headline and picture are effective and how they link to the text. 8 Marks

Your link is here


Good luck.

Mr Milne

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AQA Week One - An Exam Question a week until the exam.

We will start at the very beginning - a very good place to start.

Question 1 on the surface looks very straightforward but it is often one that is completed in a rush (at the end of the exam or to try and save time at the beginning) and therefore you don't achieve the marks that your skill set should.

I'm going to walk you through the process and then let you loose on a question.

First of all the question itself:

It is always a 'What do you understand about the x and y'.

Before you jump in, make sure you know what you are looking for.

Understand - is more than just the facts but it involves your inference as well.

X - is one of the things you should be focusing on.

Y - is another. Nothing other than these two things.

These are your trigger words from the question. They tell you that you need to Skim and Scan the text. (Skim = a quick read through to get the information from the article. Scan = focusing in on the quotations that link X and Y).

The question may often talk about issues - You should scan for facts, figures, quotations, annecdotes,

It also can describe experiences - look for 'I' and adjectives.

It is an 8 mark question and you should be taking 12 minutes to complete this. To adequately meet the requirements of the task you will need to make 4 good points with supporting textual detail embedded, some inference and to cover each part of the question (not necessarily equally).

Your inferences identify you as a higher level candidate showing you don't just focus on the obvious. If an article states '4 in 10 people' are overweight then you can infer that an issue will be health problems and that those health problems will put a strain on the NHS. This develops your higher level inference.

So as a check list when writing:

Summarise the key points that address each of trigger words in the question (5 or 6).
Embed some supporting quotations (4 + )
Make developed inferences - look beyond the obvious.

So here is your question:

What do you understand about Frankie Mullin's experiences of being deaf and the issues of being deaf in society?

Your text is here

I would like you to write the trigger words at the top of your answer.

Happy Revising

Mr Milne

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Question 1 Exemplar

This question seems the easiest on paper but the subtleties of achieving Band 3 and Band 4 answers aren't always as obvious from the wording of the question as is required in the mark scheme.

The common mistake is:

Writing only what you find out from the article.

This question requires the skill of inference. Inference means you need to read between the lines of the articles e.g.

An article about safety at the seaside for inner city children - Inference: children from inner city areas are becoming more involved in rescues at the seaside.

Look at Source 1 (Your exam source would be shorter than this)

The question would be - What do you understand about teenager's use of social media from the article?

The obvious thing to do here would be to dive straight in and find things you find out about how Teenager's are using Social Medial. You might list things like:

1) Not using Facebook as much
2) Using WhatsApp
3) Using Snapchat
4) Creating Digital Stickers instead of using words.

But the subtleties of achieving Band 3 and Band 4 answers need some inference -some focus on the issues that are driving teenager's use of social media.

1) Not using Facebook as much because now relatives / older users can see their content.
2) Using WhatsApp to regain privacy that they have lost from Facebook.
3) Using Snapchat as it doesn't store embarrassing content for fun.
4) Creating Digital Stickers for identities as more of their life takes place online.

You then need to write this up using quotations to support your answer.

The articles shows that teenagers are now not using Facebook as much reporting on the 'decrease in daily users, specifically among teens' reported by the company. This seems to be down to the idea that 'dad's' and 'uncles' are using Facebook more therefore teenagers are losing the privacy to post about their 'pub antics'. The fact that the older generation can monitor their lives has driven them to carry out their 'private chatting' on platforms such as WhatsApp which allows you to talk and allow people you actually know to access the content you want them to rather than 'passively stalking people you barely know'.

Teenagers are also using Snapchat to send pictures without leaving a 'digital footprint' allowing them to send 'inane' photographs knowing that they won't be stored. This again gives the teenager more control over who sees their content the issue that is moving them away from Facebook. Digital stickers are also becoming a 'decent moneyspinner' and are being used to create digital emotions especially helping 'couples get over fights'.

The key issue with all this is that teenagers seek greater privacy in their use of social media, something which other platforms are able to give more than Facebook can.

Look how the quotations here are embedded so they don't interrupt the flow of the answer. The quotations are also not analysed, they are used as support from the text.

Essentially you are writing about what you understand of the issues or ideas contained within the text whilst using quotations to show where you made your inferences from.

Technique:

1. Write down 3-4 issues / ideas the article discusses.
2. Match your ideas to quotations from the text.
3. Write in flowing prose embedding your quotations so as not to interrupt your focus on the ideas / issues.

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Writing MOT

Theory and Reflection

You will soon be receiving a writing MOT from me.

This is not just based on your Controlled Assessment results but also on the work you are able to carry out spontaneously in class.

I'm really pleased with the results of your Controlled Assessments but now we need to focus on replicating these great results in your exam writing.

The exam is a separate beast. You don't know what you are going to be asked to write about, you don't have a note sheet to help you plan and you are writing in a more pressured environment against the clock.

Before we move on to the next steps, we need to reflect on how we got to your excellent Controlled Assessment results.

I knew the end point of the task (though I wasn't allowed to fully share it with you until closer to the assessment).

I set a number of lessons which enabled you to do two things:

1) Look at examples of expert writing and work out why they were considered 'expert'.

2) Practise writing in a number of distorted situations moving towards the real assessment.

As I've said in class, your revision starts now. We've covered all the writing and reading skills you need to develop: you need to practise using these skills in exam conditions. Like everything in life, you will get better with practice and the more you practice the better you will get.

I will be basing my projected grades on how much I feel you have been practising and are prepared to practise.

I wrote a blog posting in March last year after the previous Year 11 got their examination results - this talked about 'Visible Revision'. You can read it here. The short principle of 'Visible Revision' is that if you keep your revision between yourself and your bedroom walls, how do you know what you are doing is right? Make your revision visible to your teacher and you get consistent feedback and can know what you are doing is right.

In class this was straightforward - we were all working on the same topic, you showed me your work and I gave you feedback. In revision the onus is on you. You work on your strengths and weaknesses and present them to me.

Case Study

Before you say 'Sir  - this sounds like an awful lot of work without immediate rewards', I present to you two case studies:

Student A -

Finished Year 10 with a Literature B grade and a Year 10 mock of a C grade.
Carried out weekly visible revision from November and gained an A* grade by the end of Year 11. 2 to 3 grades improvement.

Student B -

Was strong at varying her five key areas of writing but her ability to use appropriate written expression meant that she was consistently getting D grades in her writing. She read two articles from the list of writers below and wrote one article a week on a topic of her choice trying to mimic the writer's styles. In 6 weeks her writing had progressed from a D grade to a B grade. 2 Grades improvement in 6 weeks.

Writers:

Caitlin Moran
Grace Dent
Charlie Brooker
Stewart Lee
Sophie Heawood
Cal Flynn
David Mitchell

The importance here is the pathos. Try to move seamlessly between serious and humorous points.

The Writing MOT

You will receive a feedback sheet with skills that are key for your writing graded to give you a complete picture of your strengths and weaknesses.

Theses are your five key areas to vary:

Vocabulary

Devices

Sentence Structures

Punctuation

Paragraph

Plus:

Spelling

Expression

You will be graded A*, A , B, C, Below C for each of these skills.

You will be also rated on a scale showing your ability to use English flexibly. This will fall on a scale of:

Only being able to write using informal everyday language.

Some of your work being informal everyday with parts of it also showing expert academic use of language but not always in the correct context.

Having a mastery of expert academic language and informal everyday language and always using it in the correct context.

I will give you a target and then in a separate box you need to write down what you are going to do to actually work on this target.

We will then review this as the term goes on.

Now if you are serious about your revision you should rate yourself objectively and work out what you think you need to work on.

If you set yourself a target I will tell you what you need to do to meet it. Then we can see if it matches my impression of your writing next week.

Post your own rating in the comments box.

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The Exam Question Top Trump Series Question 6 - Higher and Foundation

If this question was a Celebrity it would be:

Judge Judy:

Can always show balance in any argument and is a master of persuasion.

If this question was a Musical Genre it would be:

Screamo:

If you get a persuade task it is your chance to scream your biased point of view at the examiner. 

If this question was a Stereotypical American High School Student it would be:

The School Bully:

Is as adept with hitting you in the face as persuading you with peer pressure. As soon as a teacher is around is a master of reason and logic making you look stupid by portraying both sides of the argument.

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