Literature of the Hart

All exam boards expect students to write well for GCSE English Language, and the different writing tasks are worth 50%. Writing to describe is one a number of writing skills tested.  The others are writing to narrate and transactional writing, both of which have been covered elsewhere on this blog. How do you make an effective plan for descriptive writing? What structures can help students when they are feeling nerves in exams? What style, sentence types and punctuation will create the best effect? With descriptive writing, appealing to different senses is important, as are chronological or zooming approaches. I am now offering new small group classes which you can learn more about by reading on... *NEW*           Literature of the Hart  -  Small Group Classes            *NEW*   Improve GCSE English Writing for Top Grades  Mondays 4.30pm   OR   Thursdays 7.15pm   All writing types f...

*NEW*          Literature of the Hart  -  Small Group Classes          *NEW*   Improve GCSE English Writing for Top Grades  Mondays 4.30pm OR Thursdays 7.15pm   All writing types for all GCSE boards covered: descriptive, narrative and transactional Writing tasks are worth 50% of the final English Language grade   Alternating weeks: Week A – Guided learning - 60 minutes Week B – Individualised feedback -10 minutes per student  Maximum Group Size: 5 for each group For further details and to book your place, contact me:   literatureofthehart.blogspot.com/p/contact.html

Only when a student has read an exam question really carefully ( see first post in this series ) and planned their arguments and counter-arguments ( see second post ), are they ready to start writing. An an English tutor, time and time again I meet bright students who have not been shown the importance of preparation before they start to write. Here's another past paper English Language GCSE transactional writing question - worth 25% of the final grade for most exam boards. Write a speech for your peer group with the title ‘How to stay safe online’.  A student has started a response to this task. “We are all using the internet more than ever, but how safe is it? There are dangers out there but there are also ways we can be safe when we are using the internet and interacting with people online." Continue this speech using your own ideas.  The focus is on staying safe online, not just about using the internet.  Arguments about freedom and responsibility (for example) n...

How do you plan an excellent answer to the transactional writing element of GCSE English Language?  This is not a straightforward part of the English Language examinations as my first post in this new series began to explore but it’s something I regularly teach as an English tutor. Here is another past paper question: ‘Our addiction to cheap clothes and fast fashion means young people in poorer countries have to work in terrible conditions to make them.   We must change our attitude to buying clothes now.’ Write an article for a magazine or website in which you argue your point of view on this statement. Mind maps are an excellent way to generate ideas, and you can slightly modify a simple mind map to organise arguments for and against. Must we change our attitudes?  What are the different arguments relevant to this question? It’s a question of sequencing argument and balancing arguments against counter-arguments.  I teach a method of constructing a cohere...

 All GCSE English Language exams require students to produce a piece of 'transactional writing'.  But it's one of the hardest skills to master. This is the start of a new series of posts looking at how to help students improve their skills in transactional, persuasive writing. The first skill to master is reading the question carefully . Students are often in the habit of skim reading fast - the way they would read and respond to messages from their friends in seconds (or micro seconds!).  But this approach to reading is unhelpful when dealing with complex tasks. Here's a past paper question: Write a blog with the title ‘Does school prepare us for life?’  A student has started a response to this task.  “Some people say that they did not learn anything useful at school, such as how to manage money, cook and look after themselves. Other people point out all the fascinating facts and ideas that they learned at school. So what should be taught at school and why?...

Going to university was a dream for me – a motivating dream that inspired me to study, be intellectually curious and work hard when I was at school. Throughout my educational career I have helped nurture the uni dreams of young people. And it’s never too early to begin discussions in order to engage students’ hearts and minds. Oxford, Cambridge and many other well-respected universities in the UK provide outreach programmes to students in Year 10. And in my experience, working with both British and international scholarship students as a headteacher, intensive uni preparation needs to begin from Year 12, if it is to be really effective. My programme  Nurture Your Uni Drea m  supports students to explore their intellectual passions, develop wider reading, harness the power of quality online learning, improve their study habits, prepare a quality personal statement and perform confidently at interview. I offer a  free 30 minute introductory session . Contact me vi...