BOOK
AQA English Language and Literature Revision and Exam Practice: York Notes for GCSE (9-1)
(2018)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Learn every essential skill – Use ‘The Basics’ sections to feel positive about reading well, writing creatively and getting to grips with grammar, punctuation and spelling right from the start.
Keep learning and improving – ‘Exam focus’ Sample answer sections will help you effortlessly build on your skills through modelling, while the bespoke ‘Applying your skills’ tasks will enable you to recall all your knowledge, analyse texts and confidently structure your responses.
Stay focused and save time – With each chapter focused on a specific exam paper and sections on every type of question, York Notes guides are expertly structured to help you learn, practise, revise and remember so you’re always on the right track for top marks.
Feel ready for the exam – Full exam papers, worked answers and lots of quick tests will help ensure you are prepared to perform at your best.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Cover | Front Cover | ||
| Contents | 3 | ||
| Part One: The Basics | 5 | ||
| The Assessment Objectives | 5 | ||
| English Language | 5 | ||
| English Literature | 5 | ||
| Chapter 1: The basics: Spelling, punctuation and grammar | 6 | ||
| Grammatical terms | 6 | ||
| How’s your SPaG? | 6 | ||
| Word Classes | 6 | ||
| Determiners | 7 | ||
| Modifiers | 7 | ||
| Noun Phrases | 7 | ||
| Prepositional Phrases | 7 | ||
| Sentence construction and clauses | 8 | ||
| Simple Sentences | 8 | ||
| Compound Sentences | 8 | ||
| Complex Sentences | 8 | ||
| Adverbial Clauses | 9 | ||
| Sentence types and tenses | 10 | ||
| Subject–Verb Agreement | 10 | ||
| Tenses | 10 | ||
| The Active and The Passive | 11 | ||
| Punctuation | 12 | ||
| Commas | 12 | ||
| Colons | 12 | ||
| Semicolons | 13 | ||
| Dashes | 13 | ||
| Brackets | 13 | ||
| Ellipses | 13 | ||
| Direct Speech | 13 | ||
| Reported Speech | 14 | ||
| Paragraph organisation | 15 | ||
| Setting Out Paragraphs | 15 | ||
| Connectives | 15 | ||
| Spelling | 16 | ||
| Plurals | 16 | ||
| Prefixes and Suffixes | 17 | ||
| Homophones | 17 | ||
| Improving Your Spelling | 18 | ||
| Part Two: GCSE English Language | 19 | ||
| Chapter 2: Paper 1, Section A: Reading fiction | 19 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 19 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 19 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 19 | ||
| Finding explicit information | 20 | ||
| What is Explicit Information and How do you Identify it? | 20 | ||
| Finding implicit information | 22 | ||
| What is Implicit Information and How do you Identify it? | 22 | ||
| Quoting or paraphrasing effectively | 24 | ||
| How can you Quote or Paraphrase a Text Effectively to Support your Points? | 24 | ||
| Choosing a Quotation | 24 | ||
| Presenting Quotations | 25 | ||
| Paraphrasing | 25 | ||
| Analysing language features and effects | 26 | ||
| How Does the Choice of Particular Words and Phrases Create Effects? | 26 | ||
| Choosing Techniques to Create Effects | 28 | ||
| Analysing the effects of different types of sentences | 30 | ||
| How Do Different Sentence Types Create Effects? | 30 | ||
| Analysing the structure of a text | 32 | ||
| How Do Fiction Writers Structure Texts? | 32 | ||
| Structuring A Fiction Text | 34 | ||
| Contrast, Conflict and Resolution | 35 | ||
| Forming an interpretation: evaluating a text | 36 | ||
| How Do you Interpret and Evaluate a Text? | 36 | ||
| The Language of Evaluation | 37 | ||
| Support Ideas Using Evidence from the Text | 38 | ||
| PEE and PEA | 38 | ||
| Chapter 3: Paper 1, Section B: Writing descriptive and narrative texts | 41 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 41 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 41 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 41 | ||
| Register and Voice | 41 | ||
| Effective descriptive writing | 42 | ||
| What makes a Description Leave a Strong Impression on the Reader? | 42 | ||
| Show Don’t Tell | 42 | ||
| Describing a Person | 43 | ||
| Creating atmosphere and mood | 44 | ||
| How Do Language Features such as Punctuation or Varied Sentences Create Effects? | 44 | ||
| Rhetorical Questions | 44 | ||
| Repetition | 45 | ||
| Generating ideas and structuring a description | 46 | ||
| How Can you use the Stimulus given to you in the Exam Effectively? | 46 | ||
| Word Chains | 46 | ||
| First Lines | 46 | ||
| Structure Your Description | 47 | ||
| Creating convincing characters and voices | 48 | ||
| How Can you make your Characters Convincing and Vivid? | 48 | ||
| First Impressions | 48 | ||
| Point of View and Voice | 49 | ||
| Generating ideas and structuring a narrative | 50 | ||
| How Can you Plan a Story? | 50 | ||
| Create a Plot | 51 | ||
| Other Narrative Decisions | 51 | ||
| Different Narrative Approaches | 51 | ||
| Flashbacks | 52 | ||
| Chapter 4: Paper 2, Section A: reading non-fiction texts | 53 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 53 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 53 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 53 | ||
| Sources | 54 | ||
| Source A: Twenty-First Century Non-Fiction | 54 | ||
| Source B: Nineteenth-Century Non-Fiction | 55 | ||
| Identifying correct information | 56 | ||
| How Should you Deal with the Question? | 56 | ||
| Summarising and synthesising from two texts | 58 | ||
| How Can you Compare Two Texts? | 58 | ||
| Approaches | 58 | ||
| Summarising | 58 | ||
| Using Language to Compare | 58 | ||
| Understanding persuasive language | 60 | ||
| How Should you Analyse Persuasive Language in aText? | 60 | ||
| Analysing Devices and Sentence Structures | 61 | ||
| Comparing writers’ viewpoints and techniques | 62 | ||
| How Can you Compare Attitudes and Techniques in Two Texts? | 62 | ||
| Comparing Attitudes | 62 | ||
| Identifying Style and Techniques | 62 | ||
| Writing About Structure | 63 | ||
| Chapter 5: Paper 2, Section B: Writing to present a viewpoint | 65 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 65 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 65 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 65 | ||
| What is writing to express a viewpoint? | 66 | ||
| What are ‘expressing’ and ‘persuading’? | 66 | ||
| Register and Tone | 66 | ||
| Key features of non-fiction texts expressing a viewpoint | 68 | ||
| What Language Techniques are Effective in Expressing a Viewpoint? | 68 | ||
| Rhetorical Devices | 68 | ||
| Providing Evidence | 68 | ||
| Direct Appeals and Calls to Action | 69 | ||
| Using language to argue or persuade | 70 | ||
| How Can Language Techniques Strengthen an Argument? | 70 | ||
| Figurative Language | 70 | ||
| Emotive Language | 70 | ||
| Using different types of sentences | 72 | ||
| How Can Sentence Types add Impact to your Writing? | 72 | ||
| Simple Sentences | 72 | ||
| Compound Sentences | 72 | ||
| Complex (Subordinated) Sentences | 72 | ||
| Using punctuation to persuade | 74 | ||
| How Can Punctuation Help you get your Meaning Across? | 74 | ||
| Full Stops | 74 | ||
| Commas to Clarify | 74 | ||
| Dashes and Parentheses | 74 | ||
| Semicolons and Colons | 75 | ||
| Question and Exclamation Marks | 75 | ||
| Using structures creatively | 76 | ||
| How Can Structure Convey your Message? | 76 | ||
| Structure within Paragraphs | 76 | ||
| Connectives | 76 | ||
| Overall Structure | 77 | ||
| Chapter 6: GCSE English Language practice papers | 79 | ||
| Introduction | 79 | ||
| Paper 1 | 79 | ||
| Paper 2 | 79 | ||
| Paper 1: Explorations in creative reading and writing | 80 | ||
| Source A | 80 | ||
| Section A: Reading | 82 | ||
| Section B: Writing | 83 | ||
| Paper 2: Writer’s viewpoints and perspectives | 84 | ||
| Source A | 84 | ||
| Source B | 85 | ||
| Section A: Reading | 86 | ||
| Section B: Writing | 87 | ||
| Part Three: GCSE English Literature | 88 | ||
| Chapter 7: The basics: Core Literature skills and effects | 88 | ||
| How to comment on texts and use quotations | 88 | ||
| Using Quotations | 88 | ||
| Develop A Critical Style | 89 | ||
| Plan Your Response | 89 | ||
| Writing about settings and contexts | 90 | ||
| Context in Shakespeare | 90 | ||
| Context in the Nineteenth-Century Novel | 90 | ||
| Context in Modern Texts | 91 | ||
| What are Setting and Atmosphere and How do they Link to Mood and Tone? | 91 | ||
| How to write about characters | 92 | ||
| Character in Shakespeare | 92 | ||
| Narrative Viewpoint and Voice in a Novel | 92 | ||
| Stage Directions in Dramatic Texts | 93 | ||
| How to write about themes | 94 | ||
| Themes in Shakespeare | 94 | ||
| How are Themes Revealed in the Plays? | 94 | ||
| Themes in Novels and Modern Drama | 94 | ||
| Recording Evidence | 95 | ||
| Writing about structure and plot | 96 | ||
| Structure | 96 | ||
| Structure in Shakespeare | 96 | ||
| Structure in Novels and Modern Drama | 97 | ||
| Commenting on Key Literary Techniques | 98 | ||
| Literary Technique: Image | 98 | ||
| Literary Technique: Metaphor | 98 | ||
| Literary Technique: Symbolism | 98 | ||
| Literary Technique: Dramatic Irony | 99 | ||
| Vocabulary Choices | 99 | ||
| Sentence Structure | 99 | ||
| Chapter 8: Paper 1, Sections A and B: Shakespeare and the\rnineteenth-century novel | 101 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 101 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 101 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 101 | ||
| Writing about an extract and then the whole text | 102 | ||
| Responding to the Shakespeare Extract | 102 | ||
| Responding to the Nineteenth-Century Novel Extract | 103 | ||
| Tracing themes, viewpoints and perspectives | 104 | ||
| Themes and Viewpoints in Shakespeare | 104 | ||
| Themes and Attitudes in the Nineteenth-Century Novel | 104 | ||
| Tackling Shakespeare’s language | 106 | ||
| Reading Blank Verse | 106 | ||
| The Role of Imagery | 107 | ||
| Chapter 9: Paper 2, Section A: Modern prose and drama | 109 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 109 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 109 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 109 | ||
| Types of question and how to respond to them | 110 | ||
| Decoding A Character-Based Question | 110 | ||
| Decoding A Theme-Based Question | 111 | ||
| Tracing themes and characters across a text | 112 | ||
| Tracing Character Development | 112 | ||
| Responding Effectively | 112 | ||
| How Themes Develop | 113 | ||
| Tackling modern drama structures | 114 | ||
| The Five-Point Story Design | 114 | ||
| The Importance of Setting | 116 | ||
| Chapter 10: Paper 2, Section B: Poetry from the AQA anthology | 117 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 117 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 117 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 117 | ||
| Key poetic techniques | 118 | ||
| Metre, Rhythm and Rhyme | 118 | ||
| Imagery | 119 | ||
| Comparing poems | 120 | ||
| Choosing a Second Poem | 120 | ||
| Approaches to Comparison | 120 | ||
| Chapter 11: Paper 2, Section C: Unseen poetry | 123 | ||
| What’s it all about? | 123 | ||
| Timing and Approach | 123 | ||
| Earning the Marks | 123 | ||
| Tackling an unseen poem | 124 | ||
| Stage 1: Read The Poem and The Question | 124 | ||
| Stage 2: Make Notes and Annotations on the page | 124 | ||
| Stage 3: Write Your Response | 125 | ||
| Comparing unseen poems | 128 | ||
| What Should you do in the Exam? | 128 | ||
| Comparing the Poems | 128 | ||
| Chapter 12: GCSE English Literature practice papers | 131 | ||
| Paper 1, Section A: Extract questions on Shakespeare | 131 | ||
| Macbeth | 131 | ||
| Romeo and Juliet | 131 | ||
| The Tempest | 131 | ||
| The Merchant of Venice | 132 | ||
| Much Ado about Nothing | 132 | ||
| Julius Caesar | 132 | ||
| Paper 1, Section B: Extract questions on the nineteenth-century novel | 133 | ||
| Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | 133 | ||
| Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol | 133 | ||
| Charles Dickens: Great Expectations | 133 | ||
| Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre | 134 | ||
| Mary Shelley: Frankenstein | 134 | ||
| Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice | 134 | ||
| Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of the Four | 135 | ||
| Paper 2, Section A: Modern prose and drama | 135 | ||
| J. B. Priestley: An Inspector Calls | 135 | ||
| Willy Russell: Blood Brothers | 135 | ||
| Alan Bennett: The History Boys | 135 | ||
| Dennis Kelly: Dna | 136 | ||
| Simon Stephens: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | 136 | ||
| Shelagh Delaney: A Taste of Honey | 136 | ||
| William Golding: Lord of the Flies | 136 | ||
| AQA Anthology: Telling Tales | 136 | ||
| George Orwell: Animal Farm | 137 | ||
| Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go | 137 | ||
| Meera Syal: Anita and Me | 137 | ||
| Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English | 137 | ||
| Paper 2, Section B: Comparing anthology poems | 138 | ||
| Paper 2, Section C: Unseen poetry | 138 | ||
| Answers | 141 | ||
| Glossary | 162 | ||
| Back Cover | Back Cover |