So - what is English Language? It’s easy, right? We speak it, we write it. But for GCSE, it’s a bit more:

• It’s the reading and writing of different texts, both fiction and non-fiction, from story extracts through to historical texts from the 19th century.
• You might be given the task of reading or writing a speech, or perhaps a letter or a leaflet. You need to know your texts!

What do you have to do?

• You will have to read and analyse different texts – thinking about language, structure, and ideas. You might be asked to compare, too, depending on your examination.
• Knowing about how texts work will be useful too – for example, understanding different terms (and not just adjective!) and why a text has been written – remember audience, purpose, form… these will be familiar terms.

How will I be assessed?

During this portion of the course we explain the different assessment adjectives (AOs) and provide examples to give you a better understanding:

Reading:

AO1: this is about how you select information and make sense of it – whether it is obvious in a text or not.

AO2: here, you need to explain, comment on and analyse language and structure – and use those techniques you know so well.

AO3: don’t despair – this is compare! This means looking at writers’ ideas to see how they are similar or different.

AO4: evaluate! You might be given an idea to discuss, to see how far you agree with it.

Writing:

AO5: the way you communicate, based on tone, style and content. Often, people think about this as what you write.

AO6: spelling, punctuation and grammar – the nuts and bolts of your writing. If you like, the how.