This book is a superb all-in-one guide to success GCSE English Language and English Literature - GCSE English 2003

Revision Summary
Section One — Writing Essays

Every now and then throughout this book, you'll find pages like this one. They may look a bit dull, but they're really important, so DON'T SKIPTHEM. You've read the section, and you've done the warm-up questions, but you need to do these ones too to see how much you know. There are no answers to look up for these, so you'd better be certain you know exactly what the answers are from the section — you can look up the bits you didn't know. Check them, and do the whole lot again until you get 100% correct. GO.

1) Write down every type of essay you have to do for English GCSE.

2) What's the difference between an 'arguing' essay and an 'explaining' essay?

3) Explain what 'speaking and listening' exercises are.

4) Why is planning your essays a good idea?

5) Should your plan be written in proper sentences? Why?

6) How long (roughly) should you spend planning an essay?

7) Complete this sentence — "A good plan needs an introduction, a middle bit and a … ".

8) What should a good introduction do?

9) Should the question you're answering play a part in your introduction?

10) Why should you try to grab the reader's attention right at the start of your essay?

11) Why should you write your essays using paragraphs?

12) Say why your ideas need to flow clearly from paragraph to paragraph.

13) Write a definition of what 'formal' writing is.

14) Rewrite the following sentence so that it is formal and grammatically correct — "theres no way lady macbeth was a really nice woman cos she was well bossy with her fella"

15) "Duncan was as dead as the dodo" — what's wrong with the second half of this sentence and why?

16) Explain why there is no single writing style you can practise for your 'original writing' essays.

17) Why do you need to give evidence for the points you make in your essays?

18) Why do you need to say where you got your quotes from?

19) Do you need to use quotation marks when you paraphrase someone else's words?

20) What should a good conclusion do for your reader?

21) Explain why it's a good idea to leave yourself time at the end of the exam to check through your essay.

22) What's the best thing to do if you realise that the essay you've written (in an exam) has failed to answer the question?

23) Explain why you need to spend more time checking and polishing your coursework essays than your exam essays.