GCSE English Literature: 4 Smart Revision Tips

GCSE English Literature is a difficult subject. Students are sometimes so focused on English Language and other disciplines that literature can fall to the wayside during revision. You must also be well-versed in various works, such as Shakespeare’s plays and poetry.

Finally, because you cannot bring the books to the exams, you must memorise quotations for the materials. All of this can be overwhelming. But don’t worry, we’ve got everything covered.

Here are some revision hacks for GCSE English Literature:

Begin Your GCSE English Literature Revision Early

Although this first recommendation may seem self-evident, many students put off English revision until the exams’ last few weeks (or even days). Because there is so much to learn, this is a big oversight. Our advice is to get started as soon as possible. That is, from the beginning of the eleventh year.

Don’t worry; you won’t have to spend hours revising every week. Allot at least an hour each week for a book review throughout the year. In the months leading up to your examinations, you’ll need to increase this time.

Starting early and revising regularly will ensure that you retain what you learned in school and greatly expand your knowledge. Using the rest of our revision tips will improve your exam technique.

Consistency Is Key

With our second top recommendation—revising consistently throughout the year—you can give yourself a shot for success if you start early. This is a challenging undertaking that necessitates a great deal of perseverance and self-control.

Still, if you can revise for an hour or two every week and then increase your revision as the examinations approach, you’ll notice a steady and impressive increase in your grades.

It’s similar to how a professional athlete prepares for competition. They train regularly, and with a laser-like focus on the skills and abilities they require to achieve. To attain full potential, we must do the same with our revision.

Improve Your Work By Marking It

Make sure you mark your work after you’ve finished your practice questions. Use the mark schemes provided on the test board’s websites to mark your answers and concentrate on what the examiner will be searching for in each question.

Make some notes on how you could improve your grade, and then retake the test. Implement the changes you identified in the mark scheme. After that, you can have your teacher grade the final version to evaluate how well you did.

This is one of the most effective methods for GCSE English revision. You can achieve it, but it will take dedication and focus. It’s all about consistency and effective revision once more. Moreover, you can take a step further by signing for a GCSE English language online in the UK.

Regularly Practice Test Questions

This leads us to revision trick number eight: practice exam-style questions throughout the year and do many of them in the weeks leading up to the tests. Your exam board’s website has a wealth of past and sample exam papers. Additional questions can be asked of your teacher or tutor, who will gladly answer them.

Start by writing the best answer you can—don’t worry about time or using your notes at this point. Then, as your confidence grows, begin timing your responses and completing them without using review notes. When you put in enough practice time, it will become second nature.

GCSE English Literature Conclusion

Finally, talk about your GCSE English Literature exam. It’s all too easy to become secluded in your revising world, working alone. Make sure you talk to a friend, older siblings, or a teacher about the texts and exam questions. You can ask a lot of questions to receive new suggestions, and they may ask you questions that cause you to think about texts in new ways.

Remember, SchoolOnline provides professional video tutorials to help GCSE and KS2 students gain confidence and valuable English abilities. Sign up for our GCSE English language online tuition today!