Revise English Literature

Know your full texts.

Ensure you can answer the following questions for all three texts studied: Shakespeare, nineteenth century novel, modern text.

Method (A02): Plot (AO1/AO3)

1) Write down up to ten pivotal moments from the plot in chronological order.
2) Consider why the writer chose this particular order of events.
3) Write down the pivotal moments in order of importance.
4) Consider why you think these events are the most/least important.

Message (AO1/AO3): Themes

1) Write down the key themes of the text.
2) For each key theme, write down the key events which demonstrate each theme.
3) For each key theme, write down what the writer’s message is at the beginning, during the course of and at the end of the text.
4) Consider how the message changes and why it changes.

Method (AO2): Characterisation (AO1/AO3)

1) Write down the characters in the text in order of appearance.
2) Consider why the writer chose to present the characters in this order.
3) Write down the characters in order of importance.
4) Consider why you think these characters are the most/least important.
5) Write down which characters are similar and which characters are different.
6) Consider why the writer does this – what does the writer want to say about people of a particular social group, background or personality?
7) For each character, make a list of each theme that they link to.
8) Consider what the character teaches the audience about the theme.
9) For each character, write down some sophisticated adjectives to summarise how they are presented at the beginning, during the course of and at the end of the play.
10) Consider how the characters change and why the writer has done this.

Power and Conflict Poetry

Some useful strategies:

Ensure you know your poems. Primarily, use your poetry anthology and your class notes to revise these.
Ensure you are aware of how the poems demonstrate ideas about power and conflict.
Draw connections between the poems’ themes. Which ones are similar? How/why? Which ones are different? How/why?
What is the most important line in the poem? Why?
What is the structure of the poem? How does it begin and end? Are there any key changes/shifts? Why?
Identify and revise two key techniques used in each poem to demonstrate power and/or conflict.

Useful websites

The following websites are useful for all three texts:

www.massolit.io – All pupils should have the sign in information.
https://getrevising.co.uk/resources/level/gcse
www.sparknotes.com
revisionworld.com
GCSE-English.com (channel available on You Tube.)
A useful article on how to revise for English (and other subjects): https://www.teachwire.net/news/yes-you-absolutely-can-revise-for-english-gcses-heres-how
A useful article on Literature character revision: https://www.teachwire.net/news/delve-deeper-into-gcse-texts-by-studying-secondary-characters
Pupils can also download the app Gojimo which offers a range of revision resources and quizzes.
GCSE pod (available through the school website.)

Revision Guides

Useful revision guides are all available on Amazon or they can also be ordered through the school: