This is a simple handout to provide AQA GCSE students with timings as to how long they should spend on each question and section of both AQA Language Papers 1 & 2. Ensure your student allows time to answer all of the questions in order to not lose valuable marks by missing questions due to a lack of time management!

This is a visual revision resource aimed at GCSE students for Language Paper 1 (AQA) Question 3 on structure. However, knowledge of these structural devices will also contribute to composing higher-level responses for Question 4, and enable students to use them in their own creative piece for Question 5. Designed with AQA in mind, this can be easily adapted and used for students sitting English Language for any exam board, including Edexcel and OCR. Created for revision purposes with students in mind who have already covered the definitions of these devices, and how they function within a text. It includes a colourful chart with some illustrations to engage the student’s mind and stand out visually! All feedback very welcome!

A sample GCSE Writing task (Question 5) for the AQA Language Paper 2, asking the student to write a formal letter. Great for younger students too! All feedback welcome!

This is a step-by-step guide to answering Question 4 of AQA Language Paper 1, including Skills Descriptors and Buzz Words & Statements. This question is worth a total of 20 marks, and so is worth spending the time getting familiar with.

This is a simple handout filled with appropriate vocab for students to use when writing formal letters. Aimed at GCSE students primarily for the AQA Language Paper 2 Writing section (Question 5), but can be easily used for other boards too. All feedback welcome!

This is a simple table outlining the aspects of a PEEL paragraph and what each step requires. Great to introduce the PEEL paragraph structure and also a good revision aid, this handout aids students to structure their writing to meet the GCSE English Language and Literature grading requirements. Helpful for lower ability groups too, and as a simple template for students to use to cement the PEEL paragraph writing technique. This can be adapted for PEAL paragraphs too, replacing the explanation step with analysis instead.

This is a simple mind map to aid students with the revision of key features needed when writing an article. Specifically designed with AQA GCSE students in mind for the Writing section of Language Paper 2 (Question 5), this can also be used for students sitting any exam board at this level. Also great for younger students when teaching article writing. All feedback welcome!

This is a revision exercise to aid GCSE students with writing formal letters. Specifically designed with AQA GCSE students in mind, preparing to sit AQA Language paper 2, this is great revision for the Writing section (Question 5). Easily useful for students sitting other exam boards too, and younger students learning the key features of formal letters. All feedback welcome!

This is a handout designed for GCSE students to help with sentence starters, vocab and phrases when analysing Literature set texts and Poetry. Great for revision and for aiding essay technique! All feedback welcome!

This is a great worksheet to help aid students to reach higher marks in their descriptive writing by using higher level vocab, i.e. colour synonyms. Primarily aimed at GCSE students for the Writing section of AQA Language Paper 1, this resource is really useful for students sitting other exam boards too and even younger and lower ability students. All feedback welcome!

This resource highlights the distinction in tone, style, language, and literary devices needed to write both newspaper and magazine articles for English Language GCSE students. Designed with Edexcel and AQA in mind, this resource is easily adaptable for other exam boards too where article writing is required. This will walk the student through the purpose of newspaper and magazine articles, what tone, style, and language features are necessary for both, and includes some useful tips to help plan and write a finished article to a high standard.

This is a simple planning grid to aid students with planning a descriptive piece for the Writing section (Question 5) of AQA Language Paper 1. Appropriate for alternative exam boards too. All feedback welcome!

This is a useful handout that reminds the student of the PEEL/PEAL paragraph process and explains how to embed quotations in exam question responses. It highlights the difference between using a colon to introduce a quotation and embedding a quotation. This resource explains the purpose of using a quotation, lists some advice for using quotations, and explains how to begin embedding a quotation by using a ‘signal phrase’. At the end is a handy word bank to aid the fluid embedding of quotations. Designed with GCSE students in mind, this resource is fantastic for introducing how to use quotations, exploring the different ways these can be integrated in exam question responses, and as a revision tool to aid with structuring writing.

This is a great resource for younger students and GCSE students alike. Having explored the different word types already with a student, this activity asks the student to consider what certain word type category underlined or highlighted words fit into, given the sentence they are used in. This activity is based on Seamus Heaney’s poem, ‘Storm on the Island’, which is from the AQA GCSE ‘Power & Conflict’ poetry cluster. This activity gets the student to not only become more familiar and confident with their word types, but also engages the student in looking at some poetry too. It also teaches the student that certain words are not always considered to be the same word type, but change in accordance with how/in what context the word is used. The lesson could then progress into an analysis of the poem, or simply be used to cement learning word types. All feedback welcome!

This is a great lesson starter aimed at GCSE students to help with the Unseen Poetry section of their Literature exams. This resource offers up an essay question on the included poem, ‘Nettles’ by Vernon Scannell, and walks the student through the PEAL paragraph process to address this question, including a planning grid. All feedback welcome!

This is a great lesson starter aimed at GCSE students to help with the Unseen Poetry section of their Literature exams. This resource offers up an essay question on the included poem, ‘Hard Frost’ by Andrew John Young, and walks the student through the PEAL paragraph process to address this question, including a planning grid. All feedback welcome!

This includes 2 planning grids with a step-by-step guide as to how to approach a comparative essay on GCSE Poetry Anthologies. This explains the step-by-step process whether a student is being taught to write in PEAL/PEEL or PETER paragraphs. Aimed at AQA, Edexcel and OCR GCSE students for Literature papers. All feedback welcome!

This is a great resource for younger students and GCSE students alike. Having explored the different word types already with a student, this activity asks the student to consider what certain word type category underlined or highlighted words fit into, given the sentence they are used in. This activity is based on Blake’s poem, ‘A Poison Tree’, which is included in the Edexcel GCSE ‘Conflict’ poetry cluster. This activity gets the student to not only become more familiar and confident with their word types, but also engages the student in looking at some poetry too. It also teaches the student that certain words are not always considered to be the same word type, but change in accordance with how/in what context the word is used. The lesson could then progress into an analysis of the poem, or simply be used to cement learning word types. All feedback welcome!

This is a SAM AQA Language Paper 1 question for the Writing section of the paper, supported with an example descriptive piece I wrote myself for my students. The descriptive piece is designed to explore the 5 Phase planning structure, as laid out in the ‘AQA GCSE 9-1 English Language and Literature Revision and Exam Practice’, Scholastic, 2017. The lesson idea would be to look at the 5 Phase Planning Sheet (based on the AQA GCSE 9-1…’), discuss the purpose of these phases, read the SAM question, and then read the example descriptive piece to annotate. The student can then see how the writer can move seamlessly through these 5 phases, and also note the importance of figurative language (including metaphors, similes, personification, juxtaposition etc), which is needed to score the higher marks. The 5 Phase planning grid and the concept of these phases have been taken from the ‘AQA GCSE 9-1 English Language and Literature Revision and Exam Practice’, Scholastic, 2017’. However, the descriptive piece answer is entirely my own work. This can be easily adapted for other exam boards too. All feedback welcome, and I hope this is of some use for teachers, tutors and students alike!

This is a poetry analysis methodology for GCSE English Literature students that aids the consideration of the primary elements of poetry: meaning, imagery, tone, structure, and language. The first item in this resource acts as an introduction to poetry analysis and, later, a study and revision aid to enable fluent analysis of poetry. It is ideal for Unseen Poetry (or poems from the associating poetry clusters usually included in English Literature Paper 2, but currently removed due to COVID). This guide breaks down poetry analysis into 5 primary areas of focus, highlighting some of the aspects to consider for each of these broad criteria. It introduces and aids revision of key poetic techniques, and encourages critical thinking and individual interpretation of how the poet employs these techniques. It also requires the student to think about how all of these devices and aspects of the poem contribute to the overall meaning of the poem, and how the poet uses these techniques to explore the themes pervading the text. The second item is a blank template for the student to note down ideas, devices, and aspects they notice in the poem they are working through during the lesson. This can then be repeated to cement poetry analysis skills, and used as revision or homework exercises to help hone students’ independent work. Although this is created with poetry analysis in mind, all of these areas of enquiry are relevant when analysing any literary text, so this provides students with the foundational skills necessary to approach both poetry and prose. It is also very useful to work through this prior to approaching Shakespeare. The skills covered in this resource are transportable and fundamental to both English Literature and Language GSCE.