Here’s the beginning. Hope you like it. Something wasn’t right. The van didn’t belong here. It stood out, orange in the sun’s haze, and seemingly brand new. Although it’s windows were clean and unbroken, in dramatic contrast to the house, I could see no one inside. Yet the engine growled menacingly, like some hunting leopard, crouched in the scorched grass. Standing miserably beside the VW was a dilapidated house, squashed and ripped, a toddler’s discarded Christmas present chucked away as soon as opened. The windows, cracked into sharp and jagged pieces, looked out at me like a miserable face. Its brickwork appeared shoddy, built by workmen who knew they wouldn’t be paid much for doing a good job. One sad door hung on its hinges, groaning like a teenager watching a black and white film. Above, the roof sagged and decayed, revealing wooden struts to the merciless midday sun.

Here is the beginning. I hope you like it. The Swindle Kanye was exhausted. Another night shepherding the most photographed woman in the world around the Paris nightlife. Nothing was private. No trips to the patisserie or the boulangerie, no casual stroll to the Eifel tower, no romantic walk along the Seine. No, treats were ordered in; the atmosphere was artificial and air conditioned, in SUVs with blacked out windows. Even the Lamborghini involved endless goes at the outfits, each one posed and carefully styled for Instagram, before he could even turn the engine on. Tanya, the make-up artist, and Tony, the very camp dresser, would be called for 20 minutes before the photographs, taken with professional lighting and made to feel authentic by the hand held iPhone, limited edition – a diamond encrusted gift from Apple. Priceless. Like the jewellery – diamonds from Tiffany’s. Yes, the rich got richer. Everything Kim touched turned to gold, or platinum, or diamond. Always in the headlines, always in the press, but much more importantly, always on social media – Snapchat, InstaG, Facebook, Whatsapp – she might just as well have invented them all. She played them all, like a grand master, moving pieces around countless boards, seeing patterns and moves that took him days to catch on to. She made sure the paparazzi were everywhere, and where they weren’t, her social media stepped in like a presidential campaign. Everything and anything to keep Kim in the news.

What this resource includes: Mnemonic to remember rhetorical, persuasive techniques: MAD FATHERS CROCH How to plan an answer 9 skills necessary in a top answer The mark scheme explained Model answer, grade 6 Model answer, grade 9 Model answer, annotated and explained Why exam topics will never be interesting Sample topics and question Here is the beginning of the model text: Annotated 100% Model: Writing to Inform Every actor wants to be Tom Cruise, and every actress longs to be Jenifer Lawrence. So why settle for Danny Dyer and Letitia Dean? 1. Contrasting pair 2. Rhetorical question 3. Alliteration You wouldn’t, and you shouldn’t. It’s exactly the same thing with revision guides. Yes, they come with pretty pictures, and jokes, and everything is chunk sized so that it fits a single page. Emotive language Repetition Triplets Creating an enemy But do they push you, pull you, and propel you to get a grade 8 or 9? Alliteration Contrast Triplet You’ve spotted that’s a rhetorical question, but do you know the other 14 rhetorical devices? Direct address Contrasting pair Rhetorical question Mr Salles won’t just list them: by the time you finish his guide, you will know them by heart. Fact. Contrasting pair Direct address Opinion Mr Salles believes that all students can ace the English language exam; that every student can learn from beyond grade 9 answers that are properly explained; that every student can remember if they are shown how. Emotive language Triplet Repetition

What this resource includes: Sample question 6 Steps: Just tell me what to do The mark scheme explained Mnemonic for persuasive techniques: MAD FATHERS CROCH 19th century text Original modern text Perfect model answer to teach from, 530 words Perfect model answer annotated and explained How to analyse a writer’s tone How to infer Here is the beginning of the model answer: Model Answer Dominic Salles uses direct address to take the reader on a journey around the city, “as you walk the battlements”. While Salles tours this city, Dickens uses direct address to take the reader to the centre of Greenwich fair, “imagine yourself… in the very centre and heart of the fair.” Both writers therefore experience the city on foot. This metaphor, and the positive connotations of “heart”, imply that the fair will be a joyous experience. Salles begins with similar praise, using the hyperbole of the reader “gasping at the beauty of the town.” However, Salles takes the reader on a series of experiences which will make the reader wish to leave. Thus the alliteration of “cramped and crowded” lanes emphasises how little you might enjoy walking the streets. He uses the threatening simile of tourists “swarming like locusts” to convey his horror at being trapped in the crowds. In contrast, Dickens celebrates being in “an extremely dense crowd”, using language from the semantic field of play, so that the crowd “swings you to and fro” like a game, before delivering you to the “centre”.

The document contains every word spoken by the witches, or about them. Very useful for annotation. However, each page is highlighted with the most relevant quotations. The real merit of this resource is the video which goes with it. Students can take notes from this and consider; The context of Jacobean England. King James and his views on witchcraft. Shakespeare’s possible view of witchcraft. Shakespeare’s politics. The nature of the patriarchal society and Shakespeare’s possible views on this. How the witches mirror Lady Macbeth.

How to write an article. This shows students how to move from grades 5 to 6, 6 to 7, 7 to 8 and 9. It also teaches 10 techniques that will get students grades 7 and above: Start each sentence with a different word Write about the future Not only…but Show me…show me Pair your verbs for emphasis Extend your simile or metaphor Anecdote The contrasting power of ‘but’ Humorous comparison Go to town on triplets. More anecdotes. Load your sentences with techniques which fit

This complete scheme of work teaches students through: Lesson activities to develop the skills of reading and writing Examiners's advice as well as the criteria Links to demonstration videos Ways to improve spelling and punctuation Assessments Model answers of varying quality for students to assess and improve A teaching sequence to use and remember Rhetorical techniques A mnemonic to remember these techniques: AH!FASTERCROCH A PLC (Personal Learning Checklist)

What This Resource Includes 11 Steps: Just Tell Me What to Do Sample Question What the mark scheme says Why students should always write about complex sentences How to write great complex sentences in students’ own writing How to write about contrast and juxtaposition Model text, based on Brighton Rock 3 Further texts for practice: Little Dorrit, Oliver Twist, Household Worlds extracts Model Answer, to get 100% Model Answer which can be written in the 12 minute time limit, to get 100% 15 skills to learn from the model answer How to move on from PEE paragraphs so students can write more in fewer words, and sound like an expert 10 great jokes

What the resource includes: 13 Steps: Just tell me what to do. These steps will make sure any story or description is at least grade 7 Sample question What does the mark scheme say? Translated for students to understand. Model Answer, at under 600 words, possible for a student to write under exam conditions. The Importance of Planning the Ending - this is much easier than planning the whole story, especially under exam conditions. 11 things the model teaches, and that the examiner really wants Where do ideas come from? Guidance on how to get started. 3 great jokes

Here’s the beginning. Hope you like it. Tycoon I loved being a Geezer, a wheeler, a dealer. Loved it. Every Christmas we’d celebrate; a great family get together. And I was always The Man, Top Dog, El Numero Uno. I started out in stations, really small. You’d barely notice me: one more ant in the ant hive. Nostalgia was my USP then. I set up as a shoe shine boy and many passengers enjoyed the anachronistic joke. I made a few bob. But coins, and I wanted some of the folding. Who doesn’t love money? The crisp feel of it, fresh out of the bank. And then it hit me. The Victorians. Top hats, bowler hats, starched collars, canes. I started to dress the part, and the customers began to flood in. What next? Moved to a bigger station: King’s Cross, then franchised a mate in Euston.

Here’s the beginning. Hope you like it. Amarillo Slim So it happens one time in Mindy’s, which is a favourite with many prominent citizens on Broadway, when I get to talking to Amarillo Slim about this and that. Amarillo Slim is well known to one and all on account of his nose for the Vig. Indeed, many have got plenty potatoes following Slim’s nose and like many citizens, I am always happy to put more potatoes in my pockets. I notice Slim is not holding his whiskey and soda, which is his usual liquor, but is holding a bottle of cola which, as most citizens will tell you, does not offer a good time. Slim talks about this and that, being mostly horses, and five card stud, and I notice he has the Daily Post open to a page that has no horses on it. Slim says nothing about this and I ask him about the disappearing whiskey. He says, “you should try this cola, there’s plenty potatoes here.” Slim is not seen at Mindy’s for some time, but I get to think about him anyway, because he leaves behind the Daily Post open to a page on table tennis, which is little followed on Broadway. Indeed, there are many guys and dolls who suppose it is another name for making eyes and sneaking peaks at each other in a crowded restaurant when plans are made without words.

What this resource includes: Mnemonic to remember rhetorical, persuasive techniques: MAD FATHERS CROCH How to plan an answer 9 skills necessary in a top answer The mark scheme explained Model answer Model answer, annotated and explained Why exam topics will never be interesting Sample topics and question Here is the beginning of the text: Countdown to Grammar Schools I’ll have an opinion please Rachel. And a hyperbole. And another hyperbole. Yes, now an opinion…(repetition) Michael, you have a six letter word: Brexit. Congratulations. Yes, it is now in the dictionary. And Theresa, you have a seven letter word: grammar, where would we be without it? Congratulations, you are today’s winner. (anecdote and humour) And so we sprint towards an uncertain future, stiffened by the shouts of opinion and hyperbole: parents of progress or decline? The countdown clock will tell. (several metaphors, using emotive language, alliteration, contrasting pairs) But what if we count up, instead of down? What if we looked at some numerical facts about grammar schools? What if, unlike the fact-free Brexit debate, everything we needed to know were contained in one place, indeed, one spreadsheet? Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Gov.uk performance tables. Make yourselves at home in a world of facts.* (rhetorical questions, rule of three, creating an enemy, alliteration, emotive language, direct address, metaphor)* Opinion 1: grammar schools increase social mobility. Fact: The number of disadvantaged students in year 11 in selective schools in 2015 was 1389, 4% of their year 11. Social mobility, or mobility scooter? How do these students do? With these cherry picked few, 89% make expected progress in English, and similarly in maths. Not shabby. So, for disadvantaged students, grammar schools could work, if only they could push through the weighted doors. We need to dramatically increase their number. *(fact and opinion, statistics, metaphor, contrasting pairs, emotive language, metaphor, direct address) * By this stage, then, I have already used all the rhetorical techniques in MAD FATHERS CROCH. That’s in the first 215 words. You have 45 minutes, in which you ought to be able to write double this length. If you practise using these techniques, one at a time, they will become second nature to you. Here is an interesting fact for you. Yes, I am an English teacher, but I have only been commissioned to write articles since I published my book on the 15th of August 2016. In other words, the only training I have had in using these techniques is teaching them in class. This means that over the course of year 10 and 11 you can practise them at least as many times as I have.

AO1: The Ability to Quote and Explore Interpretations, Including Personal Response The presentation takes students through these four skills: Begin with the author’s purpose Link the author’s purpose to symbolism Refer to the characters as a construct Propose an alternative interpretation Watch my video to see how to teach it.

This resource includes two model pieces of writing, one at grade 6, the other at grade 9. Apart from the marking criteria, the grade 6 is characterised as such because it has several weaknesses: It’s too short for 40 minutes of writing Too many paragraphs start the same way Too many sentences start the same way There are few rhetorical devices (MAD FATHERS CROCH) Although it shows off with commas, it doesn’t show off other punctuation Although the beginning is a little original, the ending isn’t Paragraphs are organized, but not crafted for impact The grade 9 piece is divided into one sentence per slide, to show 3 rhetorical devices in each, which are made explicit. These are rhetorical devices contained in the mnemonic MAD FATHERS CROCH. The most powerful one of these, in that it helps facilitate most of the others, is the use of Triplets. There are also two instructional videos for this resource, one aimed at why students get stuck at grade 6. The other is explicit about how to get grade 9.

This story is written to model exactly what students should do to write a story that they can finish within 40 minutes, which is roughly the amount of writing time they get at GCSE. There are no published stories of around 500 words, so I have begun to write my own. Writing one on a real character takes away the fear of planning - students already know how the story starts. There are three copies of the story: 1. Without any annotation 2. With a key to the annotations which teach a range of skills many English teachers ignore: a. The Power of Verbs b. How to introduce the character in an interesting way c How to use humour, not jokes d How to build tension using contrast and juxtaposition e How dialogue must reveal character before plot f The power of repetition and rule of three, or triplets, in building a rhythm h Paragraphing for impact 3. With a key to the annotations which teach the more conventional story writing skills: a. Metaphor b. Similes c. Personification d. Alliteration e. Assonance, Half Rhyme and Hidden Alliteration Finally, you also get a completely free video on how to teach this at: http://bit.ly/WriteAboutARealCharacter The PowerPoint slides which teach this lesson, and which I use in the video are available as a separate resource.

This comprehensive analysis of all 5 questions breaks down AQA Paper 2 into a series of very clear do's and don'ts that students and teachers can easily follow. Examples accompany the advice. The PowerPoint slides are all linked to videos on my YouTube channel, Mr Salles Teaches English, so it is much easier to see how to apply the advice.

Teach students how to write about sentence forms. How to narrow this down to complex sentences, and see why nearly any description will have a list. How to write about the effect on the reader. See three texts which use complex sentences in a list. Teach students how good writers use complex sentences with contrast to manipulate the reader’s thoughts or feelings. Apply this to the specimen papers.

What this resource includes: 10 Steps: Just tell me what to do Sample Question 4 Student misconceptions The marks scheme explained Exam tactics Glossary of terms: 15 of them, with 3 examples of each Sample texts: The 39 Steps, by John Buchan, CHAPTER ONE, The Man Who Died Sample texts: Call of the Wild, Jack London, Chapter I. Into the Primitive 11 techniques to teach from these extracts What does the examiner really want? Model Question Model Answer Colour coded Model Answer to show how to get rid of PEE paragraphs and write like an expert The Magic Finger: the technique for finding quotations to write about 14 Skills common to questions 3 and 4

What the resource Includes: 5 Steps; Just tell me what to do. Model answer 444 words Model answer 550 words Model answer annotated for descriptive techniques What do I have to do to get 100%? How to be original: Breaking the Vase How to adapt the description to a series of photographs in the exam: Here’s how mine might start if the photograph were of a train. Or imagine it was the park. Or, the ultimate vase breaking, you can simply have it as the photo in the room. Imagine a photo of a road. What does the examiner really want? 21 ways to look at Descriptive Techniques and Interesting Writing (More Than Just SOAPAIMS)