Independent Study Guide for English

Getting you started...

1. ‘TV talent shows (such as X Factor) are hugely popular. Some people think they are great because they give unknown people with talent a chance to become famous.

Other people think they are put on so that the TV audience watching can laugh at contestants making fools of themselves.’

Write a letter to a newspaper giving your views on TV talent shows.

Independent Study Guide

2. Write a guide to attract tourists to a city or town in your area.

Useful Web-based Resources www.wjec.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ gcse/‎ www.o2learn.co.uk www.englishbiz.co.uk Revision Guides can be ordered through www.amazon.co.uk or direct from CGP or WJEC websites.

3. Write a leaflet to persuade young people to exercise more. You may wish to indicate where you would use illustrations and what they would show, but you will be rewarded for the quality of your writing, not your illustrations.

4. This is an extract from a letter that appeared in a newspaper: The mobile phone is the most appalling invention of the last century. It has taken away our privacy and encouraged all kinds of anti-social, and sometimes illegal, behaviour. The technology may be very impressive but the consequences have been very worrying. Mobile phones have certainly changed our lives, but not for the better. Write a letter in reply, giving your opinions about mobile phones.

5. The County Council have made the decision to close your high school as a money saving initiative. You will be forced to join another school nearby. You are invited to a local meeting to express your views about the school closure, write your speech.

English

Reading Non-fiction...

Unit 1 is a reading comprehension paper in which you will have to answer questions based on two pieces of non-fiction. The possible question types that can appear on this paper are: 1. Locate and retrieve information; 2. Attitude and viewpoint of the writer; 3. Impressions; 4. Analysing persuasive techniques; 5. Audience; 6. Comparison of texts.

To improve your skills for this paper you will need to develop skills in skimming and scanning, identifying evidence and annotating the text.

These skills can be practised by reading a variety of non-fiction texts.

You will also need to practise answering the above question types. Past papers can be located on the WJEC exam board website.

Improving your non-fiction writing...

Unit 2 is a writing paper in which you will be expected to write two pieces of non-fiction. This could be anything from an informal letter to a film review to a speech.

You will need to make sure you are familiar with audience, purpose and format for a wide variety of non-fiction text types.

Consider the types of devices that should be evident in the piece. For example, are you being asked to persuade? If so, do you know how to use persuasive techniques.

Regardless of the text you are being asked to write, you must develop skills in using: 1. A variety of simple, complex and compound sentences; 2. Varied and interesting vocabulary; 3. Connectives to link ideas; 4. A variety of punctuation including parenthetic commas and semi-colons.

You will also need to think about imaginative ways of structuring and organising ideas within a text.

Planning before you write is vital but remember that you will only be able to spend 30 minutes on each text.

The importance of planning, proof reading and editing...

You must manage your time effectively during the exam. It is vital that you are able to plan tasks and then proof read and edit after you have written them. For the Unit 2 writing paper you will be assessed for SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar). Literacy accuracy is really important.

Use class work and homework across all subject areas as an opportunity to develop planning, proof reading and editing skills.

Make sure you are familiar with the common SPAG mistakes that you make.

Take steps to resolve issues with SPAG by looking up the relevant terms on the internet. There is a great deal of web-based support available for literacy.