One essay. Three things that win every mark.
The exam comes down to one analytical essay, on one text you study all term, answering a question you have not seen. It sounds scary. It is actually the most preparable piece in the whole subject. Learn the three things it is marked on and the shape it takes, and you always know what to do.
How the essay is marked
Your essay is scored out of 45 on three things. This is where the marks actually live, so this is where the time goes.
Ideas
- What the text is really doing (its perspective)
- The values and beliefs sitting underneath it
- How the writer's choices create the effect
Structure
- A sharp thesis that answers the question
- Arguments that build it, with chosen evidence
- Logical order, smooth links between ideas
Craft
- Varied, accurate sentences
- Precise words in the right register
- Punctuation and spelling under control
The essay is written for a marker who already knows the text inside out, so plot summary wins nothing. Every sentence should show them you can think about how the text works. That instinct alone lifts most essays a band.
Ideas 18Structure 16Craft 11Twenty minutes with you, ten on his own
English shares the weekly session with maths, so its slot is short and sharp: about twenty minutes together on the one move that matters most that week, then a tiny phone practice he does on his own. The hard reading happens in class. We build the technique.
One sharp move
- Two minutes: recall last week's micro
- Read a short model, name the one move
- Build one thing: a thesis, or one paragraph
- Set this week's phone practice
Make it stick
- Quote cards: tap to flip, recall the line
- Name the technique in a short passage
- Sentence upgrades: turn a flat line sharp
- Thesis sprint: one minute, one strong sentence
- Spot the better paragraph
Ten weeks on the essay, then practice in Term 4 Term 3 · all essay
Term 3 is a clean run at the one external piece, building to a September mock. Then Term 4 becomes timed practice on the real past papers. Each week is about twenty minutes with you plus one phone practice. The two text-specific weeks fill in once Josh knows his book.
This is your space, the same as the maths site. Term 3 is all about the one external piece, the essay. The moment you find out which of the eight texts your class is studying, the text weeks fill in with your characters, your quotes, your model paragraphs. We grow it as we go.