This isn't a business email, I just wanted to tell you that I was barely on 7s for the English mocks, and only started watching your videos the nights before my exams. I was expecting to get 6s or maybe 7s, as I don't write quickly and have always struggled with English, Language being my worst.
I was so shocked to see a 9 in Language today! (and a 7 in Literature). I switched my technique and used your tips at the last minute and really had no clue how I did on my exams.
Honestly the 9 in Language doesn't help me with my STEM A levels, but it's still pretty cool.
Thanks,
Violet
Top Tips
Mostly the things you said about writing sentences instead of paragraphs when answering questions
and trying to make as many points as possible,
as with my writing speed the narrative "quality over quantity" that my teacher applied to all of English seemed to especially disadvantage me in the reading section. **
Your method helped me to write down all of the weird and out of the box ideas that I had, without committing to writing loads about them.
I seem to remember having some sort of checklist when writing the story and trying to make the story as "different" as I comfortably could (I ended up writing an Animal Farm inspired rebellious elephant, who tramples a toddler (for good reason)). It's all so long ago now, but I wrote down the last section of my story after the exam because I thought it was funny.
I remember also having a checklist or plan for the speech, and that helping.
Here's the last bit of my story (it was only a page and a half anyway)
(Previously we know that the enclosure is only divided my a short wall and the elephant has just been reminiscing about life in the wild before captivity)
Bonk! My trance is broken by a sharp rock hitting my trunk. Reluctantly, I open my eyes to see the brutish face of a small one contort into a maniacal grin as it mocks me with shrieks. Another round of artillery to fling at my comrade, a small, grey duck. She speaks a different language to me, she comes from a different land, but we hold a certain solidarity that transcends culture. We are united in our oppression. Whimpering, she looks at me, her exotic eyes brimming with a universal sorrow. Enough. We have dealt with this for too long.*
And it felt amazing to run again.
Thanks,
Violet
My Thoughts
The Description
*This is a fantastic bit of writing. Deciding to write it from the perspective of an animal really works. Giving the animal high intelligence, and sophisticated vocabulary is also great.
But what I love best about this is a sense of fun. Violet is enjoying herself. She’s playful, but she knows she is not taking a risk. It is what real writers do. She knows that, because she has read Animal Farm.
And, it does that simple thing I recommend: start each sentence with a different word.
Quantity v Quality
**Lots of teachers, perhaps most, recommend quality as being more important than quantity.
This is rarely true. Would you rather have one beautiful gold coin worth £100, or £300 in grubby one pound coins?
On the language papers, quality only applies to the question 5s. For all the reading questions (2, 3 and 4), quantity wins every time. It is not even close.
In literature essays, the same is true. The fastest hand wins the duel. The more words you write, the higher your grade. The more explanations you write, the higher your grade.
How do I know?
I’ve read hundreds of exam answers marked by senior examiners. Then I’ve written hundreds myself to understand how the marks work. They look like this.
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