Tips For Taking Gcse English In Your 40S

[AliFlump]

My Husband has recently enrolled in a Business Degree through work but as he didn't get above a C for GCSE in English & Maths (25 years ago) they are asking him to take them again.  He will be fine with maths but struggles with English.  I mentioned he might benefit from looking at BBC Bitesize but does anyone have any tips / websites that might be beneficial for him  

Thanks in Advance 

[barry1010]

I am keen on working through past papers, it gives an idea of what is expected and the structure of the exam. 
There are free past papers here, you have to read the insert before tackling the exam.

https://mmerevise.co.uk/gcse-english-language-revision/gcse-english-language-past-papers/aqa-gcse-english-language-past-papers/

The public library might have good revision books he can borrow.

He must not be complacent about maths, I recommend he looks at past papers for that subject too.  

 

[Karamia]

He would only need to pass one English exam - would he be taking English Literature or English Language? If it's Eng Lit he would have to know the books well, one of which I assume would be Shakespeare. 

I would recommend Eng Lang paper. 

[Tilly2]

He also needs to find out what the syllabus is in order to study the correct aspects of the course.

[barry1010]

I'm sure it is English Language 

[Buenchico]

Possibly helpful:
https://riddlesdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/English-Language-Revision-Pack.pdf
(See also the links at the end of that document)

[newmodarmy]

Yes, English Language. English Literature would require in-depth study of a book, a set of poems and a Shakespeare play, whereas English Language could in theoryy be passed without any specific detailed preparation if you already have strong comprehension, analysis and communication skills.  Make sure you find the right exam board.

This document sets out the content.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7bfd7640f0b63f7572aa8b/GCSE_English_language.pdf

[Peter Pedant]

Is it Lit or Language ?

He needs to see a few past papers to see what kind of questions are asked - if they dont ask you to precis, then there is no point in practising precis writing. ( fr'instance)

If they want an essay then he should practise essay writing and discuss the result with you. 

Maff: somewhere on the internet, there will be a syllabus on which he will be tested and it  is  different to 50 y ago ( I have done it). Set theory and graphs in, Is this set 'onto'? is it injective? ( he has to look up the definitions for that) calculus out ( at GCSE). Express the answer in 3 decimal points, express the answer in 3 sig  figs and express the answer as exact ( 2pi and NOT 3.29) - I thought - this is ridiculous, I dont have to learn this do I? yes if you  want to pass

We had 1964 "express the answer to the nearest yard. " - no decimals with inches only fractions -  it is a different world

[AliFlump]

Good Morning 

Thank you all for your advice and valuable links. I will collate and send onto him. 

It is Language, he has done mock papers for both and only got 1 question wrong in Maths but its the English that worries him. Its understanding the purpose of a piece or writing, point of view, bias etc 

These will be a great help - Thank you all 

[Karamia]

Check out all the videos on you tube for 'Mrs Whelan's English' - my son found these videos very useful and had great tips to follow. She goes through past papers question by question. 

[Peter Pedant]

Its understanding the purpose of a piece or writing, point of view, bias

comprehension

There must be videos on this on U tube on this - I always did badly in this category as my idea of what purpose a piece writing was , was nowhere near the examiner's.

 

Fr'instance - Dickens social novels - did he write Nicholas Nickleby in order to reform socially the low quality schools ( examiner) or for money (me)

[zebo]

Even if he's confidant about the Maths paper I think he should still go through the recent past papers, the content has change enormously in 25 years, I think he may be surprised!  One example of a change is moving away from the structured questions where you  'do part a, then part b, then part c and they lead you to part d, the answer, the steps are now not included.