GCSE ‘REVISION BOOSTER’ MASTERCLASS: COMPARING UNSEEN POETRY 

WHEN? Thursday 16th May at 5:30pm
DURATION? One hour
INSTRUCTOR? Rhys
AIMED AT? Students taking GCSE examinations this year (AQA, Edexcel, or Eduqas)
LEVEL? Mixed-ability
PRICE PER STUDENT? £11, as advertised*
MAX GROUP SIZE? 10
PAYMENT? Via the payment system here

The Comparing Unseen Poetry GCSE ‘Revision Booster’ Masterclass is aimed at students taking GCSE English examinations  in the summer of 2024 — specifically, preparing for their ‘Paper 2’ (AQA/Edexcel) or ‘Component 2’ (Eduqas) exam on the 20th May.

This Masterclass will cater for AQA, Edexcel, and Eduqas. We will use an Edexcel past paper question as our style guide, but the technique can be applied to all exam boards mentioned.

This is a one-hour group session, which will loosely follow the structure outlined below (subject to change slightly, as any good revision classes should, to ensure that all students in attendance are getting the most from the session, feel supported, and have their questions answered!)

1. Revision ‘quick-fire’: a ‘quick-fire’ task to recap key terminology for unseen poems. For those having done the AQA Masterclass on Tuesday 14th, the terminology will be the same, so this is another opportunity for consolidation.
2. Structuring a response: top-tips ‘refresher’: as a group, we will discuss how the process of getting from two blank poems to the point where the students are ready to start writing their exam response. The biggest challenge students face is often that they see these blank poem, which they have not seen before, they are not sure how to transform this into an essay. This is what we will address/revise.
3. Interactive ‘live writing’ demonstration: Rhys, the instructor, will model how to turn a plan into an essay which meets the top-band criteria of the mark scheme. This will be interactive, ensuring that students are gauging exactly how the top marks are being ‘unlocked’, step by step.
4. Time for questions: the students will have chance, throughout the session, to clarify any particular doubts they have.