Could You Help Your Child Revise for English?

I was having a conversation with one of the parents of a child that I tutor. She asked how she can help her daughter to revise at home.

This is a great question and parent input does make a difference because it gives your child an opportunity to practise the skills they learn in lessons at school or in tutoring sessions.

For reading, these are the points that I relayed to her and am sharing with you today.

To support, encourage your child to read everyday and maybe ask them to explain what they are reading.

GCSE English Literature students will have assigned texts, so you can use any of them for a 5-10 minute conversation with your son or daughter.

Good Questions to Ask

1. What is the plot of the book/what thought or emotion does the poem focus on?

2. What is the message?

3. Which words or language techniques help to show that message?

4. How is the book or poem organised to help with conveying its message?

A Guide for Answers 

1. They should be able to summarise the events at the beginning, middle and end of the book or poem. They should also be able to tell you about characters in the book. If it’s a poem, they should be able to tell who the speaker/narrator of the poem is.

2. The message should be a different answer from the plot or focus. They should be able to tell you what the writer was trying to put across using the events, characters or speaker. It could be a message about wider society, a lesson they are trying to teach readers or a piece of propaganda designed to persuade readers.

3. They should be able to give specific examples of language techniques. Some examples are as follows:

   • Adjective

   • Adverbs

   • Verbs

   • Metaphors

   • Similes

   • Personification

   • Alliteration

   • Oxymoron 

4. They should be able to give examples of structure techniques. Some examples are as follows:

   • Beginning with tension

   • Using mystery in the middle of the text

   • Ending on a cliffhanger

   • Short simple sentences

   • Long complex sentences

   • Rhetorical questions

   • Repetition

   • Foreshadowing

If you found this helpful, share it with someone else who could also use it with their child!

If you would like see what lessons I have available to help your child improve further, click here: https://www.danaithetutor.com/book-online