7 Tips to Get A* in IGCSE English

Studying can be a daunting experience for those who have no idea how to approach a specific subject. To get an A* in IGCSE, for instance, each course requires a well-planned and systematic strategy. But don’t worry, help is at hand. In this blog, our IGCSE online tutors dole out prudent advice for students on how to prepare for and ace English exams.

Baccalaureate Classes, which made a trailblazing entry into the education arena in 2012, has so far coached several students for success. If you’re struggling with drawing up an essay plan, organising your notes about the themes and context of a text or reading between the lines, reach out to us for IGCSE tuitions and we will put you in touch with our expert IGCSE tutors who will change the way you approach literary and non-literary texts. Their insight will not only help you score A* in exams but it will also equip you with the tools and techniques required to draft brilliant college essays, extended essays, TOK essays and more. Consistent IGCSE tuitions will also help you gain confidence to participate in group discussion, elocutions, debates, and class presentations.

7 Proven Tricks for IGCSE Students to Ace English

We understand that admitting you don’t understand something in class can be hard for some of you and asking your school teacher outside normal class hours to resolve your queries can be even harder. Don’t ever be afraid to ask your IGCSE online tutors for extra help during IGCSE online tuition, especially if you missed a lesson or two in school.

1. Hone your Summary Writing Skills: Most students are able to find the main points from the comprehension passage and score full marks for content but they struggle with getting full marks for style. To get 6-7 marks for style, our IGCSE tutor suggests that you make sure you link the central messages using simple conjunctions. Avoid using oft-repeated conjunctions like ‘and’ and ‘but’, instead go for ‘however’, ‘meanwhile’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘despite’ etc. Also, steer clear of writing a review or your personal opinions in a summary. You can practice writing summaries of your favourite books and films during IGCSE online tuition to upskill yourself.

2. Draw up an Essay Plan: In your IGCSE online tuitions amidst the pandemic, one of the most important skills you’ll be taught is planning for your essay. Once you’ve aced it, it will not take you more than 10 minutes to write a response in the essay form. The key is to write the plan in point form. Equip yourself with 4-5 points, give examples for each pointer and elaborate on them. If structure is your weak point, always clarify your points before starting an essay.

3. Organise your notes: Use your texts as reference to create notes on:

• Major and minor characters
• List of important quotes
• Central themes and context
• Analysis of literary techniques
• Implicit and explicit meanings

By organising your notes this way, if a question on context or a character appears, you will be ready to answer it. Make sure you use the highlighter sparingly while revising your notes. Cliffsnotes, Sparknotes and other revision resources are a good food for thought, but they can never be a substitute for the original text you’re studying. Our IGCSE online tutor emphasises on writing notes in your own words and visualising complicated information through the use of spider charts and flowcharts.

4. Read Between the Lines: While some of the information is explicitly given to readers, our experienced IGCSE online tutor will make sure you learn how to pick up on attitudes and ideas of characters through what is implied by certain phrases or words in the text. It is pivotal to understand what’s being articulated outside the words because it helps in understanding the setting, mood, tone and atmosphere of the text.

5. Practice Story Writing: Make sure you’re familiar with the difference between narrative and descriptive writing. If not, get that clarity in your IGCSE online tuition. Ensure you have a clear beginning, middle, and an end. Try not to have too many characters because it is difficult to develop them properly. To move the story forward, include dialogues between your characters which are in tandem with their attitude. Also, stick to believable stories that contain realistic events and developments.

6. Expand Vocabulary: Vocabulary is an integral aspect of all the papers, especially grammar. Acquaint yourself with different literary techniques and practice using them in your writing. Recording yourself while speaking and picking up phrases instead of words are some of the tips you can use to improve and perfect your vocabulary which have been proven effective for other students.

7. Avoid Sentence Structure Errors: If you’ve weak sentence structure skills, do not attempt over-long sentences. You will be taught to use compound sentences rather than simple sentences during IGCSE tuition because they will give maturity and variety to your writing style. Make sure you use commas to separate clauses in a sentence and avoid substituting commas for full stops. The latter shows your sheer inability to understand how building blocks of English language work and the rules of sentence structure every writer should abide by. Do not write run-on sentences because it is difficult to follow the meaning of what you’re implying.

At Baccalaureate Classes, our IGCSE tutors wrap up the syllabus two months in advance and begin revision soon afterwards. We advise our students to not miss out on revision sessions because it helps you focus on what needs to be done as exam time approaches. You also end up ticking off everything on the list and not missing a thing. Moreover, the IGCSE tutor will ensure that you have a complete set of comprehensive notes for all the key topics in your syllabus. If the prospect of getting an A* in English is tempting enough, sign up for our IGCSE online tuitions and watch your scores transform.