How to improve English Paper 1? - Tips and tricks (HL)

Troxck

Basically, I'm atrocious with Paper 1 in English, my grades range only from C2s to B2s! I'm quite confident in regards to Paper 2 as I can achieve B1s+.

I really need/want to achieve a B2 in my Leaving Cert.

I'm not a very articulate or creative person so as you can imagine, I do struggle with it. For example over the weekend we had to write a speech/talk and when I got it back today I only got 32/50, pretty disappointing since I did attempt it to the best of my ability!

Any tips as to how to improve my Paper 1 skills? Grinds are definitely not an option!

Magnate

If you're not the most creative person, and even if you were, I'd still advise you to do the speech question. Usually it will come up as a part B and it's guaranteed in the composition section so if you master it you could be lucky and get 2 speeches in the one paper. They tend to be a lot more structured than personal essays and much easier to do well in if you know how to write persuasively.

Comprehensions are not just a case of finding information and quoting it, you need to give your own developed opinion. To see good examples get an edco exam paper and type in the code on e-xamit.ie.

The best way to improve paper one is to read, but I'd recommend that you read sample answers for exam questions. They're more relevant as opposed to random books. You'll pick up on the general technique and find good phrases or ways to structure your own answers by doing so.

if832uspx4eogt

I don't have tips but what I will say is C2 - B2 in Higher Level English is quite good.
I consider myself to be "good" at English yet my highest mark I got since 5th year is 75%. It's such a hard subject, for me anyway.

EDIT: Actually, I do have a tip. Plan really well. I take like 6-7 minutes to plan, which is way too long but I do it really thoroughly. I do a brainstorm for 1-2 minutes, then I plan my paragraphs, describing what I'm going to say in bullet point form.

My teacher says, if you think about what you are going to say while you write it, you'll lose marks and she's right. If you know what you are going to say, you have the space in your brain to add style to your writing.

is mise spartacus

Get a thesaurus and write out a list of synonyms for words you use a lot.
Have a clear introduction, for every 5 marks write a point, and relate your conclusion to your introduction. Structure your paragraphs. I'm not a straight A student in English but I use these tips and get between 75%-90%.

yeahscience

Answer the question being asked and engage with the material in an appropriate, coherent manner. Develop a wider vocabulary by reading regularly. On that topic, reading is the single-most important activity you can do that will enhance your English grade. It is paramount to success in English!

Take on-board the wise words of Aristotle also - "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work".

Best of luck.

LauraaWhelann

Read. Books, Magazines, Newpapers.. ANYTHING. Reading something that has been written well, improves your writing! Reading was always easy for me, I know others hate it. That was my best preparation for paper 1. Sure I wrote a good few past exam answers, but the main thing I did was read things and learn any new vocab that I had never come across

I got an A1 in English so if you need any other help PM me

123SC

English paper one is one if the nicest papers in the whole LC. Think about it, there is no wrong answer.. You have the freedom to write whatever you want! It's fantastic. Firstly relax, don't stress out don't hand up anything to your teacher that's too forced or that you're not 100% happy with. You need to write what you think and about your experiences.. Not what you think the corrector wants to hear. Keep sentences short and make sure your opening and closing lines are memorable. Look over that speech you wrote. What did you do wrong? What paragraphs worked well? What didn't work very well? Try and rewrite paragraphs and sentences that your teacher has underlined or commented on. Resubmit them to him/her and ask for their opinion. This will let them know that you're interested in improving and they should be happy to give you some feedback. Perhaps a speech isn't your thing. I tried many different essay types before I found what was right for me. Do a speech another time and if you're still not happy maybe try something else. Punctuate and vary your vocab. Different words suit different essay styles grab yourself a thesaurus! Lastly don't drag out the piece because it's not long enough, there's nothing worse. I wrote 2 pages in my personal essay in my LC (higher level) and got an A1. (All through 5th yr the highest I'd get was a B1 and that was rare but then I just realised one day that English was simple if I just wrote what I thought and stopped trying to be fancy about it!) Don't forget to plan! At the start of the LC I would write and rewrite 2-3 times before I handed it up (then when I got it back I'd rewrite parts I didn't do so well in!) but I reduced this gradually so that on the day I scribbled a few lines of a plan down and started straight into it. Practice practice practice!