Study Sessions: STG English Revision

In this episode, released just before your Paper 1 mock tomorrow (4th March), we work through 12 essential quotations from across A Christmas Carol. As with the equivalent episode for Macbeth, these are 12 high-value quotations that can be used in virtually any essay question. Each lends itself to detailed, work-level analysis and links to other quotations and moments across the novella. Listen to this episode, recap these quotations and use them in your mock tomorrow - and the real exam in May!
The 12 Essential Quotations (Chronological Order)
“Solitary as an oyster.”
“Hard and sharp as flint.”
“Are there no prisons? … And the Union workhouses?”
“Decrease the surplus population.”
“Mankind was my business.”
“A solitary child, neglected by his friends.”
“The master-passion, Gain.”
“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.”
“If he be like to die, he had better do it.”
“I am not the man I was.”
“I will honour Christmas in my heart.”
“As good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man.”

In this episode, we turn to the A Christmas Carol task in your half-term homework/revision Paper 1. The episode provides you with a clear thesis or argument around Dickens' exploration of the suffering of the poor, linking this to the novella's broader message of social responsibility and charity. Use the episode in conjunction with Mrs Colson's video to help you be as successful as possible!

In this episode of Study Sessions, we turn to the half-term Lady Macbeth task: 'Lady Macbeth is a female character who changes'. Using the work of literary critic Marjorie Garber as inspiration, we consider her 'loss of affect' and attempts to eliminate her capacity for feeling, a capacity that ultimately returns with destructive power in Act 5. Use this episode to support your completion of our half-term Paper 1 revision during the February break.

In this episode, designed to tie in with our weekly exam preparation homework, we discuss Wordsworth's poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 and how we can turn thinking into insightful reading and analysis. This episode isn't about telling you what the poem means, but focuses on the questions confident and successful students ask of an unseen poem to make it meaningful.

In this episode, we turn to Week 15 in your exam preparation booklet and the poem Eating Poetry. The episode focuses on how to approach the task, how to think like a successful student and then apply this thinking within our generic structure. Use the episode in conjunction with your teacher's guidance and scaffolds to ensure your response is the best it can be!