After a disappointing English report, it can be hard to know what your child should work on first. If the comment leaves you unsure what to change, put it beside a recent marked answer. An IGCSE English tutor can work from both when discussing what to practise next.
Three things to know first
- A report comment can be checked against a recent marked answer, so that answer is the place to look next.
- English Language and English Literature are separate qualifications, and the report may be about one or both.
- A tutor can start from the report and a recent answer rather than from a fresh worksheet.
What is the English report telling you?
A comment might ask for more explanation of the writer’s choices, evidence from the text or closer attention to the question. A recent marked answer may help you understand what the teacher means.
For Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Literature, one assessed skill is analysing how a writer uses language, form and structure to create meanings and effects. This may help explain a comment about a writer’s choices. Ask the teacher if you are unsure which skill the feedback concerns.
Our page on English Language exam mistakes is written for GCSE rather than IGCSE.
Try the report and answer check
- Put one comment from the report beside a recent marked English answer.
- Look for a passage that might help explain the comment. You may find a possible example, or you may be unsure how the comment applies.
- Write down what you noticed or what you could not work out. Ask the teacher whether that passage illustrates the feedback before deciding what your child should practise.
This is a suggested check to help you ask a clearer question. One answer cannot establish the cause of a disappointing report or show how your child performs across the course. If the report and the answer do not seem to match, raise that with the teacher.
What did the English report say?
The form has a space for anything specific you want us to know. You can include the teacher’s wording there.
Copy the comment into the formIs the problem English Language, English Literature or both?
English Language and English Literature are separate qualifications. Check which course the report concerns before interpreting the feedback. On Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language A, the non-fiction reading assessment uses an anthology text and an unseen extract. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English uses unseen reading texts. Literature courses involve studying set texts, with unseen work included on some routes.
If the report does not name the course, ask the school to confirm it. A comment about structure could concern the organisation of your child’s own writing or the way an author has arranged a text. Ask which task the teacher is referring to.
Not sure which English needs support?
English Language and English Literature are listed separately. Both can be selected, and the course name can be added in the free text box.
Choose your child’s subjectsWhat should your child fix first?
One way to choose a possible priority is to look for feedback that appears on more than one marked answer. Repeated comments may be worth discussing with the teacher, but they do not establish the main priority. If the comments differ, compare the tasks before deciding what to practise.
Choose a task small enough to practise this week. You could work on explaining a writer’s choice in one paragraph or answering one question more directly. Use the teacher’s feedback to decide which task to try.
Our GCSE article considers whether it is too late for a child who is behind. Use your child’s IGCSE exam date and specification when considering the time left.
What would an IGCSE English tutor in Doha do with the report?
A tutor can start with the report and a recent marked answer. Lessons are online, on a shared whiteboard, so the comment and the answer can sit on the screen together and your child can talk through what they were trying to do. Being online also means a family in Doha does not need a tutor in the city.
From there, the tutor and your child can agree what the next piece of writing should try to show. That might be the one small thing your child picked to practise, or something the tutor and your child spot together in the answer. When the next piece is done, it can be looked at in a later lesson against the same comment.
A tutor can work from your child’s own specification, set texts and school work rather than a general worksheet, which keeps the lessons close to what the school is marking.
Inside the online classroom
This clip shows a maths lesson recorded in Pencil Spaces, the online classroom used by Greenhill Academics.
Laurie teaches IGCSE English
Laurie studied English at the University of Oxford, where he took a double first with a focus on Shakespeare. He has tutored for more than ten years and teaches English at IGCSE, GCSE, A Level and International Baccalaureate.
One tutor who teaches IGCSE English
Laurie teaches IGCSE English online. Include his name in your enquiry if you would like to ask about lessons with him.
Ask if Laurie has spaceParents’ questions once the report is home
The report says my child needs to develop their analysis. What does that mean?
The teacher may be asking your child to explain how the writer’s choice of words affects the meaning. Look at a recent marked answer for a possible example. If you cannot see how the comment applies, ask the teacher to point to a passage.
Is the report about English Language or English Literature?
They are separate qualifications with different papers, and a report may cover one or both. If the report does not name the course, ask the school. Our enquiry form lists the two subjects separately, so you can tell us which one the report is about.
Does my child have to memorise every quotation?
No. First check which texts or extracts are provided for the paper your child will sit. Where a text is not provided, ask the teacher which passages to prioritise for revision. A closed-book paper does not mean learning the whole text by heart.
How do lesson times work between Doha and the UK?
Lessons are online. Doha is two hours ahead of the UK during British Summer Time and three hours ahead when the UK uses Greenwich Mean Time. Check which time zone a proposed lesson time uses.
Is it too late to do anything before the exam?
What is realistic depends on the exam date and the work still to do. A recent marked answer and the teacher’s comments can give you a starting point for discussing priorities.
Ready to explain what has worried you?
Give us your child’s details and describe your concern in the form. You should receive an email from us shortly.
Complete the enquiry form