Hi Reader

Confidence is a strange quality, isn't it? Paradoxically, I have found that many of my most able tutees are often the least confident.

Like me, they tend to overthink things. Which leads to them spending too much time on tasks. Which leads to them running out of time, and therefore not performing to their full potential.

That's why, I suspect 'I want my child to feel more confident' is one of the most frequently expressed wishes of parents I talk to. Instinctively, you know that confidence helps your child perform better. It's also been scientifically proven. Take a look at this article, citing a UCL Institute of Education study, which found that academic self-belief helps to raise pupils' GCSE grades, irrespective of their academic ability.

But how can we help our Year 11s feel more confident in the run-up to their mocks? Many of them haven't experienced mock exams under exam conditions since last April/May in Year 10, some won't feel that they really 'know' their texts enough yet, or that they're familiar enough with the GCSE English language paper. It's all 'too soon'.

The language paper poses specific problems because students don't feel they can really revise for it. So they go into the mocks feeling unprepared, and therefore less confident.

But, I'm here to debunk the belief that the language paper can't be revised for. It absolutely can, but it's a case of focused practice, rather than study.

Take the creative writing component of Language Paper 1 for example. The best way to prepare for this is to practise it. However, you don't want your teen to get overwhelmed at this stage, which is where the 'focused' part comes in. They need to pick one skill and practise it, until they feel confident with it, before moving onto the next. Here are some examples of creative writing skills:

• Planning
• Describing character and appearance
• Setting the scene / creating an atmosphere
• Building tension towards a climax
• writing an engaging ending

Let's look at the second one of these first. Character description can be tricky. In their mock exam, AQA students are presented with a photograph of an unknown person and asked to describe them, which often leads to a bald listing of what the person looks like. However skilfully this is done, however many adjectives are used, a simple description is not what the examiner is looking for. They are looking for the writer to put the character into some kind of context, and to describe them as if they are a real person, with real relationships. Their description needs to bring that person to life. Compare these two examples to see what I mean.

As you can see, I have chosen features of Mr Birling's appearance that show what a thoroughly dislikeable capitalist he is. By describing his eyes as 'beady' and 'glaring', I'm suggesting he is unfriendly, and perhaps opportunistic, or always ready to criticise.

To help your teen, I suggest they find images of characters from the books they are studying, list the nouns that they are intended to use in their description, and practise writing a description using these nouns in a way that reveals the character's personality. Brownie points if they can throw in a carefully chosen simile (see 'like a warning beacon' above).

In my GCSE and pre-GCSE small group lessons, and in my one-to-one sessions, I support students in writing carefully crafted descriptions and stories. I guide them towards including all the ingredients that will help them to achieve the highest marks possible. Once they know they are on the right track, they can approach their exams with confidence.

If you would like an expert tutor and examiner to support your child so that they feel mock-exam ready, just get in touch.

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