A group of boys alone on an island, what could possibly go wrong?!

Here's 5 useful quotes about Piggy to learn: -

1) 'Give me my specs!' 

Begging for his glasses gives an early indication of Piggy's physical inferiority. 

2) 'What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?'

As the boys descend into savagery, Piggy remains the sole voice of logic and intellect.

3) 'We never done nothing, we never seen nothing.'

The morning after participating in the murder of Simon, Piggy is in self denial as he tries to maintain his sense of humanity and dignity.

4) 'He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper chief'

Jack shames Ralph as he attempts to become leader himself. Piggy is perceived as weak, as an insult; he hasn't built a rapport with the other boys.

5) 'My auntie told me not to run'

Piggy provides the only female voice in the book. His notably intellectual approach throughout is modelled on the authoritarian approach of the adult world.

Learn them, use them, impress!

You scullion! Here’s 5 quotes to cheer you up and help you pass your exams: -

1) “Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” – This is a title that Macbeth has to give back, it never belonged to him (Links to the theme: divine right of kings)

2) "Take my milk for gall" – Producing milk is related to womanhood, however gall comes from an imbalance of yellow bile in the body which is believed to make one ruthless. This language indicates that Lady Macbeth wants to remove her womanly softness and care as she prepares to commit murder. 

3) “Will all great Neptune’s Ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” – Macbeth stares at his blood-stained hands after murdering Duncan. The hyperbolic metaphor used here conveys his guilty conscience; he fears that nothing can cleanse him of this slaughter.

4) “What’s done, cannot be undone.—To bed, to bed, to bed!” – Lady Macbeth is trying to reassure her husband. Eerily, this phrase is repeated in her final appearance in the play. Her words prove true as nothing can undo murder.

5) “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” – Macbeth uses this metaphor to indicate that life is brief and meaningless (unlike your English exams). This expression of life as fleeting conveys his despair at this moment in the play.

Learn them, use them, impress!

Original design by RSC Visual Communications

English Mocks? Here’s 5 tips to help you prepare: -

1) Vocabulary – analyse your recent writing. Any boring, easy words? Use a thesaurus and replace them with posh words.

e.g. nice – ingratiating; want – yearn; bad – atrocious 

2) Punctuation – do you use different types of punctuation?

e.g. How do you use a semi-colon? ;;;;;;;;;;

3) Language techniques – How many do you know? How many can you explain? Be adventurous!

e.g. Dissonance, oxymoron, anaphora, zeugma…

4) Comparisons – You’re expected to compare texts. Make sure you know plenty of connectives to signpost your work.

E.g. Therefore, consequently, notwithstanding, in conjunction with…

5) Practice, practice, practice – practice papers help you get used to the exam. Use a professional practice paper service to get good quality feedback and suggestions.

Learn them, use them, impress!

  His lead-weighted eyelids creaked open, scattering yellow dust onto his pillow. The wider they opened, the more his head hurt at the thought of the day ahead. It was English exams day!

  Sliding out from under the clingy duvet, he took his first step of the day: one small step for man/boy, one giant leap for English success. ‘Which is the right side of the bed?’ he pondered, nervous not to jinx his day by getting up on the wrong side.

  Bath, brush, breakfast. All done with alacrity. The morning routine complete, he jumped into his dad’s car where Classic FM pulsed out of the radio. Creative writing was never his favourite subject; he had never fully appreciated why his parents had cajoled him into improving it. “Businessmen have secretaries, accountants count numbers and everyone knows how bad doctors are at handwriting,” he moaned out loud. Yet, deep down inside he knew that his parents were correct. He needed this creative writing exam to go well and he really wanted to be accepted to the best school in his area.

  The exam room was tense, creepy invigilators prowled around the desks and the smell of printer ink was nauseating. The cotton mask rubbed his nose uncomfortably, letting out a wheeze with every deep exhalation. However, calmness spread over him starting from his belly button and flowing out to the extremity of his limbs. He was fully prepared. His English tutor had been beyond professional, his parents had consistently supported him and the plethora of practice papers had made him battle-ready. ‘Just do it,’ he agreed with the slogan on his rucksack.

  Time to start. He flung open the paper, studied its contents and read the question carefully taking note of the purpose, audience and context. Temptation dared him to rush into writing an answer, but no, always plan your work he remembered. Inky legs grew from his crafted theme pointing to sub-themes and techniques he planned to use. A structure formed, cyclical with the occasional flashback. Having considered how to approach the writing from a different perspective, he jotted down adjectives that involved all the senses. 1,2,3…24 characters! He reconsidered: too many characters, too complex. Simplifying the plan to just 1 or 2 main characters meant that he could really focus on developing each one. Planning complete!

  ‘Now I can write the answer,’ he decided. With such a comprehensive plan, the puzzle-like task snapped perfectly into place. Amazing vocabulary burst into his head like popping candy, varied punctuation decorated his writing and he consistently used a variety of language techniques (similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, rhetorical questions, alliteration, etc…). Sentences grew into paragraphs. Keeping an eye on the ticking clock at the front of the room he carefully inserted a modal verb for persuasion, short and long sentences for effect and some perfect tense to impress.

  Finished with 5 minutes to spare! ‘Spare’ – adjective, available to use because it is extra. ‘Available to use to check your work’, his tutor had insisted. Glancing over his writing, he was glad of that good advice. ‘Oops, I forgot to cross that t,’ he realised, ‘and that country should start with a capital letter. Is that the correct spelling for tomorrow?’ Checking complete, he put down his pen and leant back in his plastic chair content and confident. English exam complete!

  Freed from the captivity of the exam room, he strolled to the street ignoring the worried chatter of his friends. Preparation and practice had paid off, he knew that he had done well. ‘It was alright,’ he mumbled in response to every question from his dad as they travelled home to the sound of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. He didn’t want his parents to know how well he had really done as that would mean they were right all along. Later on he could boast to his friends on Facebook, especially the ones who had thought that tutors were only for failed students.

  That night, he climbed back into bed - the right side. The yellow dust which had migrated to his clingy duvet gently gravitated to the floor. His eyelids gradually gained weight and he drifted into blissful sleep, glad that he had discovered English Shop.

  What was this new utopia? How could this bliss transpire? Who would have envisioned it? Yet, here it was: a serendipitous scene, the enigma of enigmas, inimitable in art, science or cinematography.

  A plethora of coruscating lightning blinded all onlookers desperately trying to comprehend the splendour. Lustrous and luxuriant, the antique clock ticked mellifluously forwards, backwards and then forwards again; louder than an army of grasshoppers, yet as soothing as a lullaby. Romance permeated the atmosphere. 

  As the minutes converted to milliseconds, the bashful maiden had become besotted with the keeper/controller – his furtive glances in her direction had been growing more and more frequent. In the distance, ignoring all human activity, his crepuscular dragon glowed in the twilight. It kept itself entertained by absorbing flashes of lightning into its majestic dorsal crests and converting them into delicate puffs of redolent smoke rings. 

   Clunk… the clock warped and morphed into a capsule no larger than an okra finger (common in the outer galaxies). Equilibrium had almost been attained.

Can you finish this story?