This page translates those descriptors into habits, shows a B-style and an A*-style paragraph side by side, and sets out a four-week plan.
What stands between B and A*
A B is a strong grade. The student understands the text, writes clearly and answers the question. The move to the top comes from precision, shaping and judgement.
Cambridge publishes grade descriptions for First Language English 0500. They describe typical performance at grades F, C and A, and not at B or A* separately.
Reading the C and A columns together shows the direction of travel, and a B sits in between. The ideas also apply to the other boards, but check your own syllabus.
What the examiners describe
The table compares the descriptions for grade C and grade A in four areas. We have paraphrased them.
| Area | Typical at grade C | Typical at grade A |
|---|---|---|
| Reading meaning | Understands some less obvious ideas | Understands some sophisticated and subtle ideas |
| Writers' effects | Suggests why a writer chose one word over another | Combines examples from different parts of a text to explain how language works |
| Evaluating ideas | Makes straightforward judgements | Weighs ideas and attitudes to reach a considered judgement |
| Structure | Ideas follow the order of the text | Organisation chosen for the reader and effect |
Three habits explain most of the gap: patterns instead of single examples, judgement instead of report, and structure chosen on purpose.
Side by side: two original paragraphs
Both paragraphs answer the same invented question: How does the writer show the narrator's fear as she walks home at night? The passage is our own, not from an exam.
A B-style paragraph
The writer shows the narrator is afraid by using short sentences, such as "She walked faster." This makes the reader feel the tension. The writer also uses the word "shadows" which sounds scary. This shows the narrator is frightened and the atmosphere is tense.
What is good. It names methods, uses short evidence and links to effect. What holds it back. The comments are general ("sounds scary"), the examples come from one place, and the last sentence only repeats the first.
An A*-style paragraph
Fear builds through a pattern of shrinking space. Early on, the street is "long and empty", but by the end it is crowded with "shadows" that seem to lean in. The narrator's own sentences shrink too: "She walked faster.
Then faster again." The repeated "faster" suggests that speed offers no escape, only a rhythm of panic. Together these choices show a threat that is felt more than seen, so the reader shares her fear without the writer naming it.
What changed. It links examples from different parts of the text into one pattern. It explains how the repetition works, not just that it exists. It ends with a considered point about the reader's experience.
Seven habits that move a grade
- Find a pattern across the text before writing about single examples.
- Explain how a choice works, in one precise sentence.
- Choose the exact word to comment on, not the whole phrase.
- Make a judgement about the writer's purpose or the reader's response.
- Organise by idea, not by the order of the text.
- Vary sentence length on purpose in your own writing.
- Proofread for spelling, punctuation and grammar in the last minutes.
To move up a grade, a student needs to know what the next band asks for. The trial hour finds out.
A four-week plan
This plan assumes one lesson and about three hours of work a week. Change one habit at a time.
| Week | Focus | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diagnose | Redo one past paper under time. Mark it with the descriptors. Pick the two weakest rows. |
| 2 | Patterns and precision | Annotate three short passages for patterns. Write three paragraphs that link examples and explain how language works. |
| 3 | Judgement and structure | Plan two answers by idea, not by text order. Add a final sentence of considered judgement to each. |
| 4 | Timed practice | Sit a full paper under time. Mark it. Choose one habit to carry into revision. |
Feedback is the engine of this plan. The Education Endowment Foundation reports that feedback adds about six months of progress on average across studies, so get each piece marked quickly.
A self-marking checklist
Before handing a piece in, tick each line. Two or more gaps show where to work next.
| Check | Yes or no |
|---|---|
| I linked at least two examples from different parts of the text. | |
| I explained how each choice works, not only what it is. | |
| I made one judgement about the writer's purpose or effect. | |
| My paragraphs follow ideas, not the order of the text. | |
| My register fits the task from start to finish. | |
| I proofread for accuracy at the end. |
Writing paragraphs: an A*-style creative opening
The same gap shows up in composition. A B-style opening describes: "It was a dark night and the street was empty and quiet." An A*-style opening chooses one image and lets it carry the mood: "The streetlamp at the corner had been broken for a week, and nobody had bothered to mention it."
The second sentence hints at a setting, a community and a small unease, all in one image. It is shorter in ideas but richer in suggestion. That is the difference between telling a reader the mood and building it.
When to wait or aim differently
If a student has weak accuracy, with frequent spelling or grammar slips, fix those first. If time is under six weeks, aim to secure a high A rather than chase A*. If the real target is a university entry grade, check whether an A is enough before adding pressure.
Some students do better by dropping a habit, such as over-long answers, than by adding a technique. A teacher who reads your child's work will see which.
How we help
In a lesson we read your child's work against the descriptors above, show what the next level looks like in their own writing, and agree a clear target. The student writes every response, and the teacher shows what to change. Lessons are online and one-to-one from RM70/hr.
Read our directed writing A* guide, learn about Year 11 exam preparation, or book a trial lesson.