Practice sets
Practise, then check yourself
Practice tasks for every question type. Try one, then check your answer against our plan and checklist.
All tasks are our own original material. Pair each set with its annotated model response and the matching skill guide.
How to use a practice set
Each set gives you an original task with the plan, model and checklist hidden. Attempt it first, to time if you can, as you would in the exam. Only then reveal our plan and checklist and mark yourself against them.
The order matters, because the value comes from doing the task before you see the answer. Reading the answer first feels like understanding. The exam, though, tests whether you can produce the answer yourself.
When you reveal the checklist, be honest and specific. Do not tick "used evidence" if the evidence sits unexplained, or "controlled the ending" if the story simply stopped. A self-check should find the one or two habits that cost you marks, so you can watch for them next time.
A vague "that was pretty good" teaches nothing. "My analysis named the technique but never its effect" tells you exactly what to fix.
Why deliberate practice beats re-reading
Re-reading notes and model answers feels productive because it feels easy. But recognising an answer is not the same as producing one under time, and the exam asks you to produce. One timed attempt, honestly marked, shows the gap between what you recognise and what you can do.
That is why these sets are built to be attempted, not just read.
Get your work marked
Self-marking finds the obvious gaps. An experienced teacher finds the ones you cannot see in your own writing, such as a habit you have stopped noticing. In a one-to-one lesson, the teacher reads your attempt against the skills the paper rewards and shows the change that would move it up.
Pair each task with its annotated model response to see a strong version of the same question.
First Language English
Practice set
Summary writing
Selecting the right points and rewriting them concisely in your own words.
Practice set
Writer's effects
Explaining how a writer's language choices shape meaning and feeling.
Practice set
Explicit and implicit meaning
Finding what a text states directly and what it implies.
Practice set
Directed writing: letter
Responding to material in the form and register of a letter.
Practice set
Directed writing: speech
Writing a speech that addresses an audience with purpose.
Practice set
Directed writing: article
Writing an article in the right register for a publication.
Practice set
Directed writing: report
Writing a clear, organised report for a specific reader.
Practice set
Descriptive composition
Building a place or moment through controlled sensory detail.
Practice set
Narrative composition
Telling a shaped story that controls its ending.
Practice set
Discursive essay
Exploring a topic in a balanced, well-structured way.
Practice set
Argumentative essay
Arguing a case clearly with reasons and evidence.
Practice set
Persuasive writing
Persuading a reader using a controlled voice and technique.
Practice set
Directed writing: journal
Writing a reflective journal entry in a personal register.
English as a Second Language
Practice set
ESL reading comprehension
Answering the question that was actually asked from a text.
Practice set
ESL note-making
Selecting information under headings without copying whole sentences.
Practice set
ESL summary
Summarising a text accurately in your own words.
Practice set
ESL email
Writing an email in the right register for its purpose.
Practice set
ESL report or article
Writing an organised report or article for a set audience.
Practice set
ESL listening: note completion
Catching specific detail from spoken English.
Practice set
ESL speaking: discussion
Developing and structuring ideas in a spoken discussion.
Literature in English
Practice set
Unseen poem commentary
Writing about an unfamiliar poem under time.
Practice set
Unseen prose commentary
Writing about an unfamiliar prose passage under time.
Practice set
Poetry essay
Arguing about a poem with embedded evidence.
Practice set
Prose essay
Writing about character, theme and narrative in prose.
Practice set
Drama essay
Writing about how a play makes meaning in performance.
Practice set
Comparing poems
Comparing two poems on theme and technique.
Practice set
Character analysis
Tracing how a character is built and changes.
Practice set
Theme analysis
Following a theme across a whole text.
Practice set
Literature essay structure
Structuring a clear, arguable literature essay.
Practice set
Embedding quotations
Weaving short quotations neatly into analysis.
Board-specific practice
Practice tasks written for a particular board's question format. Each links back to the method and annotated model on its syllabus page.