Skills that earn marks

Skills guide

Directed writing: an A* guide for Cambridge 0500

How to write a top-grade directed writing response in Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500: bullet coverage, register, an annotated model and timing.

Skills guide

Edexcel ESL reading techniques

A student guide to reading techniques for Pearson Edexcel International GCSE ESL (4ES1): skim, scan, read closely and answer from the text.

Skills guide

ESL listening: multiple-choice strategy

A student guide to multiple-choice listening questions in IGCSE ESL: read the options first, listen for meaning not single words, and avoid the usual traps.

Skills guide

ESL note-making for 0510 and 0511

A student guide to note-making in Cambridge IGCSE ESL 0510 and 0511: find the points that answer the heading, shorten them and keep your own words.

Skills guide

ESL summary: writing in your own words

A student guide to summary-style ESL tasks: pick the main points, join them in your own words and keep to the length. Check your board for the exact task.

Skills guide

Analysing a dramatic scene

How to analyse a dramatic scene in IGCSE English Literature: read dialogue, stage directions and subtext as performance, and explain the effect on the audience.

Skills guide

Analysing imagery

How to analyse imagery in IGCSE English: unpack a metaphor or simile in three steps, then explain the picture and feeling it creates for the reader.

Skills guide

Analysing sentence structure for effect

How to analyse sentence structure in IGCSE English: length, order, repetition and punctuation, and how to explain the effect each choice has on the reader.

Skills guide

Analysing word choice

How to analyse a writer's word choice in IGCSE English: explain connotation, compare a word with plainer choices, and write about the effect of a single word.

Skills guide

Answering a writer's effects question

How to answer an IGCSE writer's effects question: choose telling words, explain their effect on the reader, and go beyond naming techniques.

Skills guide

Answering ESL listening questions

How to answer listening questions in IGCSE ESL English: read ahead before the recording, listen for the answer, and write clear, exact responses.

Skills guide

Approaching an ESL form or note task

How to handle short ESL writing tasks in IGCSE English: read the prompt for every requirement, cover each point, and write clearly in a suitable tone.

Skills guide

Building a setting

How to build a setting in IGCSE English writing: make place carry mood and meaning, weave it through the action, and choose telling detail over a long list.

Skills guide

Building vocabulary by register

How to build usable vocabulary for IGCSE English: learn words with their register, collect them from real reading, and use them where they fit.

Skills guide

Comparing two poems

How to compare two poems in IGCSE English: build one joined-up comparison of theme, method and effect, not two separate descriptions.

Skills guide

Embedding short quotations

How to embed short quotations in IGCSE English writing: fit quoted words into your own sentence, keep them brief, and punctuate them correctly.

Skills guide

Ending a narrative

How to finish a story in IGCSE English: plan the ending first, resolve it without over-explaining, and finish on a final image the reader remembers.

Skills guide

Fitting register to your audience

How to judge register in IGCSE English: work out who you are writing for, choose the right level of formality, and keep it steady through the whole piece.

Skills guide

Opening a narrative

How to start a story in IGCSE English: put the reader inside a moment, raise a question, and set a voice without wasting your opening on a slow warm-up.

Skills guide

Paraphrasing without copying

How to paraphrase in IGCSE English: say a writer's meaning in your own words, avoid lifting, and show that you understood the text instead of copying it.

Skills guide

Planning a directed writing response

A quick, reliable way to plan IGCSE English directed writing: read the brief, fix the form, audience and purpose, then map your points before you write.

Skills guide

Planning a literature essay

How to plan a literature essay in IGCSE English: turn the question into an argument, choose evidence, and put your points in order before you write.

Skills guide

Preparing a speaking topic

How to prepare a speaking topic for IGCSE English: pick a topic you can talk about for several minutes, plan your points, and speak from short notes in your own words.

Skills guide

Proofreading for accuracy

How to proofread quickly in the IGCSE English exam: use a short checklist built from your own recurring mistakes and win back easy marks.

Skills guide

Reading an unseen poem

How to read an unseen poem in IGCSE English: read twice, find the situation and the shift, then explain how language and form create the feeling.

Skills guide

Reading an unseen prose passage

How to read an unseen prose passage in IGCSE English: understand the situation and narrator, track how the passage changes, then analyse a few key moments.

Skills guide

Reading for explicit meaning

How to find what an IGCSE English text states directly: locate the detail, answer literal questions precisely and avoid careless slips.

Skills guide

Reading for implicit meaning

How to make inferences in IGCSE English: read what a text suggests, link each idea to evidence, and avoid over-reading.

Skills guide

Selecting points for a summary

How to select points for an IGCSE English summary: read to the focus, tell a point from its example, and avoid repeating yourself.

Skills guide

Structuring a discursive essay

How to plan and structure an IGCSE English discursive essay: give both sides fairly, order your paragraphs and reach a balanced view.

Skills guide

Structuring an argumentative essay

How to build an IGCSE English argumentative essay: take one clear side, order your reasons, answer the other side and end strongly.

Skills guide

Tracking a writer's argument

How to track a writer's argument in IGCSE English non-fiction: follow the reasoning, tell claims from evidence and notice how the writer persuades.

Skills guide

Using PEE and PETAL with embedded quotations

How to build an analytical paragraph in IGCSE English with PEE or PETAL: make a point, embed a short quotation and explain a real effect.

Skills guide

Writing a formal letter

How to write a formal letter for IGCSE English: use the right conventions, keep a polite but firm tone, and make your request or case clear.

Skills guide

Writing a literature essay introduction

How to write a literature essay introduction for IGCSE English: answer the question at once, set a line of argument and avoid empty openings.

Skills guide

Writing a report

How to write a report for IGCSE English: organise your findings clearly, keep a neutral and factual tone, and end with a useful recommendation.

Skills guide

Writing a review

How to write a review for IGCSE English: give a clear verdict, support it with specific details, and balance description with judgement.

Skills guide

Writing a speech

How to write a speech for IGCSE English: write for the ear, use rhetoric carefully, and open and close so the audience remembers you.

Skills guide

Writing a summary within the word limit

How to write a short IGCSE English summary within the word guidance: join points, cut detail and use your own words.

Skills guide

Writing about a character

How to write about a character in IGCSE English Literature: treat them as the writer's creation, track how they change and analyse how they are presented.

Skills guide

Writing about a theme

How to write about a theme in IGCSE English Literature: turn a topic into an argument, trace it through the text and analyse how the writer treats it.

Skills guide

Writing an article

How to write an article for IGCSE English: choose a sharp angle, hook the reader, keep a lively but controlled voice and build your ideas.

Skills guide

Writing an ESL email

How to write an email for IGCSE ESL English: choose formal or informal, cover every point in the prompt, and keep your English clear and accurate.

Skills guide

Writing an informal ESL email to a friend

A student guide to the informal email task in IGCSE ESL: a friendly tone, every bullet point covered, and clear accurate English without slang overload.

Skills guide

Writing description without a plot

How to write descriptive composition in IGCSE English: hold one moment still, build a mood with the senses and avoid sliding into a story.

Skills guide

Writing persuasively

How to persuade in IGCSE English writing: know your reader, choose rhetoric that serves your point and stay in control so you convince instead of nag.

Skills guide

The ESL speaking test (0510 and 0511): what to expect

What happens in the Cambridge IGCSE ESL speaking test for 0510 and 0511: format, timing, marking areas, which code counts, and a four-week practice plan.

Skills guide

The OxfordAQA 9280 writing paper

A student guide to the OxfordAQA International GCSE ESL (9280) writing paper: time, tasks, accuracy and a plan for short and long answers.