8 reasons why students FAIL their GCSE Exams every year

Yesterday on YouTube, I spoke about the things examiners LOVE to see - the BUZZWORDS that will get their dopamine fired up! Today? Let’s discuss the top 8 things they absolutely HATE to see!

 

PS: I cover this in today’s YouTube video! 😊

What do examiners FAIL most students for in English?

Examiners fail students in GCSE English for these top 8 reasons:

❌ Rambling, general response “essays”

• Examiners HATE broad responses, explanations of the story or extract.

❌ Weak to No Analysis (AO2)

• No subject terminology, no comment on effect, no explanation of how techniques create meaning. Your marks RESIDE here!

❌ Poor Paragraph Structure (AO5)

• It drives examiners UP THE WALL seeing unstructured paragraphs that jump from one idea to the next with little progression.

❌ Lack of Evidence (AO1)

• You’re an English GCSE Student - why aren’t you quoting?!

❌ No Context (AO3)

• Examiners fail students who misunderstand the context or make irrelevant points.

❌ Weak SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar) (AO6)

• It’s such a pet peeve for examiners when they read essays with lots of spelling mistakes, missing capital letters, basic and unclear vocabulary.

❌ Writing Too Little

• If your paragraphs are 3-4 lines, that is an immediate red flag. Your points are likely shallow, basic and weak.

❌ Illegible Handwriting

• If your examiner can’t read your work, they can’t mark it. FAIL!

You can change this:

Don’t forget you still have time to turn it all around if you’re guilty of this! Buckle down. Get to work. And if you are extra stressed - join my ✨GCSE Sunday Masterclass✨ at 5pm-6pm, ask me as many questions as you like and discover what solid GCSE Essays look like! 😊