Improve your reading
Read regularly. When working through a passage, ask what the main idea is, what the author is trying to do, what evidence supports the argument, and what a particular word means in that context. That is comprehension practice, not just reading.
Build vocabulary through context
Do not memorise long word lists in isolation. When you meet an unfamiliar word:
- Look at the sentence around it.
- Guess the meaning.
- Check the meaning.
- Write your own sentence using it.
Practise grammar by rule, not by answer
When you make a grammar mistake, do not memorise the correct option. Understand the rule behind it, then construct another example yourself.
Writing improves through writing
Practise the forms of writing your examination requires. Afterwards, review your own work for organisation, clarity, grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure and — most easily forgotten — relevance to the question actually asked.
Answer the question that was actually asked
A large share of lost marks in English has nothing to do with English. It comes from answering a slightly different question than the one on the paper — summarising when asked to explain, giving two points when asked for three, or writing in the wrong register for the stated audience. Before writing, underline what the question is asking you to do, and to whom.
Comprehension: read the questions first
Reading the questions before the passage changes what you notice while reading. You are no longer reading passively; you are looking for specific things. When you then answer, point to the part of the passage that supports you rather than relying on impression.
- Distinguish what the passage states from what it implies — questions test both, differently.
- For a "meaning in context" question, cover the options and predict the meaning first.
- Watch for words that reverse a sentence: however, although, despite, nevertheless.
Plan before you write
Two or three minutes spent listing your points in order will save you more than it costs. Unplanned answers tend to repeat themselves, drift off the question, and end abruptly when the writer runs out of ideas — all of which are visible to a marker.
- Read the question
- Plan points
- Write
- Check
Use past questions to find recurring gaps
Past questions reveal which skills keep costing you marks. Do not only check whether your answer was right — work out why. If the same category of error appears three weeks running, that is the thing to practise, not English in general.