HOW TO SCORE FULL MARKS IN ESSAY ENGLISH

In what sort of essay? There is no "essay section", do you mean the studied drama/fiction/poetry questions in paper 2?

Also, we can't really help you if the only information you tell us is that what you are writing is good: are you using quotes, are you using the "PQE (Point Quote Explain)" layout within paragraphs, how much are you writing, how varied is your vocabulary, are you accurately using a range of punctuation, how detailed is your analysis etc.

Maybe if you type up a paragraph or two of an essay you recently wrote and tell us what the question was we can help you, but basically we need something to work with other than "what im witing is good".

That isnt bad, but theyre looking for 1 to 1 and a half pages of your answer booklet.

I never do those kind of essays for some reason.I usually do the speeches.The one in my mock ended up being a bit of a 3 page rant.

Okay; the marks are split up as follows;

Content..........20
Structure........15
Expression......30
Mechanics........5
Total..............70

Content:
Okay, so about 30% of the marks go for content which is your plot, character development etc. So in a story make sure you brainstorm for a few minutes before you start writing so you have a clear idea where you are going and you don't run out of ideas half way through. In a speech you do the same sort of thing; make sure you have an outline of what you're going to say so you aren't just rambling.

Also, remember that everyone is getting the same titles and one examiner (for the JC) will be correcting a lot of essays, many of which will be very similar so if you can try and twist your story so it stands out and is different. That's probably the most important bit actually because that's the best way to get more marks for this section.

Structure:
This is worth about 20%. I think this is basically layout and order of paragraphs so it makes sense etc. but I need to check my English notebook to confirm and I amn't really bothered to walk upstairs to get it so I'll edit this later and let you know.

Expression:
This is worth the most marks at just over 40%. Basically, you get marks for good vocabulary, a wide range of punctuation and using different techniques.

I think you personally can get a lot more marks here by just reading back over what you write and adding in more varied punctuation (you only used full stops, commas and question marks), using a thesaurus (when not in an exam obviously) to learn more words and being aware of techniques you can use.

Try adding in:

• punctuation such as ; : - ... ( ) !
• more techniques such as lists (you had a couple in your extract), rhetorical questions (you had a couple in your extract), multi-clause sentences (you had a lot[maybe too much?] in your extract), single clause sentences, alliteration, similes, metaphors, adverbs/adverbial phrases . . .
• more adjectives: "dusty crossroads" etc. which will just make it more interesting to read and make it seem more realistic/vivid for the reader.

Also, maybe try experimenting with what style of writing you use: discursive, persuasive, action, descriptive, dialogue focused, short story etc. Different people are better at different types so maybe you haven't found your type yet.

Mechanics:
Basically spellings and grammar, it's only worth about 7% but there's no point in throwing away marks. That said though, they aren't really "easy marks", for example, you wouldn't be at 5/5 because "is this a chance im willing to take?, do i have to choose?," is incorrect.

Hope that helps & let me know if I didn't explain something clearly.

I havent got my paper back, but I wrote about meeting pirates for my greatest adventure :cool:

I always seem to go off on a tangent in my essays and don't realize it until the end and have to somehow wrap it all up . I wrote the essay that gave you a line to insert (I think these leave a lot more room for creativity) and I wrote around 2 or 3 pages. The main problem with my essays (in my opinion) is going off the point and not having enough adjectives and metaphors/similes. I love seeing those in writing - it makes the piece entirely more interesting.

Try describing more. I honestly gave up on your essay after seeing "adventure" repeated so many times. An examiner could get the exact same essay from so many different people and if that happened you'd all be marked down. Your grammar/punctuation could use a little work also but I cannot be a critic because for the strangest of reasons I was never taught grammar in Post-Primary school . My teacher just didn't bother to teach us (luckily I'm a bookworm and picked up my Grammar Nazism from there :P) so maybe your teacher didn't either.

Oh look I seem to have gone off on a tangent again. Dammit.

I'll tell you how I think you did and maybe point out some things you could change or improve if you wish.