How To Get A 9 In GCSE English Literature!

tips for year 10

since i’ve finished year ten and am just starting year 11, i thought i’d offer some advice for those of you starting year 10:

1. make your notes as you go along - it’s so much easier to revise effectively when you’ve already made resources, instead of wasting revision time making notes. this also means that you have notes ready when you go into year 11.

2. ask questions - when you have a question, write it down and ask your teacher next lesson. not only does this make sure that you know the content while you’re learning it, it helps you become more involved in your subjects and shows your teacher that you’re willing to take initiative and learn for yourself.

3. use revision resources - i would recommend getting revision guides (e.g. the cgp books) in year 10 and using them to guide your revision throughout the year. if you don’t want to write on the books until year 11 then you can use a separate notebook to answer the questions. 

4. REVISE FOR YOUR EXAMS - i cannot emphasise the importance of this enough. if revise and work for exams in year 10 then you’ll have already started learning the content that you’ll need to know in year 11. this means that you don’t have to revise as intensely for year 11 mocks and eventually your acutal gcses.

5. if you regret your options, switch while you can - some schools may not do this, but in my school we have a four week grace period at the start of year 10 where we can try out our option choices and change them if we want to. if you have a few lessons and find out that one of your subjects actually isn’t for you, see what you can do about switching to something you find easier/more fun/more interesting. i find that enjoying a subject will motivate me to work hard at it, so it’s super important to be studying things you enjoy.

6. concentrate in lessons - it may seem that as your gcses are in a year, you don’t need to work hard or concentrate in your lessons, but please don’t be the person who has to learn everything in year 11. it’s likely that you won’t revisit your year 10 topics in depth in year 11, so concentrate and learn them while the teacher is teaching you.

7. seek help if you need it - year 10 can be a pretty stressful time, what with a new course, new teachers, new classes and a bigger workload. if you feel like you need help, be it with academic problems, physical health or mental health, please please please ask for help. there is absolutely no shame in asking someone to help you, and it will honestly make everything easier.

8. enjoy yourself - i know this is a generic thing that everyone says, but enjoying yourself and having fun is really important. join clubs, hang out with friends, make the most of having more privileges within school without the stress of gcse exams. as well as a place of learning, school should also be somewhere you can make lasting friendships, memories and have loads of fun. 

i hope that these have helped some of you, and good luck to everyone starting year 10, you’ll smash it! xx

he watched howls moving castle and decided to make movie howl his new personality

Darlington, demon and gentleman of Lethe, canonically reads and enjoys Diana Wynne Jones books

i really dislike it when people don’t understand perfectionism.

like, it isn’t always “person who has tons of motivation and spends a ton of time making this thing *just* right”

wayyyyyy more often than not it’s:

”I know that if I try to make this thing, it won’t be perfect, so I simply won’t try.”

which definitely sounds bad, right? but when you realize that it doesn’t just apply to voluntarily making art, then you realize how perfectionism is not at all a good thing in any context. 

“i know that if I try to work on this assignment right now, it won’t be good enough, so i’ll wait until the last possible moment so that I have something forcing me to do it.”

”i know that I should start going to the gym, but I won’t see any improvement right away, so I just won’t.”

”i know that i should brush my teeth tonight, but that won’t be good enough to undo the fact that i haven’t brushed them 4 days in a row, so I just won’t.”

perfectionism isn’t the uncontrollable impulse to make things “just right”. (although it can occasionally manifest as this.)

perfectionism is the absolute, psychological inability to accept the concepts of “good enough” and “better than nothing”. even when you spell it out for yourself in a long text post like this.

Hayao Miyazaki

cute notes! (on a budget)

so i’ve just started putting in effort to make all my notes in all subjects neat and have figured out the following things: - writing scrawled across notebook pages are aesthetic too - its not just for the aesthetic it actually really helps in studying too and most importantly  you don’t need expensive stationary honestly anything will do. for the dark academics and studyblrs who aren’t able to afford muji pens and stabilo highlighters here are a few tips   - a pen and a ruler (and maybe a single colored pen and/or highlighter) will be       more than enough   - be creative with what you already have ( writing your title and subheadings differently with a lil effort or a cloud bubble round a key fact can make all the  difference believe it or not)   if you really really want pastels and such here’s some dupes highlighters: https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-chunky-pastel-highlighter-4-pack/p/0481344

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-slim-highlighters-pastel-4-pack/p/0481346 https://www.therange.co.uk/stationery/pens-and-pencils/pens/highlighters/pack-of-six-pastel-highlighters/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjtfZ3IC25gIVx7HtCh1uoQOUEAQYCSABEgJAOfD_BwE#203958 pens: i honestly think any good pen will do (when i say good i mean a pen that doesn’t smudge and runs relatively smooth ) so basically any ballpoint pen but if ya really wanna know then these are the ones i’ve been using lately    https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/paper-mate-inkjoy-black-ballpoint-pens-8-pack/p/0432408 not the exact ones but as close as i could find  i hope you found this post helpful! ~til next time Amimi

slight delay in the 7 days 7 movies series, had a trip to go see WICKED! in a huge theatre in London, I'll post about that later! got a huge amount of work to do for tommorow but I'll be sure to post very soon!!!

gettin that  a e s t h e t i c wardrobe (so you can feel like the real deal)

hey hey hey! so i was holding off on this post since at first i didn’t really want to just tell you what to buy and you go off and get it.  n o.  n o.  n o. that’s not how we do it here. instead i’m going to make a few suggestions and things that may aspire you so you can adapt and play with these to suit yourself! alright so first things first: c o l o u r s - think autumn (the season where all dark academics come out from their  underground hideouts and late night cafes and explore the surface) - think maroons and dark plumes, oranges and mustards, reds of all different   shades (we like to keep it diverse here) and dark greens next things next: items of clothing i think as long as you stick to the color scheme most things should work out fine but a lot of people seem to think turtlenecks and expensive tweed jackets are a must when in reality that’s not the case (tbh all i have is one turtleneck) - think blazers and plaid shirts and denim jackets with wristwatches and pendants - think mom jeans and thin belts and sweaters (mixing it up a lil) or even an     off-white tshirt with a fitting print

and last things last: y o u so as much as the dark academia fandom distinctly wears and deems as dark academic i think you should be able to wear whatever you like -you’re here because you like the look and feel of it but what about those who  can’t afford it or just don’t feel comfortable? those are my exact thoughts honestly wear what you think suits you at the end of the day stick with the basic colours and/or vibe and boom! academic

just in case your still a bit stuck:

a few people i get inspiration from

-  bestdressed

- sichenmakeupholic

- deaddsouls

- alexandrasgirlytalk

i hope you all liked this post!

~Amimi

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Study Notes

The Art of Highlighting @studygene​

How to Avoid Vomiting a Rainbow a.k.a. Colour Coding Your Notes @fuckstudy​

Guide to Study Guides @etudiantt​

How I make study guides @coffeesforstudiers​

Make Accessible PowerPoints @gojikas​

Guide to: Mind Maps @study-well​

How to Mind Map @study-nsp​

10 Mistakes when Studying @howtostudyquick​

How I Take Notes @acollegegirlsays​

Note Taking System @theorganisedstudent​

How to Annotate @tbhstudying​

How I Make Notecards! @cw0630​

How I Format and Use Flashcards @illolita​

Tips for Flashcards @tbhstudying​

Studying

Effective Studying @studybudyblr​

Apiarianbelljar’s Guide to Studying in Bed @apiarianbelljar​

How to Stay Focused @elkstudies​

101 Study Tips @study-early​

Study Tips for Lazy People @riseandstudy​

Studying For the Lazy @areistotle​

A Stash of Tiny Study Tips @justagirltryingtostudy​

How to Study Like a Harvard Student @yhbgk​

How to Earn More A’s: Tips From an Honours Student @abs-studies​

How to Focus @studyocracy​

Study Tips From: an MIT Student with a 5.0 @academicheaux​

Study and Exam Tips @workhardlikegranger​

Textbook Studying

How to Take Notes: from a Textbook @staticsandstationery

Studying from textbooks with PsychedAboutStudying Part 1 @psychedaboutstudying

Studying from textbooks with PsychedAboutStudying Part 2 @psychedaboutstudying​

Studying from textbooks with PsychedAboutStudying Part 3 @psychedaboutstudying​

Studying from textbooks with PsychedAboutStudying Part 4 @psychedaboutstudying​

A Visual Learner’s Guide to Textbook Note Taking @stxdybug​

At School

How to do Well in a Class Taught by a Crappy Teacher @coffeeandstationery​

Annotating Effectively @hideandstudy​

How to Take Effective Notes in Class @emmastudies​

Staying Awake/Focused in Class @mathbrain​

Class Presentations and Speaking in Public @nerdytravelingstudent​

Public Speaking Tips @inkdippedquills​

Study Tips for the New Semester @studyingandlattes​

Homework and Essays

Clichés to Avoid for Essays @appblrgirl

How to: Write a Killer English Essay @izzystudies

The Discursive/ Argumentative Essay @areistotle 

The Narrative Essay + The Descriptive Essay @areistotle

How to Write a Strong Essay @collegemania​

How to Write the Perfect College Essay @sara-laughed​

How to Tackle Big Projects @study-studymore-studyhard​

Research Tips @studyingiscool​

Who Needs Wikipedia @procrastinatioff​

Exams

How to: Remember Everything for a Test @getstudyblr​

Emergency Study Plan: My Test is Tomorrow and I Haven’t Started Studying @getstudyblr​

How to Mentally Prep Yourself for a Test @eruditicn​

How to Study for a Test @tbhstudying​

How to Improve Bad Grades @tbhstudying​

The Ultimate Guide to Final Exams @sara-laughed​

How to Make a Study Plan for Finals @sara-laughed​

How to Stay Calm and Reduce Stress During Finals @sara-laughed​

Organisation and Motivation

Minimalist School Organisation @deinterlacing​

How to Catch Up on Missed Work @munirastudies​

How to Make the Best Use of Your Time @tbhstudying​

Productivity Resource List @lifting-books​

16 Pieces of Real Advice for 2016 @azumeryl​

How to Start Working When You Really Don’t Feel Like It? @strive-for-da-best​

Beating Procrastination @to-work-or-not-to-work​

Tips for Getting Your Motivation Back @liveandstudy​

How to Make a Great, Simple Google Docs Agenda @saturdaystudying​

Concentration Masterpost @study-star​

Focus & Motivation @coffeeandrevision​

3 Ways to Set Study Goals + Goal Setting Tips @abs-studies​

Breaks/ Holidays

How to Make the Most Out of the Christmas Holidays @studysophical​

Planning for Breaks/ Holidays @studybuzz​

Saturday Study Tips @alexandraleighc​

Study Breaks @makingmyselfstudy​

Avoiding Burnout @studybuzz​

Online

Online Courses: A Guide @gracelearns​

9 Free Online Courses You Should Take @johnnylist​

My Favourite Productive Chrome Extensions @living-the-ib-life​

Subject Specific

Math Studying Technique @lunastudy

How to Study a Mathematics Textbook @collegegirlbyday

Tips for Studying Chemistry @chemistrynerd2020

Biology Help @abs-studies

Studying Biology @joolshallie

Guide to Reading Literature @eggnotes

Annotating (English) @areistotle

Health

Dealing with Failure @fuckstudy

Study Guide- for Health @jwstudying

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others @gryhffindors

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do @nyctophiliaccarly

What to Do on a Bad Day @maryplethora

How to Stay Productive During Sick Days @studysophical

Overstudies Tips #1 For Getting Better Rest @overstudies

How to Take Constructive Criticism @howtomusicmajor

Six Reasons Why You’re (Going To Be) Okay @howtomusicmajor

2am, sweater weather, french, books, pastel flower patterned curtains, a moonless night, warm candlelight, artwork tacked onto walls, materials strewn across the floor, grey furry rugs, white furniture with silver hardware, 3 white walls and a single sage green, antique jewellery boxes from my grandma, memory box on my bedside table, rings and chokers, earrings and necklaces, nail files, jade rollers, makeup brushes, matte lipstick