Author: Jacqueline Thorogood

  • Why Reading Fiction Improves Exam Performance in English

    Why Reading Fiction Improves Exam Performance in English

    Every English teacher says it: read more. Said often enough, it starts to sound like the thing we say when we have nothing more specific to offer. But the link between reading for pleasure and English exam results is real, and it’s one of the best-researched findings in education.

    The best-known evidence comes from the Institute of Education at UCL. Dr Alice Sullivan and Matt Brown analysed the reading habits of around 6,000 young people in the 1970 British Cohort Study. They found that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read. The strongest effect was on vocabulary. The most striking finding was that reading for pleasure mattered more to children’s progress between 10 and 16 than their parents’ level of education. Reading for pleasure puts children ahead in the classroom, study finds +3

    So reading for pleasure isn’t just a nice extra. Here is how it shows up in an exam.

    Vocabulary you can’t cram

    Regular readers meet far more words than non-readers, and they meet them in context, which is how vocabulary actually sticks. Every unfamiliar word in a novel is a small piece of practice: working out meaning from the sentence around it. By the time a regular reader sits a comprehension paper, they have done this thousands of times without noticing.

    That matters because IGCSE reward precise vocabulary. It helps students understand the extract, and it helps them choose the right word in their own writing. Word lists can top this up, but they can’t replace it.

    An ear for sentences

    Regular readers develop a feel for how sentences work: what sounds right, where a sentence can bend, and where punctuation belongs. This instinct is very hard to teach directly. In my experience, students who rarely read often have problems with syntax that grammar lessons struggle to fix, because what they’re missing is exposure, not rules.

    Stamina under time pressure

    Exams are timed, and the extracts are long. A student who reads every day finds a two-page passage normal. A student who rarely reads finds it heavy going, and they lose minutes on every paper, before they have answered a single question.

    Why fiction specifically

    Any reading builds vocabulary and stamina. Fiction does something extra: it trains students to read people.

    Novels rarely tell you what a character feels. They show it, through a pause, a gesture, or what goes unsaid. Readers learn to notice the gap between what a narrator says and what is really going on. That is the skill English Language papers test. When a question asks, “What impression do you get of the narrator in lines 5–12?”, it is asking the student to do exactly what a regular fiction reader does by instinct.

    [ANECDOTE: a specific moment from your teaching. For example, a student whose inference answers changed once they started reading, or how you can often tell in a mock which students are readers from the way they handle a narrator.]

    “Does it matter what they read?”

    Parents often ask this, and the honest answer is: not at first. Habit comes before quality. A teenager who reads football novels every night is building more than one who has abandoned a “worthy” classic on chapter two.

    Once the habit is there, you can stretch it gradually. Move towards books with richer language, more complex narrators, or slightly older readers in mind. The aim is a slow upward drift, not a sudden jump to Dickens.

    What parents can actually do

    For younger children (11+ age):

    • Keep reading aloud to them even after they can read alone. The same research found that children who were read to regularly at age 5 did better in all three tests at 16. ucl
    • Make library visits a regular routine. Libraries are free, and letting a child choose for themselves matters.

    For teenagers (IGCSE and A-Level):

    • Count audiobooks. They build vocabulary and story sense, and they fit into a commute or a gym session.
    • Let them read on a phone or e-reader if that’s what gets them reading.
    • Use what they already love. A series they’re watching may have been a book first, or there may be a novel in the same genre.
    • Read where they can see you. Teenagers notice what adults actually do much more than what they say.
    • Don’t turn reading into homework or a punishment. Children who learn to see reading as a chore rarely become readers.

  • How to Revise for IGCSE English: A Practical Plan

    Students often struggle to revise for English because the usual revision strategies don’t apply. You can’t memorise your way to a better grade the way you can in history or biology. English is a skills subject — and that means revision has to be practice-based, not content-based. Here’s a plan that reflects how IGCSE English actually works.

    Understand What You’re Actually Being Assessed On

    Before revising, know exactly what skills the exam is testing. For Cambridge IGCSE First Language English, Paper 1 (Reading) tests comprehension, summary writing, analysis of how writers use language, and an extended response to reading, where you use ideas from a passage to write in a specific form and voice. Paper 2 (Directed Writing and Composition) tests your ability to write for a given purpose and audience, and to produce a descriptive or narrative piece. For English Literature, you need to write analytically about set texts in response to questions about theme, character and technique.

    Read the assessment objectives in the Cambridge syllabus for your course. They tell you exactly what the examiner is looking for, and revision that targets them directly is far more efficient than vague “reading over notes”. Then read the examiner reports, which Cambridge publishes for every exam series. They explain, question by question, where candidates gained and lost marks. Very few students read them, which is exactly why they’re worth your time.

    For English Language: Practise Under Timed Conditions

    The most effective revision for English Language is doing past paper questions under timed conditions and then studying the mark scheme carefully. The skills the exam tests (inferring meaning, summarising accurately, analysing language, writing in a specific form and register) can only be developed through repeated practice.

    • Do one comprehension question (fully timed) per revision session
    • Compare your answer to the mark scheme. You’re not checking whether you used the same words; you’re learning the level of inference and precision required
    • For writing tasks, write a paragraph, then rewrite it, trying to improve one specific thing (sentence variety, vocabulary, structural technique)

    Timed practice is only half of it, though. Knowing what the examiner rewards in each question is what turns practice into marks. Paper 1’s extended response and Paper 2’s directed writing are where I see capable students lose the most marks, usually because they don’t know what’s being asked of them, not because they can’t write. That’s the core of what I teach in my live classes.

    For English Literature: Know Your Texts Deeply

    You need to know your set texts well enough to find relevant quotations for any theme or character question, and to write about them with precision. This doesn’t mean memorising the entire text; it means knowing which moments are richest in language and most relevant to the major themes.

    • For each text, identify 8–10 key passages and learn to quote from them precisely
    • For each passage, practise writing a close-reading paragraph. Don’t just highlight; write
    • Practise writing introductions that make an immediate argument rather than summarising the plot

    That last point makes a bigger difference than most students realise. Compare these two openings to an essay on Macbeth’s ambition:

    Weak: In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a man who kills the king so he can become king himself, and then things start to go wrong for him.

    Strong: Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s ambition not as a single choice but as a slow corruption, fed by the witches’ prophecy and his wife’s taunts, until by Act 5 it has left him unable even to grieve.

    The first tells the examiner what happens. The second tells them what you think, and gives the rest of the essay something to prove. For a step-by-step method for close reading, see IGCSE English Literature: How to Analyse a Novel Extract.

    Build a Vocabulary Bank

    Students who write well in exams tend to have a wide analytical vocabulary: words for describing what writers are doing and why. Build yours deliberately with words like juxtapose, connote, embody, underscore, foreshadow, subvert, evoke, ambiguous, implicit and ironic, and practise using each one in a sentence about a text you know. One warning: use them only when they’re accurate. A precise simple word always beats a misused impressive one.

    Your Revision Plan, Week by Week

    Eight to five weeks before: diagnose

    • Sit one full past paper for each component under timed conditions
    • Mark it against the mark scheme and identify your two weakest question types. These are your priorities
    • Choose your key passages for each Literature text and start your vocabulary bank

    Four to two weeks before: target your weaknesses

    • Do two or three timed questions a week, focused on your weakest question types
    • Rewrite one answer a week, using the mark scheme and examiner report to improve it
    • Write one close-reading paragraph for each of your key Literature passages

    The week before the exam: consolidate

    Do at least one full timed question per day. Read your best essays from the year and remind yourself what good analytical writing feels like for you. Don’t try to learn entirely new techniques in the final week; consolidate what you already do well.

    For more practice material, have a look at my Free Learning Resources and Premium Resource Packs.

    Testimonial card: a pug in glasses, Sir Pugsworth III, Year 11 IGCSE student, says Jacqueline's teaching took him from barely spelling 'metaphor' to writing sonnets and an A*.
    A word from one of our more distinguished students.

    Thorogood English’s IGCSE English classes build the skills and examination confidence that make revision effective. Join the waiting list for January 2027.

  • IGCSE English Literature: How to Analyse a Novel Extract

    The extract question is a central feature of IGCSE English Literature: you’re given a passage from a text you’ve studied and asked to analyse how the writer achieves particular effects. It rewards close reading above all else: the ability to look at specific words and explain, precisely and perceptively, what they’re doing.

    Read the Question Before the Extract

    Before you read the extract, read the question. Know what you’re looking for. If the question asks about how the writer presents conflict, read the extract looking for conflict — its presence, its absence, its expression in specific language choices. Reading without a question in mind means you’ll note everything and select nothing.

    Mark the Extract As You Read

    Read through once for overall understanding. Then read again, marking specific words and phrases that seem significant in relation to the question. You’re not looking for “techniques” first — you’re looking for moments where the language seems chosen rather than accidental. The technique is secondary to the effect; name it only when it helps your analysis.

    What to Look For

    • Word choice: why this word and not a synonym? What does it suggest?
    • Imagery: what is being compared, and what does the comparison reveal?
    • Sentence structure: where does the writer speed the reader up, or slow them down?
    • Narration and setting: whose eyes are we seeing through, and does the place mirror the mood?

    Knowing which of these matters most for a particular question, and which to leave out, is a skill in itself. It’s one we spend a lot of time on in class.

    How to Write Your Response

    Work through the extract systematically — usually from beginning to end, though you can group related moments together. For each point:

    1. Make a specific observation about the language
    2. Quote the specific words (short quotations embedded in your sentence)
    3. Analyse: what do those specific words suggest, connote, imply? What effect do they create in the reader?
    4. Connect: how does this relate to the broader question or theme?

    The word “suggests” is your friend — it signals that you’re interpreting rather than merely describing, which is what close reading is.

    The Trap to Avoid

    Spot the technique, name the technique, and then stop. “The writer uses a simile here” earns very few marks. “The writer compares X to Y — a comparison that suggests…” earns marks. Naming the technique is not analysis. Analysis is explaining the effect of the technique on the reader.

    What That Looks Like in Practice

    Here’s a short example from Dickens’s Great Expectations, where Pip sees Miss Havisham for the first time and notices that the bride inside the wedding dress had “withered like the dress, and like the flowers”.

    Weak: Dickens uses a simile to describe Miss Havisham, which makes the reader imagine what she looks like.

    Strong: Dickens compares Miss Havisham to her dress and her flowers, things meant to be fresh for a single day, and the verb “withered” makes her decay sound natural and slow, like a plant left to die. The moment that should have been the start of her life has become the place where it stopped.

    Both answers spot the same simile. Only the second explains what it does, and that’s where the marks are. If you’re planning your revision around extract practice, my post on how to revise for IGCSE English sets out a week-by-week plan.

    Testimonial card: a pug in a tweed jacket, Lord Pugsworth of Mayfair, retired Oxford don, says his grandpuppy went from a C in English to quoting Dickens at dinner.
    Proof that close reading runs in the family.

    Close reading and extract analysis are practised in every Thorogood English IGCSE English Literature session. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • What Happens in an Online English Class? A Parent’s Guide

    If your child has never had online lessons before, “an online English class” might sound vague. What actually happens? What do I do, and what is your child doing? Here’s an honest picture of what a Thorogood English class looks like.

    Who Teaches the Class

    Every class is taught by me, Jacqueline Thorogood. I’m a qualified English teacher with 26 years of teaching experience, and Cambridge IGCSE English is my main specialism. Your child won’t be passed between different teachers; they’ll work with the same teacher every week, who knows their writing and how it’s developing.

    Small Groups, Not a Lecture

    Classes run in small groups of around 6–8 students. That’s small enough for every student to be heard and to ask questions, and large enough for them to learn from each other: hearing how someone else phrases an idea, comparing interpretations of a poem, or working through a question together before we look at what makes an answer strong.

    For many students, that’s the real benefit. They can ask the question they’d never ask in a class of thirty, without any embarrassment.

    What Happens in a Lesson

    Lessons last around 1 hour 15 minutes, and each one focuses on a specific skill. Most follow the same three stages:

    • See how it works: I model the skill and break down what makes an answer effective. We look at mark schemes so students understand why a technique earns marks, not just what it’s called
    • Try it with support: students practise through structured activities, with room to think, discuss and make mistakes. As their understanding grows, I gradually step back
    • Use the feedback: students revisit the skill, improve an answer and practise again. The aim is confident, independent work, not memorised stock responses

    Throughout, I ask far more questions than I answer. Students learn most when they have to explain their own thinking rather than simply receive information.

    Working Together Online

    Online lessons have one real advantage over a classroom. When we look at a passage or a piece of writing, everyone sees exactly the same text on screen as I highlight individual words, annotate a paragraph or build a model answer in real time. Nobody is squinting at a whiteboard from the back row.

    What Your Child Will Need

    • A laptop or computer (a phone screen is too small for reading and writing comfortably)
    • A reliable internet connection
    • A quiet space where they can talk without interruptions
    • Headphones with a microphone, which make a big difference to sound quality

    Getting Started

    Classes begin in January 2027. Timetables, start dates and prices are being finalised and will be published on the Live Classes page once they’re confirmed. When you get in touch, please include your child’s year group, subject, exam board and time zone, so I can suggest the right group.

    Want a taste of how I teach before then? Have a look at my posts on how to revise for IGCSE English and how to analyse a novel extract.

    Testimonial card: a pug in a school blazer holding a book, Master Pip Pugsworth, Year 7, says he hasn't reached Dickens yet but has read every comic in the library twice.
    Our youngest reviewer, already building good habits.

    Small groups, an experienced specialist teacher and a clear focus every lesson. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list to reserve a place from January 2027.

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  • How to Use Quotations Effectively in English Essays

    Using quotations well is one of the clearest markers of a top-band answer, and not just in Literature essays. Whenever you write about how a writer uses language, whether it’s a poem, a novel or an unseen passage in an English Language reading paper, the same skill decides your mark. Many students quote too much, embed it clumsily and then fail to analyse it. The result reads like a list of evidence rather than an argument. Here’s how to make your quotations earn marks.

    Why PEE Isn’t Enough

    Many students are taught PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) or a variant of it. It’s a reasonable starting structure, but at IGCSE it tends to produce mechanical writing. “Explain” often becomes “this shows that…” followed by a paraphrase of the quotation, not genuine analysis of it. Examiners see this pattern constantly, and it doesn’t impress them.

    In my classes, students use What, How, Why instead:

    • What is the writer showing or suggesting?
    • How do they do it? This is where the quotation goes, and where you zoom in on specific words
    • Why did they make that choice? What effect does it have on the reader?

    It sounds simple, but it moves students from describing a text to analysing it. The aim isn’t to follow a formula; it’s to build an argument and support it with evidence you analyse closely.

    Short Quotations Beat Long Ones

    The longer your quotation, the less you can say about it. A two- or three-word quotation can be embedded naturally in a sentence and then unpacked in detail: word choice, connotation, imagery, sound, tone. A ten-word quotation is hard to embed, hard to analyse fully, and suggests you’re not sure which words are actually doing the work.

    If you find yourself copying out more than a line of poetry or two sentences of prose, ask: which three words here are doing the most work? Then quote only those.

    Embed Quotations Naturally

    Quotations should flow from your sentence, not interrupt it. Compare these two responses to the opening of Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”:

    Clunky: Owen shows that the soldiers are tired. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, / Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge.” This shows that the soldiers are exhausted.

    Embedded: From the opening line, Owen strips the soldiers of any heroism: “bent double” and “knock-kneed”, these young men move “like old beggars”, aged before their time and reduced to the kind of people society ignores.

    The second version uses three short quotations, woven into the sentence, and starts analysing them straight away. The analysis sits in the same sentence as the evidence, not in a separate one that repeats it.

    Analyse the Words, Not the General Idea

    The phrase “this shows that…” nearly always leads to a general observation instead of close analysis. Ask yourself instead: why this word? What does it suggest? What would be lost if the writer had chosen a different one?

    This matters just as much in an English Language paper. Imagine an unseen passage describing a city “choking” on traffic. Using What, How, Why:

    What: the writer presents the city as overwhelmed by traffic. How: the verb “choking” personifies the city as a body struggling to breathe. Why: it turns congestion from an inconvenience into something that threatens life, so the reader feels the danger of the pollution, not just the delay.

    One word, fully explored, says more than a paragraph of summary.

    One Quotation, Fully Analysed, Beats Three Summarised

    This is the most important principle. Examiners at IGCSE are looking for depth of analysis, not coverage. One quotation you genuinely unpack, considering word choice, imagery, form and effect, will earn more marks than three quotations each followed by “this shows…”. Knowing which quotation is worth that depth is a skill we practise in every lesson.

    For more on close reading, see my posts on how to analyse a novel extract and how to revise for IGCSE English.

    At Thorogood English, close reading and quotation analysis are practised in every lesson, until they become instinctive rather than mechanical. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • IGCSE English Language: How to Write a Persuasive Speech

    The persuasive speech is one of the most frequently tested written forms in IGCSE English Language, and one of the most enjoyable to write once you know what you’re doing. Unlike an essay, a speech has an audience, a setting and a relationship between speaker and listeners that shapes every choice you make.

    Know What the Exam Is Really Asking

    In Cambridge IGCSE First Language English, a speech usually appears as a directed writing task: you’re given one or two texts and asked to write a speech in response. That changes everything. You’re marked on your writing and on how well you use and evaluate the ideas in those texts. A brilliant speech that ignores the reading material will lose a large share of the marks.

    So before you plan a single rhetorical flourish, read the texts closely, decide which ideas you agree with and which you’d challenge, and build your speech from them.

    Know the Form

    A speech is written to be heard, not read. That means:

    • Address your audience directly: name the audience the task gives you, such as “Fellow students” or “Members of the school council”. Avoid the default “Ladies and gentlemen”, which examiners see constantly
    • Write as a person with a point of view: “I believe…”, “I have seen first-hand…”. A speaker who cares is more persuasive than one who doesn’t
    • Vary your sentence length: short sentences create emphasis. Longer ones build momentum. Mixing the two gives a speech its rhythm

    The Rhetoric That Persuades

    Persuasion has worked the same way since Aristotle, who identified three ways to win over an audience:

    • Ethos (credibility): why should they trust you? Show you understand the issue and have the audience’s interests at heart
    • Pathos (emotion): make them feel something, whether that’s anger, sympathy, hope or guilt
    • Logos (logic): give them reasons, evidence and facts they can’t easily dismiss

    The strongest speeches use all three. Within them, these are the techniques to have ready:

    • Rule of three: “We need courage, commitment and compassion.” Lists of three sound complete and memorable
    • Rhetorical questions: “How long must we wait?” They make the audience answer in their heads, and the answer is always yours
    • Repetition: “Not for us. Not for our children. For every generation that follows.” Repeating a word or phrase drives the point home
    • Anecdote: a short personal story makes an abstract issue real and builds both ethos and pathos
    • Facts and statistics: a striking figure gives your argument weight (in an exam, they need to be plausible)
    • Inclusive pronouns: “we”, “us” and “our” turn listeners into allies
    • Emotive language: carefully chosen words that stir feeling, such as “abandoned” rather than “left”
    • Counterargument: “Some of you will say…”, followed by why they’re wrong. Dealing with the opposition makes you look reasonable and confident
    • Direct appeal: tell the audience exactly what you want them to do

    Knowing the techniques is the easy part. The skill examiners reward is choosing the right technique for the audience and purpose, and using it with control rather than cramming in a device every sentence. That judgement is what we practise in class.

    A Strong Opening in Practice

    Imagine the task asks you to speak to your school council about extending the lunch break. Compare:

    Weak: Ladies and gentlemen, today I am going to talk to you about why I think lunch should be longer.

    Strong: Fellow students, how many of you ate lunch standing up today? If you did, you’re not alone, and that is exactly the problem.

    The second opening names the audience, uses a rhetorical question and inclusive language, and makes the issue personal in two sentences. The first just announces the topic.

    Common Mistakes

    • Writing an essay instead of a speech: no audience address, no speaker’s voice, no rhetoric
    • Ignoring the reading texts in a directed writing task, or copying from them instead of evaluating their ideas
    • Listing points without developing any of them. Marks come from the quality of the argument, not the number of points
    • Using every device in one paragraph. Control is more persuasive than quantity
    • Ending weakly. “In conclusion, I hope you will consider my points” is not a line anyone remembers

    For more on reading closely before you write, see my post on how to use quotations effectively, and my IGCSE English revision plan.

    Persuasive writing, descriptive writing and all the core IGCSE English Language forms are practised regularly in Thorogood English’s small-group classes. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • How to Prepare Your Child for Online Learning: A Practical Guide

    Online learning has become a normal part of many children’s education, but it isn’t quite the same as sitting in a classroom. Children who flourish online aren’t simply the ones who happen to adapt naturally; they’ve been helped to get ready. Thorogood English classes are taught live online in small groups, and with a little preparation almost any child can get as much from them as from a face-to-face lesson. Here’s what parents can do.

    Create a Dedicated Learning Space

    The most useful thing you can do is give your child a consistent, distraction-free place to learn. It doesn’t need to be a home office. A cleared kitchen table, a bedroom desk or a quiet corner of the living room works fine. What matters is that it’s used consistently for learning, and that during lessons it isn’t also where younger siblings are playing or the TV is on.

    Good lighting (facing a window, not backlit by one) and a stable internet connection are worth prioritising. Frozen video and choppy audio are disruptive to learning, not just mildly annoying.

    Sort the Technology in Advance

    Before the first lesson:

    • Use the joining details you’re sent to test the video platform. A short test call the day before is ideal
    • Use a laptop or computer rather than a phone. A phone screen is too small for reading a text and writing at the same time
    • Check that the microphone works clearly and that the camera shows your child’s face, not the ceiling
    • Get a pair of headphones with a microphone. They cut out household noise, so the whole group can hear your child clearly
    • Have a backup plan for poor internet, such as a phone hotspot

    Technology problems at the start of a lesson eat into learning time and are stressful for everyone. A twenty-minute check the day before avoids most of them.

    Check the Time

    If you live in a different time zone from the class timetable, double-check the start time in your local time, especially in the weeks when the clocks change. Put the lesson in your family calendar with a reminder, and aim for your child to log on five minutes early so they start settled rather than flustered.

    Have Everything Ready

    Before each lesson, your child should have a notebook and pen, any set text or materials we’re studying, and a glass of water within reach. Getting up halfway through to find a book is how concentration slips.

    Build the Habit of Camera On

    Children learn better with their camera on, and I teach better when I can see them. I can spot straight away when someone looks confused, is ready to contribute or needs a moment to think. In a small group, it also makes the class feel like a real class: students see each other’s reactions and are far more likely to join in. Encourage your child to have their camera on from the start. It quickly becomes normal.

    Learn the Etiquette of an Online Group

    A group lesson online runs smoothly when everyone knows a few simple habits:

    • Stay on mute when not speaking, and unmute to contribute
    • Use the chat for a quick question or answer, especially when someone else is talking
    • Use the “raise hand” button if the platform has one
    • Speak up clearly. Online, a quiet answer can easily be missed

    None of this takes long to learn, and most children pick it up within a lesson or two.

    Reduce Background Distractions

    Other devices are the biggest distraction during online lessons. Phones should be in another room, or face-down and silenced, with notifications off. On a laptop, other tabs should be closed. This isn’t about distrust; it’s about helping your child build focus habits that will serve them in any kind of learning.

    Talk About What Online Learning Is Like

    Children who’ve never learned online sometimes feel awkward at first. Talking to a screen is unfamiliar, and the social cues are slightly different. A quick conversation beforehand (“It might feel a bit strange at first. That’s normal, and it gets easier”) makes the first lesson far less daunting.

    Reassure them, too, that it’s completely fine to say “I don’t understand” or “Could you explain that again?” In a group of 6–8, someone else almost always has the same question, and I would much rather hear it than have a student sit quietly confused.

    After the Lesson

    Ask one simple question when they finish: “What was the most useful thing from today?” It helps the learning stick, shows you’re interested and tells you whether the lessons are working. You don’t need to quiz them. A brief conversation that treats the learning as worthwhile is enough.

    To find out what happens during a lesson itself, read my parent’s guide to online English classes.

    All Thorogood English classes are taught live online in small groups of around 6–8 students. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • How to Write an Analytical Essay Introduction for IGCSE Literature

    Most IGCSE Literature students write introductions that either restate the question, summarise the plot, or make vague general statements about the text. None of these approaches scores well. The introduction is the first impression you make on the examiner — and the place where top-band responses announce themselves immediately.

    Here’s what a strong introduction does, the mistakes to avoid, and what a good one looks like.

    What an Introduction Must Do

    A strong IGCSE Literature introduction does three things:

    • Responds to the question: not a paraphrase of it, but an answer to it
    • Sets out your argument: what you’re going to argue across the whole essay
    • Points to your angle: the characters, moments or methods you’ll use to explore it

    Notice what isn’t on that list: plot summary, biographical information about the author, dictionary definitions, or anything that begins “In this essay I will…”.

    What That Looks Like

    Take the question: How does Shakespeare present conflict in Romeo and Juliet?

    Shakespeare presents conflict in Romeo and Juliet as something that spreads. What begins as a street brawl between servants gradually infects every relationship in the play, until even love becomes a battleground.

    In two sentences, this introduction answers the question, makes an argument someone could disagree with (conflict spreads), and signals where the essay will go: from the opening brawl to the lovers themselves. It doesn’t need to be longer than that. A short, sharp introduction that argues something beats a long one that circles the question.

    There’s a simple structure that helps students build introductions like this, and, just as importantly, knowing when to move beyond it. That’s something we practise in class, with students’ own texts and questions.

    Common Mistakes to Avoid

    • “In this essay I will explore…” This wastes a sentence and signals mechanical thinking
    • “Shakespeare was born in 1564…” The examiner knows. Biographical detail belongs only if it’s directly relevant to the question, and even then briefly
    • Restating the question: “This essay will discuss conflict in Romeo and Juliet” says nothing about what you actually think
    • Starting with a definition: “Conflict is defined as a serious disagreement…” is always weak
    • Leading with history instead of the text: background can support a point, but the question is about how the writer presents something, so keep your focus on the text

    The Opening Sentence

    The best openings make a confident, arguable claim: something a reader could disagree with, which means it’s actually saying something. Compare:

    Weak: In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck writes about loneliness.

    Strong: Steinbeck presents loneliness in Of Mice and Men not just as a feeling but as a trap: almost every character longs for company, and almost none of them find it.

    The strong version takes a position, and the examiner wants to read on to see you prove it.

    Once your introduction sets up an argument, the rest of the essay has to deliver it. For that, see my posts on how to use quotations effectively and how to analyse a novel extract.

    Writing analytical essays that argue from the very first line is exactly what Thorogood English classes focus on. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • Is Online Tutoring as Effective as Face-to-Face? The Evidence

    The question parents ask most often before signing their child up for online tutoring is some version of: “But isn’t face-to-face better?” It’s an instinctive response — in-person feels more real, more direct, more human. Surely being in the same room is better than being on a screen?

    The honest answer, based on the research and on my own experience of teaching: online lessons can be every bit as effective as face-to-face ones, when they’re done well. That condition matters, and it’s worth understanding why.

    What the Research Shows

    The best evidence comes from studies that compared students who received online tutoring with similar students who didn’t:

    • Italy, 2020: during the pandemic, a randomised trial gave disadvantaged middle-school students online tutoring several hours a week. Their test scores rose significantly (an effect size of 0.26), and they also showed improvements in wellbeing and aspirations. (Carlana and La Ferrara, Harvard Kennedy School)
    • United States, 2024: two Johns Hopkins University studies of virtual reading tutoring found clear gains for young readers. The researchers noted the effects weren’t quite as large as the very best in-person programmes, and that high attendance was the key to success. (The 74)
    • England, 2020: in the national online tutoring pilot, 87% of students said they’d like to carry on with their online tutoring, and schools reported gains in students’ confidence and engagement. (Education Endowment Foundation)

    Taken together, the research tells a consistent story. Online teaching works, and the biggest factors aren’t the screen but the quality of the teaching, how regularly students attend and how engaged they are. A skilled teacher online will do far more for a student than a mediocre one in person.

    What Online Does Particularly Well

    Everyone sees the same text. When we look at a passage or a piece of writing, every student sees exactly what I’m highlighting and annotating, in real time. Nobody is squinting at a whiteboard from the back row.

    Learning alongside others. In a small online group, students hear how other people phrase ideas, compare interpretations and realise they’re not the only one finding something tricky. That’s something one-to-one tutoring can’t offer.

    No travel time. A lesson ten minutes away involves twenty minutes in the car. Online, lessons start and finish on time, which matters for students who are tired after school or juggling busy schedules.

    Access to a specialist, wherever you live. You’re no longer limited to whoever happens to teach nearby. Every Thorogood English class is taught by me: a qualified English teacher with 26 years of experience, specialising in Cambridge IGCSE English.

    What Takes Adjustment

    The research is clear that engagement is online learning’s biggest challenge. It’s easier to drift off behind a screen than in a classroom. That’s why my lessons are built around active participation, and why a few simple habits at home make such a difference: a dedicated workspace, camera on and other devices out of reach. My guide to preparing your child for online learning covers these in detail.

    The Bottom Line

    Online learning isn’t a compromise version of face-to-face. It’s a different way of delivering teaching, with its own strengths and challenges, and good evidence that it works when it’s done well. What matters most is the quality of the teacher, regular practice and useful feedback. None of those require being in the same room.

    To see what a lesson actually looks like, read my parent’s guide to online English classes.

    Thorogood English is fully online by design, so that families anywhere in the world can access specialist IGCSE English teaching. Find out more about my live classes, or join the waiting list for January 2027.

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  • Home Education and IGCSE English: A Complete Guide for Families

    Home education is growing in the UK and internationally, and navigating public exams is one of the biggest challenges families face. Cambridge IGCSE is the qualification most home-educated students choose for English. Here’s a practical guide to sitting Cambridge IGCSE English as a private candidate: choosing the right papers, finding a centre, planning ahead and preparing well.

    Why IGCSE Rather Than GCSE?

    Cambridge IGCSE is widely available to private candidates through registered exam centres around the world. It’s marked centrally by Cambridge, and it’s widely accepted by UK sixth forms, colleges and universities alongside GCSEs. For English, the most common choice is Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500). Some UK centres offer the same course graded 9–1 instead of A*–G, under the code 0990, so check which your centre provides.

    Choose the Right Papers

    This is the step many families miss. Every candidate takes Paper 1 (Reading), plus either Paper 2 (Directed Writing and Composition) or a coursework portfolio. Cambridge notes that some components aren’t available to private candidates, and in practice that usually means coursework, so most home-educated students take Paper 1 and Paper 2. Confirm this with your centre before you start preparing.

    There’s also an optional Speaking and Listening test. It’s graded separately and doesn’t count towards the main grade, so check whether your centre offers it and whether you want it. You can read the full details in the Cambridge 0500 syllabus.

    If your child is also taking English Literature, that has its own syllabus, with its own choice of components. Check that with your centre too.

    Finding an Exam Centre

    Private candidates must register through an approved Cambridge exam centre; you can’t enter directly with Cambridge. Cambridge International’s website has a centre search tool, and local home education groups and forums are often the best source of up-to-date recommendations for centres that welcome private candidates.

    Outside the UK, Cambridge exam centres exist in most countries. In Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE, for example, international schools and registered test centres typically offer Cambridge IGCSE and many accept private candidates.

    Contact centres early. Some have limited places for private candidates and fill quickly.

    Exam Series, Deadlines and Fees

    First Language English is available in the June and November exam series. Each centre sets its own entry deadline for private candidates, often several months before the exam and earlier than you might expect, so ask as soon as you’ve chosen a centre and put the date in your calendar.

    Fees for private candidates are set by the centre and vary a lot, so ask each centre for its full cost per subject, including any administration charges. If your child needs access arrangements, such as extra time, raise this with the centre at the very start, because the evidence they need takes time to gather.

    Preparation: What Home-Educated Students Actually Need

    The most common gap for home-educated students is exam technique, not general English ability. Many are strong readers and writers who still underperform at IGCSE because no one has shown them what each question type requires: what earns marks in the summary question, the directed writing, the language analysis.

    Textbooks alone can’t replicate teaching from someone who knows the Cambridge papers inside out. That’s what my small-group classes provide: regular practice on each question type, explicit teaching of what examiners reward, and individual written feedback on each student’s work, so they know exactly what to improve next.

    Free Resources to Use

    • Past papers and mark schemes: use them systematically. Do them timed, mark them against the scheme, then review them carefully
    • Examiner reports: published for each exam series, they explain what candidates did well and badly, and the same mistakes come up year after year
    • Cambridge-endorsed textbooks: more useful than generic revision guides, because they’re built around the actual exam and its question types

    For a week-by-week approach to using these, see my IGCSE English revision plan. If you’re new to online lessons, my guide to preparing for online learning will help.

    Thorogood English works with home-educated students in the UK and internationally. With 26 years of classroom experience, I run small IGCSE English groups that are well suited to private candidates anywhere in the world. Find out more about my live classes, join the waiting list for January 2027, or get in touch with any questions.

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