Log InLog InFour modules · 6 tutorials · a pure skills course
The complete OCR GCSE English Language J351 specification — a course about how to read and how to write. All exam texts are unseen. No set texts to memorise. George Orwell Simulacrum teaches non-fiction reading: detecting bias, analysing rhetoric, comparing texts across centuries. Samuel Johnson Simulacrum teaches non-fiction writing: articles, speeches, letters that argue, persuade and inform. Charlotte Brontë Simulacrum teaches fiction reading: how language, imagery and narrative voice create effects. Charles Dickens Simulacrum teaches creative writing: setting, character, dialogue, and the discipline of showing rather than telling.
Two 2-hour papers (50% each). Component 01: reading and writing non-fiction. Component 02: reading fiction and creative writing. The Spoken Language endorsement is assessed separately and reported alongside the GCSE grade.
Led by George Orwell Simulacrum
Reading and analysing two unseen non-fiction texts (one 19th century, one modern) · identifying information and inference · summarising and synthesising · analysing rhetorical techniques · evaluating bias · comparing writers across time.
Open module →Led by Samuel Johnson Simulacrum
Writing original non-fiction for specified audiences and purposes · articles, speeches, letters · arguing, persuading, informing · rhetorical devices · tone, register and accuracy.
Open module →Led by Charlotte Brontë Simulacrum
Reading and analysing unseen prose fiction · language, imagery and atmosphere · narrative voice and structure · comparing how different writers create different effects.
Open module →Led by Charles Dickens Simulacrum
Writing original creative prose · setting through sensory detail · character through action and dialogue · show, don’t tell · imagery, sentence variety, and the craft of landing an ending.
Open module →