One of the biggest mistakes I've seen when marking is the tense change. Students write about an experience in the present tense:
I wake up with a smile on my face. Today is the day! We are going to the funfair, finally. I am so excited. Then, without warning, suddenly edge into the past: My mum told me to get dressed quickly because we were late. Then, as if it never happened, we are back to the present: I really want to go on the rollercoaster. My sister is too scared, but I'm not. We seem to have accidentally stepped into the time vortex somewhere during our crafting of that piece... Please try to avoid pulling a Doctor in the middle of your text - it really does affect your grade. Past Tense This is pretty easy to spot, because it's often marked with -ed endings. It's also the easiest tense to maintain and write in, especially if you're writing in the first person. I played football. I went to the park. We ate the cake. Present Tense Present tense is what I like to call 'talking to myself' language. Imagine you are narrating your life as you live it... I play football. I am walking to the park. I eat the cake. Future Tense Future tense is a tense you may only use on rare occasions. Imagine you are looking forward to the future: I will play football. I want to go to the park. I am going to eat the cake. How to avoid mixing tenses in your exam You must always take time to proofread - I know lots of you think that you don't need to do this, but your Paper 1 mocks say otherwise. I know you think you know what you're doing, but believe me, even I still check my writing over a few times before sending it anywhere. Look for:
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I found this great version of WWTBAM on tes.com - it should be helpful if you're struggling to get higher than 4/16 for your SPaG. It's a great little revision game that you can rope your friends or parents into, too. |
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