07/09/2026
📚 Starting a new GCSE text?
For many students, starting a new GCSE text can feel quite overwhelming. Suddenly there are unfamiliar characters, settings, storylines and themes – and it can seem as though everyone else understands it except you!
Don't worry about analysing everything straight away. Start by getting to know the text.
📖 Read a little at a time.
Concentrate first on following the story and getting to know the characters. You don't need to understand every detail immediately.
🎧 Listen to it.
Audiobooks can be a fantastic way to become familiar with a novel or play. Listening while travelling, walking or relaxing at home still counts as getting to know the text!
🎬 Watch a film or stage adaptation.
If there is a suitable adaptation, watching it can help bring the characters, setting and events to life. It can be particularly useful if you're struggling to picture what's happening. Just remember that adaptations can differ from the original text, so use them alongside your reading rather than instead of it.
📝 Make a few simple notes.
You don't need pages of detailed analysis. A few thoughts about characters, important events, relationships or themes are enough to begin with.
❓ Ask questions.
If something doesn't make sense, make a note of it and ask your teacher. You aren't expected to understand everything on your first encounter with a text.
And if you're a Year 11 student revisiting a text you've already studied, don't feel that you need to start from scratch. Refresh your memory of the plot, characters and key themes first, then return to the detail. 📚
Photo of a Jane Austen display at Westminster Abbey shop 📚
