By: Rob Burton

We are thrilled to celebrate the fantastic achievements of three i-Learner students in their recent IGCSE English exams. It is wonderful to see the hard work and dedication of our long-standing students pay off.

• Ivan Liu earned a brilliant Grade A in English Literature and a strong Grade B in English Language.
• Him Him Chan achieved a superb Grade A in English Literature, coming very close to securing an A*.
• Andrea Li delivered an outstanding performance, securing a Grade A in English Language and an exceptional A* in English Literature.

To help families understand the methodology behind top-tier results, I wanted to share my approach to navigating the IGCSE English syllabus on the path to exam success:

Q: How do you break down complex texts like Shakespeare or modern poetry so students can construct top-tier essays with confidence?

My idea is that everything else follows once you understand the “big ideas.” For example, on a first reading of Shakespeare, we only need to understand what happens and who the main characters are. When the plot and character dynamics are clear, Shakespeare’s language feels like less of an obstacle. Similarly, when tackling a modernist poem like T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, we don’t need to worry about the wealth of complex allusions right away. Instead, we might think about the persona’s core human experience—feelings of isolation, alienation, or rejection. From that solid starting point, we can confidently peel back the layers and explore the language in much greater depth.

Q: Moving a student from a solid pass to top-tier grades (A/A* or Levels 8–9) requires nuanced arguments. What specific strategies do you use to help students elevate their analytical depth? 

Developing a complex topic sentence that introduces an idea, a definite argument or point, or which connects a technique and its effect on the reader in a clear way can be one of the keys to success. A great topic sentence need not limit a paragraph to a single technique; rather, it can allow a student’s writing to develop to explore an idea in more depth. This allows the subsequent analysis to spread out, unpacking the subtle effects of language. To push into those top Grade A and A* bands, students must elaborate on reader impact and offer a genuine personal response. Students can remember to ask themselves: How does this poem make a reader feel? How do I feel as a reader?

Another tip to get a top grade is to remember to write about the form and structure of the text rather than only analyzing words. Top-tier essays explore how a text is built. Looking closely at the physical architecture of the writing, for example asking why a poet uses line breaks, or why a text might shift suddenly from poetry to prose, can elevate students to the highest grades.  

Q: How do you help students connect personally with texts written decades or centuries ago so Literature feels engaging rather than overwhelming?

Literature is like a mirror to human nature and experience. While English vocabulary and syntax have shifted over hundreds of years, the core human experience has remained the same. We still grapple with the same emotions, hopes, and fears as Shakespeare’s characters or the writer of any poem —love, hate, joy, sorrow, jealousy, ambition, doubt, and longing. If a student can recognize an emotion they have personally felt, or open their mind to imagine how an experience feels to someone else, they can engage with and write well about any text.