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Writer's pictureMaddie M

5 tips for smashing your GCSE coursework

Updated: Feb 1, 2020

Hello everyone,

Today I want to discuss what can make or break your grade at GCSE: coursework.


For my GCSEs I took the core subjects including triple science & french, and for my options I chose Art (WJEC), Design & Technology (AQA new spec) and Music (AQA). So you could say I know enough about coursework at GCSE to give some advice. My friends thought it was crazy choosing three subjects with over 50% of the grade being coursework, and I only knew one other person who chose three coursework subjects too.


Why should I take a coursework subject?

I thought it was normal until I got comments on it, but because of the way I work, I think I found coursework very useful.The main benefit in my eyes, is that if the final exam doesn't go as well as you'd hoped, then your coursework gives you extra marks to fall back on. In addition, if you know that you aren't very good at coping with exam pressure, you can spread the weight of the marks over two years instead of over two hours in an exam, and plan to work really hard on your coursework and less so for the exam. (Of course I'd recommend working your best for both but you get what I mean). I was okay in normal exams too but coursework let me focus more revision on other subjects later down the line. One way of looking at it, is that the coursework makes sure that you work hard all the way through the two years, meaning that you will be less stressed about the exams all at once - at least thats how it was for me.


"Do something today that your future self will thank you for."

Tip One: Just do it

So lets get the obvious tip out of the way: keep on top of your work.

This may seem like very simple advice and your reaction may sound something like 'yeah, duh?' but I mean this when I say it. It's all well and good saying you'll do it later, or waiting for the perfect time to start, however the perfect time is always now. I know you want to watch another episode of that series on Netflix and it may seem like 2 months until it has to be handed in is a long time, but it isn't. Just sitting down and getting started can seem really hard sometimes, but trust me, once you've started it is easier to carry on and get stuff done than it is to stop working and have it playing on your mind. I found that when I told myself 'just one more episode' or something to justify my procrastination, I struggled to actually relax. I know now that I can relax a lot better once I've got at least something useful done.


Tip Two: Deadlines

Make sure you know when all of your deadlines are. It can be easy to view the deadline as months away for the whole thing and put off doing seemingly smaller tasks, because you know that you could probably get away with doing them the week or even days before they're due. If you're the sort of person that will leave something to the last minute and your teacher hasn't set deadlines for each section of coursework to be completed, ask them to, even if it's just for you. If your teacher already sets regular deadlines for each section of the coursework to be completed, then great! If you don't really have a good relationship with your teacher, ask your parents or your friends to regularly ask you how you're getting on with your coursework. Stick to this well and make sure you get their feedback as often as you can. I think this can be really useful if you make sure your teacher or friends are checking up on how you're doing, as it forces you to be consistent and you can also get their advice on how to improve.


Tip three: Routine

Being consistent is key when doing coursework. If you do it all in one go, you risk burnout which can cause other areas of your life to suffer. As well as talking to your teacher regularly about what you've done (from tip two), let them know if you're staying behind to do work. I got into the routine of staying every Thursday after school and sometimes Fridays for my DT coursework, which helped my teacher know when they could properly check on my work without having to worry about checking 20 other students' work in lesson time. Particularly when making physical things like for DT, you really do need the teacher around so that you are able to operate machinery safely. When you and your teacher know when you're staying behind to work on your project, they can tell you when they may miss an evening because of a staff meeting or something. This saves you turning up on a random day expecting to get loads done and find out you can't print something or use equipment because your teacher has a parents evening that you didn't know about.


Tip four: Lists

I know that some teachers may provide you with a list of everything that you need to complete for your coursework, and some may not. If you do anything from this advice post, I'd say get your hands on the master list of everything you have to complete. If your teacher doesn't provide you with one, create one yourself. Ask the teacher and check the specification for your subject to help with this. This can help you in many ways:

  • You can plan your individual deadlines per task with your teacher

  • Figure out when you can stay after school and maximise your time there

  • You can see what's coming up next so that you can think about what you're going to do for it before it has been set as a homework

  • You can get ahead when you have a spare weekend

  • You can complete the work to your best standard because you know exactly what the examiners are looking for

  • You can tick off each thing that you complete and see how much you've progressed

I personally love lists so this has got to be my favourite tip, and there's nothing quite like ticking off a task when you've spent a long time working on it. The list may seem daunting at first, but once you start ticking things off, it becomes much more manageable. The list can be really specific if you want, or more general if you prefer it that way. Either way, you can always see what there is to do and you'll never be wondering about what's to come as you'll be prepared.


Tip Five: Don't stress

Easier said than done, I know, but seriously if you know what you have to do and when you have to get it done by, you'll be fine as long as you stick to a consistent routine. There may be panics along the way, (I had more than my fair share of those) but know that as long as you are doing your best to stay on task, you'll be fine. If you really are struggling, let your teachers and loved ones know. Its the teacher's job to make sure you're doing okay in their subject and they along with your family and friends will want you to do your best and to help you. If you're worried about your classmates getting ahead of you just remember that this is your project and your project alone. You shouldn't compare yourself to others as your best is enough! As long as you are doing your best, you are going to be okay.


I'm thinking of doing a separate post on tackling Art coursework in the future so stay tuned for that.


Until next time, thank you for reading.

- the veggie frenchie


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