One of the IGCSE English Literature books (well actually play) that we have selected is An Inspector Calls. So over the last few months I have been gathering the different resources that we are going to use with it and one of the resources is this Revision Guide from the Twinkl website. I first stumbled across these GCSE English Literature Revision Guides by accident when we were working through Macbeth and I loved the Macbeth Guide so I knew I wanted to use these guides for our IGCSE English Literature works.

The reason why I like these Revision Guides is because it sets out everything that you need in a easy to read format. And it includes some great exam type questions and importantly it includes sample answers where they discuss what is good about the sample answer and what could be improved (something which at this level is very important for the kids to read and think about).

Okay so this really is a revision guide that includes everything. It starts off with a bit about the exam which I am not going to go into then it is about the author – know this is actually quite important, by understanding a bit about the author, and his background you get to understand some of the themes of the play. We have already spent quite a bit of time just talking about the play writer, his concerns and the historical context of this play as it really is vital to understanding what the play is about. So I was really glad that this was included and included right at the beginning because it is actually your starting point.

Next it’s form and structure, again something which is important and then onto the Who’s Who. Know I must confess in all of these Revision Guides I love the Who’s Who pages. I just love the quick summaries of the main characters and always find them concise and spot on (We actually like to use these pages to add in a few of our own points and quotes).

Then the Summary pages. Again exactly what you need, quick concise and spot on summaries of the three acts. And lets be honest when it comes to revising this is exactly what everyone is after a good, short summary of the main points in each act. And I love that the at the end of each Act summary they include a block called Chain of Events – who ever thought of putting this here, was brilliant.

Okay so these pages are really wrap it all up very nicely. But then we go into a bit more detail and cover Four Themes of the play – Social Class, Gender Roles, Age and Time and Morality and Legality. Each theme is broken down into – Context (background info – vital), Key Quotes (really useful), Mini Exam questions, Exam Questions and the Sample Answers (the sample answers are a must read, really do yourself a favour and if you read nothing else read these and look at the comments about the sample answers).

All in all you are looking at 81 pages, which is quite a bit but honestly all of it is worthwhile.

I think these Revision Guides from Twinkl are a must use item for all of you with Twinkl memberships, they really are well written and they have included all of the key items that you need to cover.

Admin – this is an independent post, and was NOT requested by Twinkl. This just happens to be a resource that I like and find useful.