How To Do Well in Grade 12 English | Blyth Academy

Grade 12 English, commonly known simply by its course code ENG4U, is an essential class if you’re a high school student looking to apply to university programs. The course teaches you to analyze challenging literary texts while giving you the tools you need to interpret and evaluate information and graphic texts and create your own texts in various forms. You’ll improve your writing, learn how to coherently and confidently use academic language, and gain skills for choosing reading strategies best suited to given texts and purposes.

This Grade 12 English course is designed to prepare you for university, college, or the workplace. As English classes go, though, ENG4U has gained a somewhat notorious reputation as a difficult class. If you’re afraid of getting a poor final grade in ENG4U, you’re not alone. Plenty of students dread having this course on their report cards. Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true tips you can use when you take ENG4U to boost your grade while learning the essential skills this course teaches. Here’s how to do well in Grade 12 English.

Plan Ahead and Pace Your Deadlines

Perhaps more than any other course, your final ENG4U grade depends on the hard work you put in and not just a simple understanding of the subject. As much as you might want to put off that essay until the very last moment, no one actually likes writing into the wee hours of the morning. Your teachers certainly won’t appreciate your sleep-deprived writing, either.

Take some time before your deadlines to plan ahead. A little bit of planning goes a long way to ensuring you don’t set yourself up for a midnight marathon writing session that will never get you the grades you need.

Use Your Teachers’ Office Hours

Not sure what to make of a text? Check in with your teacher during office hours. Need some guidance on a difficult assignment or project? Office hours provide the perfect time to ask. Your teachers have office hours for a reason. That time is reserved to help students, so take advantage of those hours to make sure you can get the best possible grade in ENG4U.

During office hours, teachers can give personalized support as well as feedback throughout the process of completing a given assignment that they simply cannot give during regular class time. So, use those office hours to your benefit and get in a position to boost your final grade.

Read for Leisure

If you already love reading, ENG4U may not seem like a big challenge. Even if the thought of extra reading in the midst of all that required student work makes you shudder, though, you should reserve some time to read for leisure as well.

Immersing yourself in written texts helps you form a better understanding of structuring and how to present arguments and ideas. Additionally, the more reading you do, the more added firepower you’ll bring to your vocabulary. You can immerse yourself in texts and subjects you enjoy and reap the same benefits.

Do All the Assigned Reading

Assigned readings can often seem tangential and unrelated to what you are learning in your English class overall. However, all assigned readings are carefully planned out to educate you.

The assigned readings help build the set of tools you need for your exams and assignments. Even if an assignment seems irrelevant, know that it serves a purpose — and do the reading accordingly.

Consider Summer School In-Person or Online Instead

Everyone learns differently. Some people learn better in intensive sessions. Still, others work better from home where there are no distractions. You don’t have to take Grade 12 English during the standard school year if that is not the setting that will allow you to perform academically to the best of your abilities.

If you learn better through a condensed schedule or through online teaching, think about alternate periods of time for taking your Grade 12 English class, like summer school. Focusing solely on the ENG4U course instead of balancing different classes may help you achieve a better grade. There are options at your disposal to help you learn the way that is most effective for you. Exercise those options!

Blyth Academy offers ENG4U Grade 12 English in a variety of formats. Sign up for the option that best suits your learning needs and goals today.

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