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Thinking AloudEnglish Blog
An occasional blog concerned with the world of English Language and Literature. Featuring insights from examiners and past students as well as encouraging and inspiring everyone to pick up a book and get lost in a new world.


ChatGPT + Hamlet + Revision = A Tragicomedy
Easter is nearly upon us, hurrah, up to three weeks for your child to revise for their exams. Are you ready? Are they?Â
Sophie Welsh
Mar 262 min read
37 views
2 comments


Rejected First Time Around: the Art of Revision
Rejection: the gut-punch every writer faces. History is full of books dismissed before becoming literary classics.Â
Sophie Welsh
Mar 242 min read
12 views
1 comment


The Blarney Stone and the Art of Eloquence (Exam-Board Approved)
For those of us in the business of literature, St Patrick's day is a chance to celebrate Ireland’s unrivalled literary legacy.
Sophie Welsh
Mar 172 min read
3 views
0 comments


The Dogs of Literature
Reading a book or watching a film and a dog appears, steel yourself. It is most likely about to be devastating shorthand for human despair.
Sophie Welsh
Mar 132 min read
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0 comments


You Only Have 2 Months; You Have Ages... It's Revision Season
Fear not. Be it GCSE, IB, or A Level English Language and/or Literature, here are a few survival strategies... chocolate is involved.
Sophie Welsh
Mar 13 min read
11 views
0 comments


Lost in Literature? Good! Interpretation's the Whole Point.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an English student in possession of a novel must be in want of the right answer.
Sophie Welsh
Feb 43 min read
40 views
0 comments


'Tis the Season of the Snake
While Western culture often casts snakes in a sinister light (looking at you, Bible), the Chinese interpretation is far more nuanced...
Sophie Welsh
Jan 282 min read
7 views
0 comments


The Power of Maggie O'Farrell
If I Am, I Am, I Am is about the individual’s fight for survival, Hamnet is about the collective weight of loss.Â
Sophie Welsh
Jan 73 min read
14 views
0 comments


Pushing Boundaries: Lessons from Bacon, Bowie, and the Brave
There’s nothing quite like a Francis Bacon exhibition to remind you that life is equal parts grotesque, tragic, and utterly captivating.Â
Sophie Welsh
Dec 10, 20242 min read
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0 comments


Why We Need to Stop Squirming at Compliments (and how it can improve higher level essays)
Because here’s the thing: good literature essays demand a belief in your argument.
Sophie Welsh
Nov 28, 20242 min read
17 views
0 comments


Mock Exams: What do the Grades Mean and How to Help Your Child use them for Success
So, your child’s slogged through the mock exams and the results are in. You’re feeling a rollercoaster of emotions about them.
Sophie Welsh
Nov 8, 20242 min read
5 views
0 comments


Beyond the Book: 'Purple Hibiscus', Why Wider Reading is your Secret Weapon at A Level / IB English Lit
Let’s be honest - securing those top grades at A Level or IB English Lit isn’t about your child nodding earnestly at Hamlet.
Sophie Welsh
Oct 22, 20243 min read
12 views
0 comments


VIP Treatment or a Learning Squad?: The English Online Tuition Dilemma
Tuition. That golden ticket to better grades, fewer exam jitters, and the occasional boast at the school gates.Â
Sophie Welsh
Oct 14, 20243 min read
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0 comments


How to Win at Literature Essays (Spoiler: Plan First)
Here’s the secret: with a solid plan, your child will breeze through their English essay faster and with fewer bumps along the way.Â
Sophie Welsh
Oct 7, 20242 min read
7 views
0 comments


Last night I dreamt of Arthur Miller
There he was, in all his intellectual glory, stretching like a cross between Socrates and Usain Bolt.Â
Sophie Welsh
Sep 9, 20243 min read
3 views
0 comments


Page to Stage - the unwritten adaptation (just as the West End beats me to it)
Shush, I know we shouldn’t have favourites. But if I had to choose, go on then, it would undoubtedly be the IB’s Literature and Performance
Sophie Welsh
Aug 19, 20242 min read
9 views
1 comment


Shakespeare Reworked
Shakespeare is nothing if not a crackingly good storyteller. That he stole most of his plot lines is neither here nor there, just don’t ask
Sophie Welsh
Aug 13, 20243 min read
7 views
0 comments


A Trip of a Lifetime, with a Nice Little PhD Attached
There's an unmatched thrill in perusing the dusty shelves of a second-hand bookshop, where the scent of old paper and the promise of...
Sophie Welsh
Aug 5, 20243 min read
15 views
0 comments


Tune In, Turn Up, and Geek Out: How BBC Radio 4 Can Be Your Secret Weapon in Acing English Lang Lit
Remember, reading is something that draws you into other worlds. Listening does that too… So let me introduce you to Radio 4.
Sophie Welsh
Jul 24, 20244 min read
22 views
3 comments


Summer Reading for aspiring A Level / IB students
Pens down, books away - you’ve done the exams, you’re just waiting for the results. Nothing more to be done. IT’S THE SUMMER!
Sophie Welsh
Jul 23, 20242 min read
14 views
1 comment
Theresa, Abu Dhabi
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