Happy New Year and attention to all of you May 2026 IGCSE FLE students!
We’re having a discount for premium – it’s a sale, it’s a sale, it’s a sale!Â
Enjoy premium at a steal of $10 monthly when you subscribe via our annual plan, and just $12/month if you opt for our monthly premium membership!
As I’ve come into the new year, I’ve started to think that more people should have access to what we have here, and to better balance between the needs of students as well as my wish to create a sustainable business..
The hope is that more of you will consider sharing this with your friends and family, and maybe even gift it to others if you find it worthwhile and meaningful as a resource.
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I look forward to working together with you as we share the English language and its beauty with a couple more people each day.
Thank you for reading, and look forward to seeing you in the next ones!
It is officially September, which means about a month until the October-November 2026 exams, the final exams on the 2024-2026 syllabus before all subsequent exams transition to the 2027-2029 syllabus.
There is a peculiar thing that happens as an examination approaches: revision seems to expand.
One more video. One more set of notes. One more past paper opened in a new tab and never quite completed. Before long, you are extremely busy—but not entirely sure whether any of this activity is improving your performance even as all the other exams loom, one after another!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all these years, it is this: Panic is very good at producing activity. It is less good at producing marks.
Your task during the final sprint is not to become a completely different reader or writer. It is to make the skills you already possess more reliable under examination conditions.
This checklist, available for our Premium Members, will help you identify what is still costing you marks, choose the right kind of practice and arrive at the examination with a clear plan. If you do not have a premium membership but you would like to purchase the checklist nonetheless, you may do so here.
It is meant to make you brutally honest with yourself, identify where you are going wrong, and become honest with where you are with your preparations.
Let’s get into it!
Begin with a 90-second diagnosis.
Before completing another paper, tick the statements that genuinely describe your recent work:
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Confirm your component, variant, examination date, AM/PM session, venue and reporting time with your centre.
Prepare several black or dark-blue pens.
Remember that dictionaries, erasable pens and correction fluid are not permitted.
Rehearse your timing checkpoints.
Complete your last full mock early in the week.
Reduce the volume of practice as the examination approaches.
Protect your sleep and normal routine.
During the examination:
Check the component and variant on the front cover.
Read the instructions and mark allocations carefully.
Answer every required question.
Follow your rehearsed clock rather than perfecting one answer.
Label any work on additional pages clearly.
Use the final minutes to complete missing sections and correct avoidable errors.
After Paper 1, resist the temptation to conduct a lengthy post-mortem with friends. Paper 1 is finished. Your attention now belongs to Paper 2.
One final 2026 note: papers from March 2026 may look visually different from some older past papers. Cambridge has changed aspects of the presentation for accessibility, but states that the content, demand and question types remain unchanged. You can find official papers and updates on the Cambridge 0500 past-papers page.
A final word
The last days before an examination are not the time to reinvent yourself as a writer.
They are the time to become more consistent: to read the exact question, make deliberate choices, finish what you begin and remove the errors you already know you make.
A checklist cannot write the paper for you. What it can do is turn a cloud of anxiety into a sequence of decisions.
You do not need to feel perfectly ready. You need to know what to do next.
Choose one weakness. Complete one useful piece of practice today. Return tomorrow and do the next thing.
If you would like worked responses and a regular feedback loop rather than revising in the dark, you can explore EnglishFirstLanguage.net Premium membership. Premium members can also use the IGCSE Essay Marker for up to 20 eligible submissions each month.
Just want to purchase the checklist? That’s ok! You’ll find it here.
Are you a Year 9, 10, or 11 First Language English student? Are you struggling with tricky Writer’s Effect questions, tough summaries, at a loss as to how to deal with Directed Writing or Descriptive/Narrative Writing? Sign up for our classes today!
If you’d like a free assessment of your capabilities, consider dropping me a WhatsApp! Trial classes are available as well 🙂
In particular, two classes are available:
1) Thursdays 730pm – 9pm – This is an exam preparatory class that’s suitable for Year 9, 10, and 11 students who are interested to prepare for the IGCSE! 2) Tuesdays 730pm – 9pm – This is also an exam preparatory class that’s suitable for Year 9, 10, and 11 students!
The Thursday group class is an IGCSE class, and itis an exam preparatory class.
This class will be focused on past year papers in an interesting and engaging way, and we will focus on a mixture of directed writing, summary writing, writer’s effect, and descriptive and narrative composition, focusing on the difficult questions as we learn how to formulate responses to them directly in class.
Generally, we will look at actual exam papers, comprehensively reviewing the mark schemes so as to develop an intuitive understanding of Cambridge’s criteria while going through specific exercises that will help you become a more eloquent writer and score those marks that you’re looking to get!
Why would you need a class?
Learning on your own is noble, it is admirable, and it is deeply necessary – I know that for a fact and respect that.
To that I would say that while it’s true that you can obtain good guidance from our guides, it’s great to have someone who can specifically target your needs and coach you to reach your goals, and if that is what you’re looking for, I am confident that I will be the best guide to assist you on your journey!
What will the class be like?
I am a bit different from most instructors in that I strongly encourage class participation and input. I expect a lot of my students, but also keep classes fun, enjoyable, and a joy to attend! There will be plenty of opportunities to write in the class, and we will work together both through guided feedback (I assign homework each week) and also through live-writing in class.
Duration, timing, and payment:
Group classes take place for 1.5 hours per class and will take place on Thursdays at 730pm – 9pm MYT; if you’re interested to sign up for an alternate timing, please fill up this form!
They are pre-billed prior to the beginning of each term for 12 classes in advance for a total of MYR1000 or the equivalent in your domestic currency. You may sign up and confirm your enrollment via this link.
Promotion: If you sign up for a class with EnglishFirstLanguage.net, you’ll receive premium access to our website and collection of resources, and will also receive a copy of our 56 Excellent Narrative and Descriptive Essay Exemplars book 🙂
Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to working with you soon!
