If you are taking the exam in June, remember that questions on will be marked using the PCLM method. PCLM stands for Purpose, Cohesion, Language and Mechanics. These are the qualities of your answer that the examiner will look for on the day.
Purpose - worth 30% of your overall mark, clarity of purpose measures your understanding of the genre. So, if it's a speech, it needs to have all of the elements involved in speech writing. Originality is key here - you don't want to sound learned off. Focus on the question and only write what is asked of you. Engage with the text by backing your answer up with evidence, (without paraphrasing of course).
Cohesion - also worth 30% of your mark, coherence of delivery assesses your management of ideas throughout the answer. You must show the examiner that you can remain focused and sustain your response throughout the entire answer. Break it up into a series of paragraphs that link seamlessly together. You will lose marks if your points are disjointed or if your answer is unstructured with no beginning, middle and end.
Language - efficiency of language use is worth 30% of the marks available. It evaluates your ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Rich vocabulary, interesting phrasing, varied sentence length and a lively rhythm are rewarded here.
Mechanics - and finally, worth the last 10% of your marks, is accuracy of mechanics. This part is the easiest place to gain marks, but also the easiest place to lose marks! Proper spelling, punctuation and grammar are heavily rewarded here. On the day of the exam it's easy to forget these things, but, for English at least, you need to get them right.
After you write every answer on the day of the exam you need to go and check that you have addressed each of these four qualities, and if you have, you're on track for a good grade.