I Always Thought I Was "Just Bad at English"
I used to say that to everyone. Teachers, family, friends. I thought it was just the way I was: some people are maths people, some are English people, and I was firmly in the maths camp. Then I started working with an Education Lifeguards tutor, and that idea slowly fell apart.
The Real Problem: Structure
My tutor spotted it in the first session. It wasn't that I couldn't write. I had ideas, I had things to say. The problem was structure. I didn't know how to organise an argument, how to use evidence effectively, or how to write a conclusion that actually concluded something.
Once she showed me a simple framework: Point, Evidence, Explain. Everything clicked into place. It sounds almost too basic. But sometimes the basics are what's missing.
The Weekly Routine That Changed Everything
We settled into a rhythm: each session, I'd write a timed response to a past exam question, my tutor would mark it against the actual mark scheme, and we'd spend the second half of the session improving a specific skill, a different one each week.
Week by week, my writing got tighter. My vocabulary became more precise. My analysis stopped being descriptive and started being analytical. I didn't notice the change happening. I just looked back at my early work one day and barely recognised it.
The Exam
I walked out of my English Language exam feeling something I'd never felt before: calm. I had a method, I had a plan, and I used it. Two months later, I got my grade 7.
What I'd Tell Other Students
You're not "bad at English." You probably just haven't been shown how to think about it systematically. Find someone who can show you the framework, and then practise it, every single week. The results will surprise you.