I have a few different public identities, which this website embraces. Read more about my background and work in these areas.

On this site I publish new writing and research, but it also functions as an archive, providing easy access to articles published over the last 20 years, sometimes with annotations in cases where my views have changed since.

portrait photo of Francis Gilbert
  • 🏅Model GCSE Essay on the Feud in Romeo and Juliet

    🏅Model GCSE Essay on the Feud in Romeo and Juliet

    If you’re teaching or studying Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, you’ll know that essays about the family feud often hover around a Grade 4, 5 or 6—what examiners might call ‘middling’ or ‘competent’ responses. But with a few targeted improvements, these essays can be transformed into top-grade responses. I’ve updated one of my most popular blog…



Resources for teachers, educators and more

As a teacher and now as a teacher-educator and Head of the MA Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths, I have devised many recent resources for teachers, to help them teach the subject of English and creative writing. I also write fiction and reviews of books I like.


Where else to find me

My YouTube channel contains videos I’ve made for my students over the years. I’ve also run a number of topic- and book-specific educational blogs and websites as resources for students and teachers. Since 2015, I have focused upon publishing academic articles, many of which can be found on my Goldsmiths’ webpage. The contact page has my email and social media links.