Higher English

An Introduction to the Course

Higher English

Course Assessment:

Writing Portfolio- marked out of 30 (15 each ) = 30%

Reading for U, A and E exam- marked out of 30 =30%

Critical Reading Exam =40% – One Critical Essay. 20%

- Scottish Text Question. 20%

Exactly the same external assessment structure as Nat 5.

Writing Portfolio:

2 pieces: 1 broadly creative + 1 broadly discursive

Creative: personal/reflective/imaginative.Discursive: argumentative, persuasive.Each piece marked out of 15Max 1300 words taken seriously.Teacher support restricted – focus on

students working independently in an atmosphere that guarantees authenticity of the piece. Plagiarism will mean withdrawal of candidate by SQA.

Reading for U,A,E

Two non-fiction passages.Length of passage /timing = 1 hour 30 minsTotal 30 marks. Questions are focused on the first passage,

with only using the second passage for a comparison question.

Types of questions include: summarising, comparing, contrasting skills, writer’s attitude, language and the effectiveness of endings.

Reference: Specimen paper.

What sort of Scottish text question will pupils face in the exam?

At Nat 5 students studied an extract from a play, and at Higher students will study six poems by Carol Ann Duffy.

One of the six poems will be given in the exam. 10 marks will be awarded for work on the given poem (tends to be 2,3 or 4 mark questions.)

A further 10 marks are awarded in a final comparison question showing understanding of links between the poem given in the exam and the other Duffy poems studied.

This work will be undertaken during Term 1: August – October.

Critical Essay…

Comes after Scottish text question in exam paper

3 questions per genre section. One question and essay in 45 minutes.

Prose and Drama will be studied in class over Terms 2 and 3.

Poetry cannot be used for the Critical Essay, as Poetry is being used for the Scottish Text Question.

Internal Assessment

As with the National 5 course, pupils need to demonstrate competency in Reading, Writing, Talking and Listening in order to achieve the course award.

How will this be Internally assessed?

Reading: The assessment will come from looking at an unseen poem and answering questions on it. There will be opportunities to achieve this outcome during Term 1.

Writing: The Discursive essay that students will research and write in June will be used as the internal assessment for the Writing element.

Talking: The Discursive essay will be used as the basis for a Solo Talk, which will be delivered in August.

Listening: The Listening unit and assessment will be delivered during Term 2 October to December.

• The leap from National 5 to Higher is significant: with more sophisticated texts and greater expectations of analysis and evaluation of language.

•You will be expected to set targets for yourself from the start of the year, and evaluate your progress and next steps at regular intervals during the course.

•Regular reading of quality fiction and non-fiction texts will help to improve your understanding, vocabulary and ease of working with text.

•Supported study will run from January, with limited places available for those most in need. Easter Revision Booklets will be provided.

•Teachers will expect you to be consolidating knowledge at home every week throughout the year. Activities at home will include: reading of class texts - making notes and gathering quotations; making mind maps in response to essay questions; reading quality broadsheet journalism and analysing techniques; researching topics and gathering sources for folio work and practising solo talks.

Expectations and Support

Useful Resources

SQA Information and Past Papers: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47904.htmlBBC Bitesize Carol Ann Duffy http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zghtyrd

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