Higher Modern Studies(National 6)

The New Higher Modern Studies Course is designed to allow progression.

This allows Higher Students to consolidate and further develop the Skillsand Knowledge acquired at National 5.

Higher Course Content

The Higher Course is divided into 3 subject areas:

POLITICAL ISSUES Democracy in Scotland and the UK

SOCIAL ISSUES Social Inequality in the UK

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES World Issue - Poverty

Higher Modern Studies Skills

The Skills which will be further developed during the Higher Course are:-

• Writing Extended Responses (K&U)

• Conclusions Questions

• Decision Making Questions

• Objectivity (Support/Oppose) Questions

• Report Writing

Course Requirements

To successfully achieve a Higher Modern Studies Qualification students are required to:-

• Pass 3 Internal Unit Assessments each incorporating Extended Response Questions and a Skills question.

• Complete an Added Value Assignment under assessment conditions (1 hour and 30 minutes) to be marked by the SQA.

• Pass the External Exam.(2 hours and 15 minutes)

Course Components

Internally marked components.

Students must achieve the required outcomes for each unit.Marked by class teacher on a basis of pass/fail.

Externally Marked components.

Added Value Assignment.Marked out of 30 by SQA markers.

Exam.Marked out of 60 by SQA markers.

Total Marks Available = 90 marks.

Higher Modern StudiesExtended Response Writing

Skills

PEEL and PEEREEL

PEEL Paragraphs

PEEL paragraphs have formed the basis of all your written K&U answers in Modern Studies.

At Higher level written answers need much more detail but the basic foundation of a Higher Extended Response is still the PEEL paragraph.

National 5 PEEL Paragraphs

National 5 PEEL paragraphs are made up of 4 sentences:-

POINT – One sentence stating your pointusing the words of the question.

EXPLAIN - One sentence explaining what your point means.

EXAMPLE - A real example or a piece of evidence to prove your point.

LINK BACK - A summary of your point using the words of the question.

Spot the Difference!

At Higher level we use the same basic PEELformula but we add more explanation:-

POINT – One sentence stating your pointusing the words of the question.

EXPLAIN - 2 -3 sentences explaining what your point means.

EXAMPLE - A real example or a piece of evidence to prove your point.

LINK BACK - A summary of your point using the words of the question.

Extended PEEL ParagraphA Model Answer.

Explain, in detail the Modern Studies department at Belmont Academy.

(P) The Modern Studies department at BelmontAcademy is great.

(E) This is because the teachers work hard to ensure that Modern Studies lessons are interesting and relevant. In addition to this the department tries to support all learners

with their needs. As a result students enjoy their Modern Studies lessons and achieve excellent results in the subject.

(E) For example in 2013 students in the department achieved a 98% past rate at Higher which is a brilliant result.

(L) Therefore the Modern Studies Department at Belmont is great.

Now you try!

Choose 3 of the following and write and EXTENDED PEEL paragraph for each.

REMEMBER to aim for 2 -3 sentences of EXPLANATION.

1) Explain, in detail the variety of shops in Ayr town centre.

2) Explain, in detail why Scotland is a great place to live.

3) Explain, in detail why Modern Studies is a useful subject to study.

4) Explain, in detail the activities for young people in Ayr.

5) Explain, in detail why Belmont Academy is a successful school.

PEER Marking

You are now going to mark your Peer Partner’s Paragraphs.Here are your marking criteria:

1) There are 5 marks available.2) A relevant POINT that links directly to the

question = 1 mark.3) 2 – 3 sentences of EXPLANATION = 2 Marks.4) A relevant REAL EXAMPLE that proves the point =

1 Mark.5) A summary which LINKS BACK directly to the

point = 1 Mark.

Deduct a mark for anything that is missing.

Return your partner’s work with a MARK and COMMENT explaining the mark.

PEEL to PEEREEL

The main difference between a National 5 answer and a Higher Extended Response is ANALYSIS.A National 5 K&U answer is purely description. At Higher level students are expected to actually think about the information and use it to come to conclusions.Therefore Higher Extended Responses must examine both sides of an argument = ANALYSIS.

As a result the PEEL paragraph needs to be adapted to allow students to examine both sides of an argument before coming to a conclusion.

Therefore, the PEEL paragraph becomes a PEEREEL section.

POINT – One sentence stating your point using the words of the question.

EXPLAIN - 2 -3 sentences explaining what your point means.

EXAMPLE - A real example or a piece of evidence to prove your point.

REBUTTAL- A counter argument which links to the point but gives the opposite point of view.

EXPLAIN - 1 -2 sentences explaining what your rebuttal means.

EXAMPLE - A real example or a piece of evidence to prove your rebuttal point.

LINK BACK - A summary which links your point and rebuttal back to the question and comes to a clear conclusion

PEEREEL – A Model Answer

Question:-

To what extent is Ayr Town Centre a thriving place?

(P) Ayr Town Centre is a thriving place because of the variety of shops and restaurants it has.

(E) This means that people visiting the town centre will discover that the High Street and Ayr Central have a number of the big chain stores. In addition to this there are many small independent shops. Shoppers can also choose from a huge number of coffee shops and restaurants while they are visiting the town centre.

(E) For example, in Ayr Central shoppers can visit Debenhams and River Island as well as Costa Coffee.

(R) However, Ayr Town Centre is not the thriving place it used to be.

(E) This is because many people choose to shop in other places which are more convenient or have a better variety of shops. This often involves people shopping outside the town centre.

(E) For example, many people from Ayr prefer to travel to shopping centres like Silverburn or Braehead where parking is easy and there is a good variety of shops.

(L) Therefore, it is clear that in some ways Ayr does have a thriving town centre. The variety of shops means that the town centre continues to be busy. However, the town centre is not as busy as it used to be because people now prefer to shop in other places. Overall, the town centre is busy but it is not thriving as much as it could.

Now you try!

Choose 2 of the following and write a PEEREEL section for each.

REMEMBER to add detailed explanation, and ensure that your rebuttal links directly to your point.

1) To what extent is Scotland a brilliant place to live?

2) Belmont Academy is a successful school. Discuss.

3) To what extent do young people watch too much TV.

4) There are plenty of activities available for young people in Ayr. Discuss.

5) The school summer holidays are far too long. Discuss.

Peer Marking

You are now going to mark your Peer Partner’s PEEREEL sections.Here are your marking criteria:

1) There are 12 marks available.2) A relevant POINT that links directly to the question = 1 Mark.3) 2 – 3 sentences of EXPLANATION = 2 Marks.4) A relevant REAL EXAMPLE that proves the point = 1 Mark.5) A rebuttal point which counter argues the point = 1 Mark.6) 1 -2 sentences of EXPLANATION of the rebuttal = 2 Marks.7) A relevant REAL EXAMPLE that proves the rebuttal = 1 Mark.8) A summary which links the point and rebuttal back to the

question, and comes to an overall conclusion = 4 Marks.

Deduct a mark for anything that is missing.

Return your partner’s work with a MARK and COMMENT explaining the mark.

Higher Extended Responses

Higher Extended Responses therefore are made up of PEEREEL sections.There are 2 types of Higher Extended Responses.The first type of Extended Response is worth a total of 12 Marks = 2 PEEREELS with an overall conclusion.The second type of Extended Response is worth a total of 20 Marks = 4 PEEREELS with an overall conclusion.

Let’s try it!

Choose one of the following topics and write 2 PEEREELsections:

1) The driving age should be reduced to 16. Discuss.2) Analyse the view that alcohol is bad for young people.3) To what extent are mobile phones a good thing?4) Analyse the view that school should be compulsory to age

18.5) The internet is brilliant. Discuss.

Get your work marked by your teacher.Now try a second question.

Higher Modern Studies

How to write an Extended Response

The Exam

The Higher Exam will last for 2 Hours and 15 Minutes

In this time students will be expected to answer a total of 5

questions.

This will include 3 Extended Response Questions:2 x 12 Mark QuestionsAnd1 x 20 Mark Question

The other 2 Questions will be Skills based:ConclusionsObjectivity (Selective with the Facts)

Types of Extended Response Question

1. Analyse ..............(12 Marks)

2. Evaluate .............(12 Marks)

3. To What Extent ....(20 Marks)

4. Discuss ..............(20 Marks)

Analyse

You must explain a given issue

Analyse the links between arguments for and against the view

Support all points with evidence or statistics

Come to an overall conclusion which identifies consequences or implications

EvaluateExplain clearly what has been done to tackle the given issue

Evaluate what effects these policies have had

Have the actions :-Helped a lot give evidenceHelped a little give evidenceAchieved nothing give evidenceCaused damage give evidence

Come to an overall conclusion

Discuss

You are given a statement on an issueYou must study it and look for arguments for and against the point that the statement is makingYou must also bring in evidence,facts and figures for both sides of the argumentFinally you must come to a clear conclusion

To What Extent

Again you must explain and comment on arguments for and against a viewpoint

You must use evidence to back up each point that you make

Your overall conclusion must comment on how far the evidence supports or opposes the statement

Overall :-

However the question is worded, you

are basically being asked to:-

give arguments for and against

explain them in detail

give evidence to prove each argument

come to a clear conclusion

To do this you should always use the following formula :-

PEEREELP make your pointE explain your point in detailE give evidence to back up your pointR give a counter argumentE explain your counter argument in detailE give evidence to back up your counter

argumentL make a conclusion that Links back to the

question