Surprise, surprise! You’ll be writing quite a lot in English for the exam and your folio. You will find support on this page for critical essays and both of your folio pieces.
For more advice and support in English, visit our fabulous department Blog @ https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/hillheadhighenglish/
Critical Essay Writing
In English, you will write critical essays on your class literature. This could be a novel (Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Handmaid’s Tale), a play (A Streetcar Named Desire, A View From a Bridge, Macbeth), a piece of non-fiction (A Hanging, Marrakesh, The Pedestrian), a poem (Shakespeare, Morgan, Duffy) or a film.
Whatever genre you are studying as a class, you will be expected to demonstrate the same skills. In your essay, you will answer a question on the text providing points to support your answer.
You will be assessed on:
- your relevance to task (essay question)
- demonstration of understanding the text (clearly and concisely)
- use of supporting evidence (quotations, references specifically from the text)
- your analysis of this evidence + ability to link it to the essay task
- your evaluation of the text/themes
- the structure (logical) of your essay
- your technical accuracy
Example Questions for Critical Essay are available here:
You need to know your texts VERY WELL before you go into an exam. You should have notes and materials to revise from. In addition, you will have planned and practiced essays in class. Use these + your teacher’s feedback as you revise for this section of the exam.
Writing folio
The writing folio for both National 5 and Higher consists of 2 pieces of writing: Discursive and Creative. The SQA have strict guidelines on folio support, so although you are used to English teachers marking and supporting your writing, these pieces cannot have the same amount of input. The folio has to be your own work and ideas. You can read more about teacher input on the SQA website. You will work on your folio under supervision and it will then be printed on the SQA template and sent to the SQA to mark.
Folio advice:
