The National 5 course is run from S4 to S6. It allows pupils to progress from the Broad General Education received through CfE in S1-S3 and work towards attaining a Higher award in S5/6.

The National 5 course covers two units:

• Analysis and Evaluation – A unit which looks at the skills of and Reading and Listening and develops pupils’ abilities to analyse specific literary techniques.
• Creation and Production– A unit which looks at the skills of Writing and Talking and assesses pupils’ abilities to produce texts (written and spoken) in a variety of genres.

The units are assessed in class by the teacher and verified externally by the SQA.

National 5 also requires a Writing Folio – A selection of two writing pieces from different genres, which are sent away to the exam board for external marking and make up 30% of the overall final grade.

The final exam takes place at the end of the year and is set by the SQA. It includes two exam papers:

•  Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation – A Close Reading passage with detailed questions
• Critical Reading – One timed Critical Essay on a text studied in class (from a selection of unseen questions) and one set of analysis questions on a Scottish Text studied previously in class.

The exam counts for 70% of your final grade.

Your overall award is made up by combining your grades from both the final exam and the writing folio.