Castle Douglas High School

HOW TO PASS NATIONAL 5 ENGLISH: 2018-19

Introduction
We’ve designed this booklet to give you information about the Higher
English Course and so that you can help your child with the key skills that
he / she will have to master in order to be successful in the final exam.

Course Structure
Internal Assessment
Pupils must pass a talking and listening assessment in order to get an overall course award after
sitting the final exam.

External Assessment - the external examination has two papers:

Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation (30 1 hour 30% weighting
marks)
Critical Reading 1 hour 30 40% weighting
Section 1: Textual Analysis (Scottish Set text) (20 marks) mins
Section 2: Critical Essay (20 marks)

Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation

In response to a series of questions, candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to
understand, analyse and evaluate a passage. These passages normally come from quality
newspapers. Some questions will require candidates to compare ideas and/or style between the
two passages. We have included some more detailed information on types of close reading
questions and useful formulae on how to answer questions later in this booklet.

Critical Reading
Selecting from a range of questions candidates are required to do two tasks: 1. write one Critical
Essay and 2. answer a range of questions on a section of text from their pre-studied Scottish set
text. Each task must focus on a different genre (drama, poetry or prose). In the course of their
responses, candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to understand, analyse and
evaluate previously studied texts. However, candidates are not allowed to take notes or books
into the exam. Quotes must be memorised and notes on plot, characters, themes, setting, style,
structure and language must be learned. We have included some more detailed information on
how you can help your child to revise for the Critical Essay and the Textual Analysis later in this
booklet.
Portfolio of Writing
30% weighting
Two pieces of writing for Higher must be submitted and will be sent to the SQA for grading
purposes. Each essay is worth 15 marks and should be 800 - 1,000 words in length.
 one piece of writing must be broadly creative (a personal, reflective or creative piece)
 one piece of writing must be broadly discursive (an argumentative or persuasive piece)

It is essential that your son/daughter keeps up to date with homework and deadlines set by his/her
English teacher.

Encourage your child to attend Study Support if at all possible – this is a valuable resource for
augmenting your child’s learning.

Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation

You can help your child with his / her close reading skills by doing the following:
 Ensure there are quality newspapers around the house and encourage your child to read
them. Discuss their style, content, vocabulary, arguments and structure – all of these
aspects will be looked at in the Close Reading Paper. Some are available online (see links
below).
 Watch a documentary like ‘Panorama’ or a discussion programme like ‘Question Time’.
Ask your child questions to test their understanding.
 Test your child’s knowledge of critical terminology. Are they familiar with simile,
metaphor, imagery, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, alliteration, assonance?
We have included definitions and examples in this booklet to help with this. Ask your child
to find examples of the above techniques in newspaper articles and discuss their
effectiveness with them.
 Play vocabulary games with your child such as finding five testing and interesting words
(e.g. pugnacious, fraternal, dogmatic) but not impossible (zeugma, triptych, proselytize).
Give two points if they get the meaning correct and one if they work it out when you put it
into a sentence. This will test their ability to work out the meaning from the context.
 Buy past papers and encourage your child to complete the Close Reading papers. Go over
the answers with them and help them to see how they can improve their mark.
 Go over the Close Reading Information Sheets included in this booklet. Help your child to
identify the different types of questions and help them to frame an answer using the
formulae for each type of question.
 Have a dictionary available for your child to look up words they come across that they do
not know. Encourage them to come to you with their ‘new’ words and explain what they
mean. Challenge them to use it correctly in a sentence during a conversation in your
home.

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Critical Reading Paper
You can help your child with critical essay writing by doing the following:
 Help them to understand the texts being studied. Perhaps you could also read the
play/novel/poetry that your child is studying. Encourage your child to read the text again
and discuss aspects such as plot, characters, themes, setting, style, structure and language.
 Test your child’s knowledge of key quotations for each text studied. Do they know them
accurately and do they know why they are important?
 Encourage your child to use past paper questions. Ask them to highlight key words in the
question. They must focus on the task and answer the question. Then ask them to write
the opening paragraph and plan for a number of essays.
 Check your child has notes on character, themes, setting etc. for each text they have
studied. Ask them to produce their own study notes for each text and help them to learn
the information. Encourage them to use mind maps, spider grams and prompt cards.

Writing Folio
You can help your child with their writing folio by doing the following:
 Read over their drafts and check for accuracy in terms of punctuation and paragraphing.
 Help them with research and ideas for discursive essays by discussing topical subjects that
are on TV and in the quality press. Once they have decided on a topic, play the ‘Devil’s
Advocate’ with them and argue against their stand – this will help your child to confidently
refute counter arguments and strengthen their own viewpoint.
 Encourage your child to use literary techniques such as similes and metaphors in their
writing.
 In Personal/Reflective essays check that they have written about their thoughts and
feelings in detail. Your child should choose a memory or incident which allows some
honest and interesting reflection. They should aim to convince the reader that the incident
genuinely means something to them and that they have learned something from the
experience, both personally and, in a wider sense, about the world they live in.
 Check that descriptions are detailed and focuses on all the senses and not just what they
saw.
 In short stories there must be a plot, character development, setting and climax. The story
should be realistic, well structured and there should be an underlying theme evident or
perhaps a strong sense of place.

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Useful Resources
 SQA Past Papers – these are published each year.
 How to Pass N5 English for CfE
Ann Bridges (published by Hodder Gibson)
 How to Pass Close Reading
Ann Bridges (published by Hodder Gibson)
 CfE Higher English Success Guide
Iain Valentine (published by Leckie and Leckie)
 CfE Higher English Grade Booster
David Cockburn (published by Leckie and Leckie)
 CfE Higher English Practice Papers for SQA exams
Claire Bowles, Mia Stewart and Catherine Travis (published by Leckie & Leckie)
 SQA Specimen Paper 2014 for CfE Higher English and Hodder Gibson Model Papers
SQA (published by Hodder Gibson)

Useful websites
 www.sqa.org.uk
There is a section for learners
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/higher/english/
Lots of practical help and exercises.
 http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/
Help with writing essays etc.
 http://www.sparknotes.com/
Notes on literary texts
 http://www.readbookonline.net/
Recommended reads for personal reading.
 http://www.readingmatters.co.uk
More recommended reads for personal reading.
 http://www.cool-reads.co.uk
Even more recommended reads.
 http://www.guardian.co.uk
Quality newspaper articles online.
 http://www.heraldscotland.com
Quality newspaper articles online.
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/11_16/site/english.shtml
More English help
 http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/
Spelling help
 http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/knowledgeoflanguage/english/index.asp

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 .

READING FOR UNDERSTANDING, ANALYSIS AND

EVALUATION PUPIL HELPSHEETS

Understanding (U) Questions

Factual
 Look in the text for information which will answer the question.
 Define the word. Say how it relates to the question.
 Answer in your own words unless you are asked to directly quote.

“Summarise...”
 Look at the number of marks.
 Each mark = each piece of evidence you need to make.

“How does the passage help you to understand the meaning of a word”?

Formula – Summarising Questions

1. Define the word.
2. Show how the rest of the sentence makes this clear.
3. You do this by quoting the words in the sentence and their relationship to the
word in question.

A link question
These questions ask you to identify a word or phrase which links back to the previous point
or argument and at the same time, points forwards to another paragraph.

Formula – Link Questions

1. Here you need to identify in the linking sentence 2 words or phrases.
2. One that points back and one that points forward.
3. You then have to link the backward pointing one to the previous paragraph and
then the forward to the next paragraph.
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Analysis (A) Questions

How the writer express their ideas, not understanding of the passage.
It’s not what is being said, it’s how it is being said.
Analysis deals with style.
How some words may be more powerful than another – why the author used the word
they did!
Once you have identified the techniques in the phrase – you have to say how well it does
its job.

REMEMBER – the writer CHOSE this WORD for a reason. The reason is to create an effect
in your – the reader’s –mind.

Every time you answer an analysis question you have to remember to consider:-

Word Choice
Why did the writer choose a certain word?
Because of the connotation of the word. This is the words which contribute to the impact
of a word.

All the marks you get will come from identifying the word/s.
Then discussing the connotations of the word/s.

Formula – Word Choice Questions

1. Identify the word.
2. Quote it.
3. Discuss the connotations of the word.

Imagery
This is the most frequently asked and most powerful aspect of close reading.
You need to be able to identify imagery and you also need to be able to comment on why
it works so well. Simile and metaphor are devices of comparison, and work by making
pictures in your mind.
You need to be able to show that you can identify the main techniques for imagery.
 Simile
 Metaphor

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Formula – imagery questions
1. Identify the technique.
2. Show what the root of the image is (denotation).
3. Show the link between the root and the meaning of the words used in the
technique.

Structure
You need to be able to recognise the overall structure of the article. This is why you are
practising reading articles every week.

Basically articles should have

 A beginning, a middle and an end.

The argument should follow a structure;

 A proposition, a discussion and a conclusion.

There will be key phrases which signal this.

 The idea……… on the other hand…….on the whole

When you read the passage – look out for signposts or linking words.
 First words in paragraphs.
 Topic sentences of paragraphs.
 Links between paragraphs help too.

Sentence Structure
Punctuation is there to help understanding. It can give clues to the tone of the passage,
and so on.
You need to learn what the effect is of these structural techniques.
 Punctuation Marks
 Lists
 Sentence Length
 Climax and Anti Climax
 Repetition
 Word order
You then need to use this formula to answer the questions.
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Formula
1. Identify the feature.
2. State its job.
3. State where it’s used.
4. State the effect it gives the reader.

Tone, Mood and Atmosphere

Tone – voice we would speak the passage in.
Mood – emotional identification of the passage.
Atmosphere – involvement of the senses.

Some examples of tone are:

 Formal
 Informal
 Sarcastic
 Tongue in cheek
 Serious
 Humorous
 Doom Laden
 Ironic
 Portentous

Try quietly reading the passage in your head to get a feeling of the tone.

Formula – tone/ mood/ atmosphere

1. Identify the tone/ mood/ atmosphere
2. Reference to the text “quotation”
3. Comment on how the mood, tone or atmosphere is created. This is generally
achieved through word choice.

There are other techniques you may wish to consider:

 Point of view
 Contrast
 Use of questions
 Use of anecdote
 Sound

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Formula – other techniques
1. Make a statement which answers the question.
2. Provide evidence to back up your statement.
3. Make a comment which links back your evidence to the statement.

Evaluation (E) Questions

“How effectively…”

Give a personal response: ‘I think it was extremely effective / not effective

because _____________________________________________.’

Use words which have a sense of the degree that you agree or disagree.
Don’t ever just say it is effective.
You must say how effective and why!

Use words like

Moving Satisfying Humorous
Convincing Persuasive Shocking
Disturbing Entertaining Enjoyable

“Giving examples…..explain how the writer has used these features……. Word choice,
sentence structure”.

Formula – How effectively

1. State how well the technique is used.
2. Quote from the passage to back up your point.
3. State why it was used well.

“Giving reasons……… Explain how the article is rounded off”

Reasons you have to mention are TIPS;

 Tone – Does the tone change?
 Ideas – Are they the same all through the passage?
 Punch-line – Is there one?
 Style – Is the style the same at the end?
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 Literary/Poetic Techniques – for use with Reading for Understanding,
Analysis and Evaluation as well as Textual Analysis and Critical Essay

Literary Explanation Example Effect

Technique
Alliteration Repetition of consonants: The rifles’ rapid To draw attention to the
(to do with sound) b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s, rattle words and make them
t,v,w,x,y,z memorable; to ensure a
connection between the
words; to make the sound of
the words support the sense
and strengthen the meaning;
to contribute to rhythm.
Assonance Repetition of the vowel You do not do, To draw the reader’s attention
(to do with sound) sound: you do not do to the words and make them
a,e,i,o,u Any more, black memorable; to make the
shoe sound of the words support
the sense and strengthen the
meaning; to contribute to
rhythm; in this case, to
capture childish sounds.
Onomatopoeia Where the sound of a Bang! Wallop! To draw attention to the
(to do with sound) word echoes the meaning words; sometimes to create a
comic effect; to make the
sound of the words support
the sense and strengthen the
meaning.
Metaphor Where one thing is Larry was a lion In a metaphor there are two
compared to another in the fight terms being compared – Term
A and Term B: the qualities of
Term B are used to describe
Term A.
Simile Same as a metaphor, but Larry was like a As in metaphor
uses the words “like” or lion in the fight
“as”
Oxymoron Juxtaposition (placing bitter sweet, still To make the idea memorable;
side by side) of opposites splashes, to highlight irony; to support
submarine the complexity of the author’s
delicacy meaning.
Irony The bringing together of A packet of To add a new level of meaning
two words, ideas, or even vitamin pills and to support what the
objects such that a placed beside a author is saying – often to
contrast is implied and packet of create an amusing effect.
each thereby comments cigarettes
on the other

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Sarcasm Where you state the Saying “Well To ridicule the person and to
opposite of what you done” to a pupil make others laugh.
mean in order to ridicule who is
struggling to
answer a
question
Parenthesis Additional information I went to the Provides the reader with
isolated from the rest of pub – the one necessary additional
a sentence by paired on the corner – information that adds clarity
dashes, paired brackets, and had a drink or even definition.
or paired commas
Hyperbole Gross exaggeration All the perfumes Again draws attention to and
of Arabia will supports meaning.
ne’er sweeten
this little hand
Transferred When a work is Fitting the Draws attention to the
Epithet transferred from its usual clumsy helmet clumsiness.
associations to an just in time
unusual association
Enjambement A poetic device where Hatless, I take Allows the poet to draw
the poet uses run-on off attention to words and to
lines My cycle clips in create surprise by delaying the
awkward word to the next line.
reverence, Sometimes creates tension
especially if there is a run-on
verse.
Move forward,
run my hand
around the font
Personification Where you give Destination Effect can vary – in this case it
inanimate objects the board of bus: is to give a bus personality and
qualities of a live human “I’m sorry, I’m make it less impersonal since
being. not in service” it is not providing a service at
the time.
Climax The build-up to a Storms on the Dramatic effect in the build up
powerful or dramatic hills to the most important past of
point Gather their the sentence or verse – also
thunderous contributes to the rhythm.
clouds,
overhead
Mass the
monstrous
battalions of the
skies -
Anti-climax The opposite of climax Doth sometimes Humour, usually.
counsel take
and sometimes
tea

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 Textual Analysis Preparation
Textual Analysis - Create Your Own Questions

Using the key words and questions starters in the chart below, create - then answer - your own
questions to help you examine the text in greater detail. You should aim to look at each character
and theme, as well as any other significant aspects of the text.

Understand – Demonstrate an understanding of facts, concepts and ideas

Key words: Compare, Contrast, Demonstrate, Describe, Interpret, Explain, Extend, Illustrate, Infer,
Outline, Relate, Rephrase, Translate, Summarise, Show, Classify
Question Starters:
Can you explain why…?
Can you write in your own words?
Write a brief outline of…
Can you clarify…?
Who do you think…?
What was the main idea?

Analyse – Breaking information into parts to explore connections and relationships

Key words: Analyse, Categorise, Classify, Compare, Contrast, Discover, Divide, Examine, Group,
Inspect, Sequence, Simplify, Make Distinctions, Relationships, Function, Assume, Conclusions
Question Starters:
Which events could not have happened?
If … happened, what might the ending have been?
How is… similar to…?
Can you distinguish between…?
What was the turning point?
What was the problem with…?
Why did… changes occur?

Evaluate – Justifying or defending a position or course of action

Key words: Award, Choose, Defend, Determine, Evaluate, Judge, Justify, Measure, Compare, Mark,
Rate, Recommend, Select, Agree, Appraise, Prioritise, Support, Prove, Disprove, Assess, Influence,
Value
Question Starters:
Judge the value of…
Can you defend the character’s position about…?
Do you think… is a good or bad thing?
Do you believe…?
What are the consequences…?
Why did the character choose…?
How can you determine the character’s motivation when…?

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Answering the 8 mark question
The marks are broken down as follows:
 Up to 2 marks can be awarded for identifying commonality between the printed text and
other works/wider text.
 A further 2 marks can be achieved for detailed reference to the extract given. NOTE: you
will not gain a mark simply for quoting here; it is the quality of your explanation that gets
the marks.
 4 additional marks can be awarded for discussion of similar references to the other
work(s)/wider text.
You need to refer to evidence from the text and explain evidence with detailed, insightful
explanations to achieve 2 marks. Quality comments are rewarded. Do not simply try to
score marks by endlessly quoting or retelling the story.

Marks allocation: 2 marks for commonality; 2 marks for comment(s) on this poem and marks for
comments on other text(s).
Reference + basic comment = 1 mark. Reference = detailed comment = 2 marks.
Please see Mr Davidson if you would like specific 8 mark practice questions for textual analysis.

The S5/6 National 5 English teacher this year is Mr

Davidson.

Should you require any further information, please

contact the Principal Teacher of English, Mrs A Robson, in
the first instance:

Tel: 01556 502821

E-mail: [email protected]

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