How to Get Full Marks on the Scottish Texts Questions (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note
Exam code: X824 75
Section 1 of the Critical Reading paper assesses your understanding of a Scottish text which you have previously studied. This section will guide you through how to approach each type of question in this section effectively:
How to prepare for the two to four-mark questions
How to prepare for the eight- mark question
How to prepare for the two to four-mark questions
The two to four-mark questions give you the opportunity to show your ability to understand key ideas and language choices within a short section of the extract or poem. You will normally be used to summarise or explain main ideas or analyse a specific language feature.
For a two-mark question, you will normally need to make two short, clear points or one developed point with an explanation
For a four-mark question, you will normally need to make two developed points, each supported by a quotation and analysis
When answering these questions, you’ll need to demonstrate two different skills:
Close analysis of the extract provided in the exam paper:
Showing that you know what the writer is saying by explaining ideas in your own words
Identifying key ideas or relationships and how they are conveyed by the writer
Analysis of language devices:
Identifying a language technique, such as imagery, tone, or word choice
Quoting briefly and explaining the intended effect of that technique
Let’s have a look at a four-mark question in more detail. This question is based on the poem, ‘Originally’ by Carol Ann Duffy, as found in the 2023 past paper (opens in a new tab).
Look at lines 1–8. By referring to two examples of language, explain how the poet creates a clear impression of the journey. [4 marks] |
What to do:
Re-read the lines carefully:
Refer only to the section specified in the question
Identify two clear examples of language that clearly create an impression of the journey:
Avoid long phrases or general references
Identify the language technique used (though only if you can):
Naming the technique can help guide your response and show your understanding, but it is not essential
Explain what each example suggests or conveys:
Link your comment directly to the idea of the journey
Here are some ideas which you could choose to comment on:
Specific ideas from the text | Language technique | Intended effect |
|---|---|---|
“Came from our own country” [1] | word choice | suggests a separation from home/roots [1] |
“(mother) singing/our father’s name” [1] | imagery | suggests an attempt to reassure the children [1] |
“Fell through the fields” / “turn of the wheels” / “rushed” [1] | alliteration / rhythm | suggests a quick, rhythmic pace of the transport/events happening out of the speaker’s control [1] |
“My brothers cried” / “bawling” [1] | word choice | suggests pain/upset [1] |
“Home” / “miles rushed back” | repetition | suggests a preoccupation with where they have come from rather than where they are going [1] |
‘“Where we didn’t live anymore” [1] | tone | suggests the blunt and immediate feeling of loss [1] |
“Blind” [1] | symbolism | the toy cannot see what is to come/the speaker must face the journey alone [1] |
Model answer
The writer’s choice of phrases such as “fell through the fields”, “turn of the wheels” and “rushed” creates a quick rhythmic pace as the family is moved away from their home. This creates a feeling of disorientation and that it is almost happening outside of the speaker’s control. [2]
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Marking guidance
You will be awarded 4 marks for 2 valid quotations plus a relevant comment for each one.
How to prepare for the eight-mark question
The final eight-mark question gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your overall knowledge and understanding of the entire text, as well as your analytical skills.
This question will ask you to discuss one specific aspect shown in the extract and then explore how this same aspect appears elsewhere in the text.
You can earn up to two marks for valid points about what the extract and whole text have in common
You will receive two more marks for a valid point on the extract provided
You can gain up to four marks for analysing how this aspect is developed in at least one other part of the text
When answering these questions, you’ll need to demonstrate two different types of analysis:
Close analysis of the extract provided in the exam paper:
This is known as textual analysis and is very similar to what you do in the RUAE section
It involves examining the writer’s methods closely and commenting on how meaning and effect are created
Broad analysis from elsewhere in the text:
This does not need to be as detailed as the close analysis
Here, you might refer to key ideas, events, moments of conflict or resolution
Remember, you can choose to answer in bullet points in this final question, or write a number of linked statements. There is no requirement to write a “mini essay”.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Although you will receive a printed copy of the extract or poem in the exam, you won’t know which one will appear. For example, if you have studied Norman MacCaig, there are six poems on the set list and any one of them could appear on the paper.
As the final question in Section A will ask you to compare the printed text with at least one other text by the same writer, this means it’s essential to look for connections between the poems or the text as a whole so that you are able to make valid comparisons in your response.
Let’s have a look at an eight-mark question in more detail. Again, this question is based on the same poem, ‘Originally’ by Carol Ann Duffy as found in the 2023 past paper (opens in a new tab).
By referring to this extract and to at least one other poem by Duffy, discuss how the poet explores the theme of loss. [8 marks] |
Here are some ideas which you could choose to comment on:
Specific ideas from the extract | How it links to the theme of loss |
|---|---|
“the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more” | Loss of home |
“All childhood is an emigration” | Loss of identity |
Next you need to decide which poem you will choose from your studied list that also links to the theme of loss. Here are some examples of how you might link them to this theme:
Mrs Midas | In Mrs Tilscher’s Class | Medusa | Havisham | Before You Were Mine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss of love / physical connection | Loss of innocence / security of childhood | Loss of beauty / love | Loss of love / happiness / sanity | Loss of youth / freedom |
What to do:
Identify the theme or idea in the question:
Select another poem to compare this to
Refer closely to the extract:
Choose one short quotation or idea which shows how loss is presented
Refer to another poem by the same writer:
Select two relevant quotations or ideas and explain what each reveals about the theme
Make clear connections between the poems:
Show how both poems explore the theme or idea in similar or different ways
Model answer
For this question, we will compare Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Originally’ with ‘Before You Were Mine’:
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Marking guidance
You will be awarded 8 marks for demonstrating:
up to 2 marks for a clear statement of commonality between the texts
up to 2 marks for one valid quotation from the extract plus a relevant analytical comment
up to 4 marks for two developed points from elsewhere in the text (each using a valid quotation or reference and a clear analytical comment)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
If you’ve studied two of the set Scottish writers, you can use one for the Scottish Texts section and other for the Critical Essay section. However, you can only do this if they are from different genres. This means you cannot choose two poets, two playwrights or two prose writers. So, for example, you couldn’t use Norman MacCaig for the Scottish Texts paper and Carol Ann Duffy for the Critical Essay.
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