Scottish Texts Mark Scheme and Model Answer (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note
Exam code: X824 75
The best way to improve any response is to know how you are assessed and what skills you are being assessed on. Find out what examiners are looking for in a Grade A answer for the eight-mark question:
Mark scheme
Example tasks
Grade A model answer
Mark scheme
For the eight-mark question, it is vital to know how to structure your response so that you achieve the highest marks. Here is how you should structure your answer.
Section of answer | What you need to do | Marks available |
|---|---|---|
Commonality | Identify what the texts have in common (as stated in the question) | Up to 2 marks |
From the extract / poem | Make one relevant reference to the extract (quotation, idea, technique) and give one clear comment on its effect | Up to 2 marks |
From another part of the whole text / another poem | Give two developed points from at least one other poem or a different part from the text as a whole | Up to 4 marks |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When writing your response, you can refer to a technique, an idea, or a feature of the text. The key is to show how these are developed both in the extract and in the text as a whole.
Example tasks
The focus of the question will depend on the writer and the genre you have studied. It might ask you to explore a theme (for example love, loss or identity) or a feature (for example, setting, characterisation or imagery).
Here are some examples of eight-mark tasks for several of the Scottish texts:
Tally’s Blood (Ann Marie di Mambro) | Sailmaker (Alan Spence) | Poetry Collection (Norman MacCaig) |
By referring to this extract and to elsewhere in the play, show how the theme of national identity is explored. | By referring to this extract and to elsewhere in the play, show how the issue of social class is an important feature of the play. | By referring to this poem and to at least one other poem by MacCaig, show how setting is an important feature. |
Poetry Collection (Jackie Kay) | Poetry Collection (Edwin Morgan) | Poetry Collection (Carol Ann Duffy) |
By referring to this poem and to at least one other poem by Kay, show how the poet explores the theme of change. | By referring to this extract and to at least one other poem by Morgan, show how important human issues are explored. | By referring to this extract and to at least one other poem by Duffy, discuss how the poet explores the theme of loss. |
This question will always use the command word ‘show’. This means you are required to demonstrate your understanding through detailed evidence.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The final question will be open-ended so that you are given an opportunity to show your understanding of the entire text. It will focus on a single aspect, but that aspect will always be broad enough to cover a key element of your studied text, for example, a theme, a character or the setting.
Grade A model answer
This model answer is based on Norman MacCaig’s poem, ‘Hotel room, 12th Floor’ and is taken from the 2023 past paper (opens in a new tab).
By referring to this poem and to at least one other poem by MacCaig, show how setting is an important feature. [8 marks] |
In both ‘Hotel Room, 12th Floor’ and ‘Aunt Julia’, Norman MacCaig uses setting to explore contrasting ideas about the modern city versus the natural world. Both poems reflect the speaker’s emotions to each setting: fear and alienation in the city and peace and belonging in the Hebrides. The imagery of the Empire State Building “that / jumbo size dentist’s drill” uses a metaphor to portray the New York skyline as harsh and mechanical. This is used to symbolise the artificial and perhaps intimidating atmosphere of the urban setting and the speaker’s unease within it. In contrast, the setting of the Hebrides in ‘Aunt Julia’ is depicted as remote through the phrase “She has winds pouring wetly round house ends”. Here the natural imagery is used by MacCaig to reflect the speaker’s deep connection to place and to his aunt. Furthermore, the phrase “I can hear her still, welcoming me with a seagull’s voice” uses sensory language to convey memory and longing. Hence, the setting becomes symbolic of identity but also of loss. The simplicity and personal nature of the setting therefore is sharply juxtaposed with the threatening city depicted in ‘Hotel Room, 12th Floor’. |
Why would this answer get full marks?
Clearly identifies two points of commonality between the two poems, showing a clear understanding of how they are connected [2 marks]
Provides a focused analysis of the extract, including a relevant quotation and clear explanation of its effect [2 marks]
Offers a detailed exploration of another poem, comparing how the setting is developed in each [4 marks]
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