National 5 English – the Exam and Folio of Writing

Remind me, what do I need to do again? The external assessment consists of a question paper (the exam) and a Folio of writing. The exam itself is made up of two sections: 1) Reading for understanding, analysis and evaluation 2) Critical reading

Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation This paper is worth 30 marks. You will be asked to read a passage of non-fiction and then answer a series of questions on the passage. You should be familiar with this kind of ‘close reading’ from your work in English during S1-S3. You will have 1 hour to complete this paper. It is important that you try to answer every single question.

Critical Reading The Critical Reading paper has two parts. It is worth 40 marks in total. In the first part you will answer questions on a Scottish text you have studied in class (20 marks). In the second part you will have to write one critical essay about a text you have studied in class. You cannot use the same text in both parts and your answer in part 2 of the paper must cover a different genre from the text you answered on in part 1. You will have 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete this paper.

What can I do to prepare? In order to ensure that you are prepared for the the first paper (‘Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation’) work on close reading should be ongoing. Reading quality broadsheet newspaper articles on a regular basis will help you to develop your skills in this area. Completing Credit Standard Grade close reading papers and/or Intermediate Two papers will also be beneficial.

What can I do to prepare? To prepare for the first section of the Critical Reading paper, ensure you know your Scottish text(s) well. Revise the notes you have made and ensure you have memorised a bank of quotations. If there are still aspects of the text(s) of which you are unsure, ask your teacher for help. It is important that you are thoroughly familiar with your text(s) before you sit the exam.

What can I do to prepare? To prepare for the second part of the Critical Reading paper, ensure that you are well-versed in the text(s) you have studied in class and that you have written several critical essays on each text. Writing timed essays at home is an excellent way to prepare for this paper. Look at the critical essay questions from Intermediate Two papers published in previous years (these are available on the SQA website) and give yourself 45 minutes to write an essay.

Are there revision texts available? You may find the following helpful: ‘National 5 English Success Guide’, Leckie and Leckie (ISBN ) ‘How to Pass National 5 English’, Hodder Gibson (ISBN ) National 5 English, Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation’, Hodder Gibson (ISBN ) ‘N5 English Study Guide’, BrightRed Publishing (ISBN ) National 5 English: Official SQA Specimen Paper with Answers’, Hodder Gibson (ISBN ) ‘National 5 English Portfolio Writing Skills’, Hodder Gibson (ISBN )

The Folio Remember that success at National 5 isn’t simply down to doing well in the exam. Your folio is worth a massive 30% of your overall grade. It is therefore essential that your folio pieces are the best pieces of writing you are capable of producing. Each piece should be as close to 1000 words as possible. It is possible for a piece to fail on technical accuracy and you therefore MUST ensure that your spelling and punctuation are accurate in each piece. Check and double-check your work!

The Folio - presentation Word process your work and adhere to the following layout: a standard font eg Arial, Times New Roman suggested point size 12 alignment: left or justified standard margin print colour: black