1. New Year outline You have a prelim at the end of January.
Folios get sent away in March.

2. January- will be a mixture of folio study and prelim preparation.
This week (Monday and Tuesday) I will talk to you about picking a topic for your persuasive/ discursive piece. You will hopefully pick a topic in class. If not, you can have a think at home but please let me know your topic by January 20th.
From Thursday 11th January until your prelim, we will focus purely on prelim preparation.
This week (Thursday and Friday) we will be studying MacCaig’s poem Visiting Hour. This will be the final thing you have to learn for your prelim.

3. Folios
You should have at least one draft of your creative/ personal completed already.
This week you will pick a topic for your second essay.
All of February in class and at Supported Study we will be focussing on folios.
February is folio month!

4. For your second folio piece, you are required to write a persuasive discursive essay of words. This won’t get sent away until March, but I would like you to start thinking about it now.

5. A persuasive essay is one that pushes/ supports one side of the argument. A discursive essay has a more balanced view.

6. What will the SQA expect?
Well researched.
Appropriate use of evidence.
Detailed ideas and insights.
Well-developed and coherent argument.
Effective structure and well organised.
Well-written with a good use of language.
A bibliography- a list of any websites/ books used.

7. Choosing a topic You are allowed to write about almost anything.
You should consider the following before choosing your topic:
Do I know anything about the topic already?
Am I interested in the topic?
Is the topic current?
Can I easily find reliable information on the topic?

8. There are many topics to choose from...
For example:
Nuclear weaponry.
The use of torture.
Separate schools for gifted children.
Childhood obesity.
Social media.
Freedom of the press.
British membership of the E.U.
Regulation of the banks.

9. The use of renewable energy sources.
The content of video games.
Reality T.V shows.
The salary of sports stars.
The benefits system.
And so on...

10. If your topic is Drug taking in sport then your question might be something like:
“Are sports people ever justified in using drugs to enhance their performance?”

11. Task 1
What do you know or think about your topic already? Put all your ideas into a spider diagram.

12. Task 2
What do you want to know or need to find out about your topic? Put all your ideas into a spider diagram.

13. Homework
Pick a topic: by January 20th. If you want to hand it in before then, great! You just need to hand in your spider diagram and a note of your topic.