1. Easter School
National 5

2. Critical Reading Paper
This paper is comprised of two parts: Scottish Text and Critical Essay.
Each section is worth 20 marks, meaning you can get 40 marks in total from this.
You get 1 hour 30 mins to complete.
Recommend: 40 minutes on each – this will give you time to select an essay question, briefly plan it out, and read over/plan out difficult responses to Scottish Text questions.

3. Always follow this structure!
Critical Essay
Always follow this structure!
Introduction
4 main paragraphs (at least)
Conclusion (always have a conclusion)

4. How to Read a Question
‘Choose a novel or a short story or a work of non-fiction’ = pick one, do not talk about different types of literature.
‘Character clearly shows development or change.’ = talk about the beginning, middle + end, showing how they change throughout.
‘Identify a key moment, such as a turning point or climax’ = you need to know the TP in your text. Talk about the moment, and then discuss how it has impacted the text OR provide a quote preceding the key moment (showing how it is building up to the TP) and then talk about the moment, and how it impacts the rest of the text.
‘creates mood or atmosphere effectively.’ = identify a mood/atmosphere (tense, pessimistic, frightening, melancholic, despondent) and show how it is developed/allows the author to introduce key themes/ideas.
‘By referring to appropriate techniques’ = you must identify a number of techniques throughout your essay.
‘consider an aspect of human nature or human society.’ = does the text tell you something about humans? Inherently evil? Everyone can be corrupted? Violence everywhere? Pick either human nature or society and show how the author develops this idea.
‘discuss its importance to the text as a whole.’ = Don’t look at something in isolation – show that everything is linked/that the text progresses.
‘Show how this influenced your response to the text.’ = show the impact the examples you discuss have on the reader (not you!)  “Orwell evokes a sense of sympathy and fear from the reader, warning them of the dangers of living under a corrupt government.

6. Introduction T – Title of the text A – Author’s name
R – Reference to the question + reference to context of text (background)
T – Techniques you will discuss in your essay (rule of three’s)

7. Exemplar 5 minutes to write! T – Title of the text A – Author’s name
The novella Animal Farm was written by George Orwell, as an allegory of the events that occurred within communist Russia. Orwell creates a clear picture of a society which is corrupt and manipulative, controlled by Napoleon and his followers. This allows him to create an impactful text which explores a variety of themes and characters. To achieve this, Orwell uses techniques such as; word choice, sentence structure and imagery, allowing him to successfully portray negative aspects of communism.
T – Title of the text
A – Author’s name
R – Reference to context of text (background)
R – Reference to the question
T – Techniques you will discuss in your essay (rule of three’s)

8. Main Paragraph
SEAL/TEAL/ PEAL S – Statement / Topic Sentence E – Evidence (a quote) A – Analysis (identify a technique, and discuss it!) L – Link to the question

9. Exemplar Paragraph – How is the theme of time explored in Duffy’s Originally?
Duffy explores the theme of time through her use of a combination of elongated and short sentences, demonstrating the length of time that is passing. This first evident through the longer sentence, “Some are slow,/ leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue/ where no one you know stays.” This reinforces the slowness mentioned in the first line, and enhances her feelings of isolation. She is, indeed, resigned to the fact that she cannot change the course of her life at this time and instead must work through this experience. Contrastingly, Duffy goes on to use short sentences to emphasise her feelings of stagnancy – “Others are sudden./Your accent wrong.” Despite the fact that she is resigned to the experience, the short and stunted sentences convey the sense of confinement that she feels at this time. This negative connotations of “wrong” conveys the fact that she feels isolated from the community she now finds herself in – although she speaks the same language her development is stagnated by her dialectic differences. Thus, her use of elongated and short sentences emphasises her feelings of isolation and immobility – although she is moving through the motions within this new environment, she feels as though time is certainly standing still in regard to her integration within it.

10. Pick 4 Quotations 8 minutes per paragraph
‘very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?’
‘it is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night’.
‘I undid the lantern cautiously – oh so cautiously – cautiously (for the hinges creaked)’
‘But the beating grew louder! Louder! I thought the heart must burst.’
‘he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead.’
‘yes , it was theirs - everything that they could see was theirs!’
‘The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.’
‘I will work harder’... ‘Napoleon is always right.’
‘...they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind.’
‘the creatures looked outside from pig to man...but already it was impossible to say which was which.’

11. Conclusion 5 minutes to write! Refer to the question.
Explain how you have responded to the question – summarise (don’t rewrite) the key points you have made in each of your paragraphs.
Refer to the techniques you have discussed.
Show personal engagement with the text and the question.
Have a final summarising line.
In conclusion/ Overall/ To conclude/ In Summary, it is clear that Animal Farm by George Orwell is a text which [refer back to the question]. Orwell achieves this through his discussion of [summarise your 4 paragraphs]. He also utilises a number of writing techniques, such as [name 3] which aid him in creating the truly successful novella we read today.

12. Mood/Atmosphere Animal Farm Tell-Tale Heart
Hopeful beginning only!!) – with Old Major’s optimistic speech and Snowball’s heroics.
Pessimistic – Benjamin has a pessimistic/cynical outlook on life, as does, arguably, George Orwell.
Frightening – demonstrates horrifying reality of living under totalitarian rule/dictatorship.
Tense atmosphere – wondering what Napoleon is going to do next.
Tell-Tale Heart
Uncertain/tone of uncertainty – through representation of his instability/madness
Tense atmosphere – reader considers what he will do about his ‘idea’.
Ominous tone/atmosphere – unsure of how will progress but clear that something bad will happen.
Dark mood – darkness permeates the text.

13. Scottish Text ‘Spill Its’
You have now had 10 days of studying – so you should now check to see where you are at in terms of your knowledge before you push on.
Task
You should write a spill it on each of your texts.
You will get 5 minutes per poem/short story, to complete it briefly.
Tip: Make sure you note down key techniques + important pieces of analysis
We will be using your notes copies going forward!

14. Texts: Themes, key quotes, analysis, anything else!
Originally
Valentine
The Way My Mother Speaks
Mrs Midas
In Mrs Tilscher’s Class
War Photographer
Assisi
Aunt Julia
Basking Shark
Brooklyn Cop
Hotel Room, 12th Floor
Visiting Hour