Textual Analysis: overview of the SQA Advanced Higher English unseen analysis paper

Textual Analysis is Question Paper 2 of SQA Advanced Higher English, worth 20 marks in a 90 minute paper. You analyse one previously unseen literary text from one of four genres: prose fiction, prose non-fiction, poetry or drama. The text is not pre-taught, so this is the most independent reading skill in the course. This page maps how to analyse each genre.

The skills of a strong analysis

The Textual Analysis task

Reading the unseen text twice, deciding an overall reading, and building analysis tied to it, with an evaluation where asked.

Unseen prose fiction

Reading narrative voice, focalisation, characterisation, structure and style, rather than retelling the story.

Unseen prose non-fiction

Reading argument structure, rhetorical technique, persona and tone, rather than summarising the opinion.

Unseen poetry

Reading form, structure, sound, imagery and voice, rather than paraphrasing the poem.

Unseen drama

Reading dialogue, subtext, stage directions and performance, rather than treating the extract as prose dialogue.

How to study Textual Analysis

1. Practise all four genres. You cannot choose the genre in advance, so drill prose fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama.
2. Build a habit of two readings. Train yourself to read for what and effect, then for how, before writing.
3. Learn the genre toolkits. Know the conventions of each genre so you can analyse any unseen text at speed.
4. Time your responses. Practise full analyses in 90 minutes, in whichever format (prose or bullet points) you sustain best.

For the official course specification

The SQA publishes the full Advanced Higher English course specification, specimen and past papers, and marking instructions at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers.