← English syllabus

ScotlandEnglish

Textual Analysis

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you analyse an unseen drama extract so that you read it as performance rather than as a page of dialogue?

Analysing unseen drama: reading dialogue, stage directions, dramatic structure, conflict, subtext and performance implications in a previously unseen extract to show how the dramatist creates meaning and effect on stage.
How to analyse an unseen drama extract in SQA Advanced Higher English Textual Analysis: reading dialogue, stage directions, dramatic structure, conflict, subtext and performance implications to show how the dramatist creates meaning and effect on stage, not just on the page.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse an unseen poem so that you read its form, sound and imagery rather than paraphrasing its meaning?

Analysing unseen poetry: reading form, structure, sound, imagery, voice and tone in a previously unseen poem to show how the poem creates meaning and effect, rather than restating what it says.
How to analyse an unseen poem in SQA Advanced Higher English Textual Analysis: reading form, structure, sound, imagery, voice and tone to show how the poem creates meaning and effect, rather than paraphrasing what the poem says.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse an unseen prose fiction passage so that you read its narrative craft rather than retell its events?

Analysing unseen prose fiction: reading narrative voice, focalisation, characterisation, structure, setting and style in a previously unseen passage to show how the writer creates meaning and effect.
How to analyse an unseen prose fiction passage in SQA Advanced Higher English Textual Analysis: reading narrative voice, focalisation, characterisation, structure, setting and style to show how the writer creates meaning and effect, rather than retelling the events.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse an unseen prose non-fiction text so that you read its argument and rhetoric rather than just its subject?

Analysing unseen prose non-fiction: reading argument structure, rhetorical technique, persona, tone and selection of evidence in a previously unseen essay, speech, memoir or piece of journalism to show how the writer persuades or moves the reader.
How to analyse an unseen prose non-fiction text in SQA Advanced Higher English Textual Analysis: reading argument structure, rhetorical technique, persona, tone and selection of evidence in an essay, speech, memoir or piece of journalism, to show how the writer persuades or moves the reader.
12 min answer →

How do you approach the Textual Analysis paper so that you analyse a previously unseen text confidently in 90 minutes?

The Textual Analysis task: producing a critical analysis of one previously unseen literary text chosen from prose fiction, prose non-fiction, poetry or drama, marked out of 20 in a 90 minute paper, as a critical essay or extended bullet points.
How to approach the SQA Advanced Higher English Textual Analysis paper: producing a critical analysis of one previously unseen literary text from prose fiction, prose non-fiction, poetry or drama, in 90 minutes, worth 20 marks, as a critical essay or extended bullet points.
12 min answer →