Course and assessment: SQA Advanced Higher RMPS quiz quiz

100 marks

200 marks

140 marks

90 marks

Religious Experience

World Religion

Medical Ethics

Philosophy of Religion

One area only

Two areas: Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area

Four areas chosen freely

Three areas, all compulsory

One hour, 40 marks

Three hours, 90 marks

Two hours, 60 marks

Three hours, 140 marks

Short-answer recall questions

Multiple-choice questions

A single source-analysis exercise

Extended essays, one on each studied area

90 marks

30 marks

20 marks

50 marks

Around 1,000 words

Around 3,000 to 4,000 words

Around 8,000 words

There is no word guidance

Level 7

Level 6

Level 9

Level 5

Analysis judges whether an argument succeeds; evaluation only describes it

They mean the same thing

Analysis explains how a position works; evaluation weighs competing positions and judges between them

Analysis is only used in the dissertation

A purely descriptive answer that states positions without analysing or evaluating them

An answer that weighs competing views and concludes

An answer with a sustained line of argument

An answer that uses named scholarship in support

It studies more topics but in less depth

It narrows to two areas studied in depth, demands explicit argument and scholarship, and replaces the assignment with a 50-mark dissertation

It is assessed only by multiple-choice

It removes essays entirely

The areas are not examined at all

Only one is examined, so the other is optional

Both areas are examined in the question paper, one essay each

The dissertation replaces the question paper

Answers the question directly with a substantiated judgement that follows from the body

Lists every point again in full

Simply restates the question

Introduces new scholarship not seen before

Because it demands independent research over time and carries as many marks as an essay area

Because it can be written in the exam

Because it is marked by the candidate's own centre informally

Because it is worth only a few marks

Memorisation and copying

Group presentation skills

Analysis, evaluation, the use of scholarship, sustained argument and independent research

Multiple-choice technique only