What skills does Advanced Higher RMPS assess, and how does it differ from Higher?
The skills of Advanced Higher RMPS - analysis, evaluation, sustained argument and independent research - and how the demand rises above Higher RMPS at SCQF level 7.
The skills assessed in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS and how it differs from Higher. Covers analysis and evaluation, the use of scholarship, sustained argument, independent research, and the step up from Higher RMPS to SCQF level 7 degree-style study.
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What this key area is asking
Advanced Higher RMPS is defined less by its topics than by the skills it assesses and the level at which it pitches them. You must show analysis (explaining how arguments work and why points matter), evaluation (weighing and judging competing positions), the use of scholarship, sustained argument, and independent research in the dissertation. This dot point sets out those skills and shows how the demand rises above Higher to the SCQF level 7 standard of early degree study, so you write at the right level from the start.
The skills assessed
These skills are why the same advice recurs across every area: build an argued case rather than a summary. They are also what the question paper mark scheme actually credits, so they should shape revision, not just be acknowledged.
Analysis versus evaluation
This distinction is the single most useful tool for raising a mark. A descriptive answer states positions; an analytical answer explains them; only an evaluative answer weighs and judges them, which is where the top bands lie. A strong essay does all three and ends on a judgement.
How Advanced Higher differs from Higher
The practical consequence is that an answer written in a Higher style, describing what thinkers said, will underperform at Advanced Higher even if it is accurate, because the marks have moved up to argument and judgement. Recognising this gap is half the battle.
The SCQF level 7 standard
SCQF is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Advanced Higher sits at level 7, above Higher (level 6), pitched at the demand of the first year of a Scottish degree and, for a top grade, an A-Level in UCAS tariff terms. For RMPS this means independent reading, engagement with named philosophers and theologians, and the production of an original, argued dissertation, which is why scholarship and research run through the whole course rather than recall.
Worked example
Try this
Q1. What is the difference between analysis and evaluation? [2 marks]
- Cue. Analysis explains how an argument or position works and why it matters; evaluation weighs competing positions and judges between them.
Q2. Name two ways Advanced Higher RMPS differs from Higher RMPS. [2 marks]
- Cue. It narrows to two areas studied in depth with explicit philosophical argument and named scholarship; and it replaces the assignment with an independent 50-mark dissertation, shifting from describing to analysing, evaluating and researching.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH (skills)10 marksExplain the difference between analysis and evaluation in an Advanced Higher RMPS essay, and why both are needed for the top bands.Show worked answer →
A strong answer defines each skill, distinguishes them clearly, and links both to the higher mark bands.
Analysis means breaking a position down and explaining how and why it works: what an argument claims, on what assumptions, and why a point matters to the question. Evaluation means judging: weighing the strengths and weaknesses of competing positions, testing them against objections, and reaching a reasoned view on which is more convincing. They differ because analysis explains while evaluation judges; a candidate can analyse an argument accurately without ever saying whether it succeeds. Both are needed for the top bands because the question paper rewards a sustained, argued case: analysis supplies the understanding, evaluation supplies the judgement, and a conclusion without either is assertion. A full answer shows that description alone, however accurate, cannot reach the higher bands without analysis and evaluation.
SQA AH (skills)8 marksExplain how Advanced Higher RMPS differs from Higher RMPS.Show worked answer →
The marks reward a clear account of the step up in demand, not just a list of topics.
Higher RMPS (SCQF level 6) studies set components (a world religion, morality and belief, and religious and philosophical questions) assessed by a question paper and a 30-mark assignment, with source-handling and structured essays. Advanced Higher (SCQF level 7) narrows to two areas studied in real depth (Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area), demands explicit philosophical argument and the use of named scholarship, replaces the assignment with an independent 50-mark dissertation of around 3,000 to 4,000 words, and shifts the whole emphasis from describing and explaining positions to analysing and evaluating them and producing original research. The standard is pitched at the start of a Scottish degree. A full answer frames the difference as a rise in the level of analysis, evaluation and independent research expected, not merely harder content.
Related dot points
- The course structure: two areas of study (Philosophy of Religion mandatory plus one optional area), the 90-mark question paper of extended essays, the 50-mark dissertation, and the 140-mark total graded A to D.
How SQA Advanced Higher RMPS is structured and assessed. Covers the two areas of study (Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area), the 90-mark question paper of extended essays, the 50-mark project-dissertation, the 140-mark total, and what the marker rewards.
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- The dissertation: an independent research piece of around 3,000 to 4,000 words worth 50 marks, requiring a focused question, a range of researched views, a sustained argument and a substantiated conclusion.
An overview of the SQA Advanced Higher RMPS dissertation: a 50-mark, independent research piece of around 3,000 to 4,000 words on a chosen religious, moral or philosophical question. Covers choosing a focused question, researching a range of views, building a sustained argument, and reaching a substantiated conclusion.