Text in Context: SQA Higher Drama question paper Section 1 quiz quiz

10 marks

20 marks

40 marks

60 marks

A critic reviewing the production

A director, actor or designer

A member of the audience watching it

The original playwright of the text

Any text you choose on the day of the exam

An unseen extract printed in the exam

A text written by another candidate

A text you have studied from the prescribed text list

A series of short one-mark answers

A multiple-choice grid

A diagram of the stage with labels only

One extended response

A long quotation copied from the text

Evidence from the text and the effect on the audience

The price of staging the choice

The name of a famous director who used it

Because the marker only reads the first paragraph

Because key moments need no justification

Because the plot must be retold in full

Because you cannot cover the whole text in detail

By leading with a text-justified directorial concept

By summarising the entire plot of the text

By listing every prop in the production

By apologising for gaps in their knowledge

Voice, pitch and projection

Set, costume and make-up

Blocking, proxemics and stage pictures

Music, volume and silence

The character's motivation, objective and status

The total running time of the play

The names of every other character

The ticket price of the production

Describing the mood of the scene in general terms

A specific, named choice justified from the text and tied to an effect

Choosing the most expensive possible materials

Avoiding any reference to the text

Making too many justified production choices

Sustaining one perspective throughout

Retelling the plot instead of making choices

Linking choices to an effect on the audience

So the answer is as short as possible

So you can avoid justifying any choices

So the response stays coherent rather than scattered

So you can describe the plot from three angles

Section 2 (theatre production: application) was removed and a prescribed text list introduced

The paper now lasts four hours

The text-in-context section was removed

Candidates now answer about an unseen play

Because a few moments in detail allow specific, justified choices

Because the marker counts the number of moments mentioned

Because breadth is banned by the marking instructions

Because depth means writing the longest possible essay