The Critical Essay: overview of the SQA Higher English critical essay section

The Critical Essay is the second half of SQA Higher English Question Paper 2, worth 20 marks. You write one essay on a studied text in a different genre from your set text, responding to a question with a clear line of thought and close analysis. This page maps the skills that make a strong critical essay.

The skills of a strong essay

Structure

A relevant introduction, a clear line of thought, developed paragraphs that keep answering the question, and a conclusion that draws the argument together.

Writing about drama and prose

Analysing characterisation, dialogue, narrative voice, setting, conflict and structure, rather than retelling the plot.

Writing about poetry

Analysing imagery, sound, form, structure and tone, and tracing how the poem develops rather than paraphrasing it.

Using evidence and technique

Choosing short, embedded quotations, naming the technique accurately, and analysing its effect so each point connects evidence to the question.

How to study the critical essay

1. Learn the band descriptors. Know what separates an upper-band from a middle-band essay, especially relevance and analysis.
2. Prepare flexible material. Revise themes, characters and techniques so you can bend them to whatever question appears.
3. Build a quotation bank. Short, memorised quotations tied to technique let you support points fast.
4. Write timed essays. Practise planning quickly and writing a full essay, including a conclusion, in the exam time.

For the official course specification

The SQA publishes the full 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.