Portfolio Writing: SQA Higher English writing portfolio quiz quiz

One long single piece in any chosen genre worth the full 30 marks

Three separate pieces in three genres, each one worth 10 marks

Two pieces in different genres, each worth 15 marks

Two pieces written in the same genre, each worth 15 marks

A persuasive essay, a report, or a balanced discursive argument

A discursive essay weighing two sides, or a one-sided argument

A close-reading answer, a textual analysis, or a critical essay

A personal or reflective essay, a short story, or poetry

Reflection on what the experience meant

Using the longest and most elaborate vocabulary you can find

Listing as many separate events as you can fit on the page

Adding a single neat moral sentence at the very end of it

A discursive essay is always much shorter and uses far fewer paragraphs than a persuasive essay of the same standard

A discursive essay weighs more than one viewpoint and concludes; a persuasive essay argues one side throughout

A persuasive essay must avoid all evidence and statistics, relying purely on the writer's own personal opinion

There is no real difference between them once they are redrafted

Antiparallel strands, base pairing and a coiled double helix

Stage directions, scripted dialogue and labelled scene headings

Rhetorical questions, emotive language and direct address

Phylogenetic comparison and detailed cladogram branching

Because the pieces are written under timed exam conditions with no opportunity to revise them at all

Because only the very first rough draft is ever marked and later versions are simply ignored

Because all teacher and peer feedback is strictly forbidden

Because the pieces are written at home over time and are expected to be drafted and redrafted

Redrafting improves content, structure and expression; proofreading is the final check for technical accuracy

They are exactly the same single activity carried out twice over, simply given a different name on each occasion

Proofreading rewrites whole paragraphs and reorders the argument, while redrafting only fixes small typos

Redrafting is only ever done on the discursive piece and never on the creative one

It means you are allowed to submit the work without bothering to proofread it at all

It allows time to draft, gather feedback and redraft, which the criteria reward

It removes the need to plan any clear structure for either of the two pieces

It lets you write both pieces in the same genre to save time and effort

Only the total number of words counted in each finished piece

Only correct spelling and nothing else about the writing at all

Content, structure, and expression including technical accuracy

Only the choice of genre made for each of the two pieces

Choosing a clear genre at the outset and sticking firmly to it throughout

Supporting each point you make with relevant evidence and examples

Planning a logical, well-ordered sequence of linked paragraphs

Wavering between balanced discussion and one-sided persuasion