EnglishQ&A by dot point

Studying a Scottish set text drama: analysing dialogue, stage directions, characterisation and dramatic technique in the printed extract and across the play for the commonality question.

Studying Scottish set text poetry: analysing imagery, word choice, sound, form and structure in a printed poem and linking it to the poet's other set poems for the commonality question.

Studying a Scottish set text prose work: analysing narrative voice, characterisation, setting, structure and theme in a novel or short story, for the extract questions and the commonality question.

Answering the final 8 mark question: identifying a key idea or feature in the printed extract (2 marks) and discussing how it appears elsewhere in the text, or in the writer's other poems, for the remaining 6 marks.

Answering the Scottish text extract questions: working only from the printed extract to answer understanding and analysis questions on word choice, imagery, characterisation and theme using reference plus comment.

Writing the broadly creative portfolio piece: choosing a form (personal/reflective essay, short story, poem or drama script), shaping it for purpose and audience, and meeting the criteria for content, structure, style and accuracy.

Writing the broadly discursive portfolio piece: choosing argumentative, persuasive or report writing, structuring a clear line of argument, using evidence, and meeting the criteria for content, structure, style and accuracy.

Drafting and technical accuracy: developing a portfolio piece through planning, drafting and redrafting against the criteria, and proofreading for spelling, punctuation, grammar and paragraphing.

Writing for purpose and audience across genres: matching form, register and technique to the purpose and reader, and submitting two pieces in different genres (one creative, one discursive).

Analysing imagery: identifying a simile, metaphor or personification, explaining the literal comparison it makes, and showing the effect that comparison creates in the passage.

Analysing sentence structure: identifying a structural feature (list, repetition, short sentence, climax, punctuation), quoting it, and explaining the effect it creates rather than just naming it.

Analysing tone: naming the writer's tone accurately, then showing how word choice, imagery or sentence structure creates that tone, rather than just stating it.

Analysing word choice: quoting a precise word, explaining its connotations, and showing the effect the writer creates rather than just naming the word.

Answering evaluation questions: judging how effectively a writer achieves a purpose (often an effective conclusion or introduction) and justifying the judgement with reference and analysis.

Answering understanding questions in your own words: reading the mark allocation, selecting the right points from the passage, and re-expressing the writer's meaning rather than lifting from the text.

Listening and group discussion: listening actively, responding appropriately to others, building on contributions, and helping a discussion move forward as part of the spoken language assessment.

The talking assessment: meeting the spoken language criteria by communicating clearly, structuring talk, using verbal and non-verbal techniques, and contributing to spoken interaction, assessed internally as Achieved or Not Achieved.

Writing a critical essay on drama or prose: choosing the right question, using genre-specific terminology (characterisation, dialogue, stage directions, narrative voice, setting, structure), and answering on technique.

Writing a critical essay on film and television drama or on language: analysing media techniques (mise-en-scene, camera, editing, sound) or language features (register, word choice, persuasion), to answer the question.

Writing a critical essay on poetry: choosing a fitting poem, analysing imagery, word choice, sound, form and structure, and building an argument about how the poet creates meaning or mood.

Structuring a critical essay: a focused introduction, body paragraphs each making a point tied to the question, and a conclusion, written on a text in a different genre from the Scottish text.

Using evidence and technique: selecting short relevant quotations, naming the technique, analysing its effect, and linking it to the question rather than dropping in quotations or feature-spotting.