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Revision tips/advice for certain Highers.....much appreciated :)

Hey :smile:

Got my prelims in january and february and I've started revising(just looked over all my notes) but I'm wanting a better 'plan' so to speak, to hopefully pass,especially concerning Higher English and Higher German,which I'm worried about.Anyone who has taken those classes or perhaps has some useful advice would be brilliant,as I'm feeling I may just be muddling along here,with no coherent idea of how to revise :tongue:

Oh,and Administration(deathly boring but I gotta do it) xx

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Well for Higher English all I did was practice loads of close reading past papers, and understand what all the questions meant/what sort of answers I should give. Apart from this, all I did was learn my quotes a few days before the exam (reading them out loud) and saying them over and over everyday until the exam :smile:

I didn't do Higher German, but I did do Higher French (so overall very similar). I practiced listening, by asking my teacher to download previous past paper listening audios onto a memory stick and listening to them several times in the run up to the exam. This was just basically to improve my listening, which it did! :smile: I also did the listening and reading past papers and memorised my best directed wring essay, and also memorised all of my main personal response/topic essays, since you don't know for sure which one will come up in the exam.

I'm not sure for Admin (I only did Standard Grade), but when i did it, I only read over all my notes several times, then did past papers
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 2
Thanks :P I'll ask my english teacher for english past papers etc..so that should be good :smile: German directed writing I'm really worried about but that should help..I guess I panic under pressure,which is what exams do to you :P
Original post by OddThings
Thanks :P I'll ask my english teacher for english past papers etc..so that should be good :smile: German directed writing I'm really worried about but that should help..I guess I panic under pressure,which is what exams do to you :P


Have you practiced/written a few directed writing essays?? All I did to prepare for the directed writing exam (probably repeating what I said above) was memorise the best d.w essay that I'd written (which I got 12/15 for) :smile: Then when I saw the exam question, I took what I'd memorised, and fit most of it into the question (then made up one of the points that was in the question, but hadn't been in the essay I'd memorised.) No big problem! :smile:

I agree, before the exams you always panic. I used to constantly panic that I was falling behind with revision, when in fact I wasn't. It's ok to panic now, as long as you don't start freaking out badly in the exam, i'm sure you'll be fine! :biggrin:


I'm so glad I'm only studying 3 subjects this year! :p:
Reply 4
I've written a few directed writing essay's which were timed in class and I did alright,but I know I can do better :smile: I guess I struggle with what I want to say,and overthink it a bit.(grammer is a bit of a sore point for me) but I will take your advice,I had never thought about just memorizing an essay before,my teacher has us thinking we need to be amazing and flawless and just write an essay in the exam no problem.SO not gonna happen.

I pray I dont start freaking out in the exam,that would suck! You are unbeliavbly lucky to be studying three subjects this year! Are you in 6th year,if you dont mind my asking.. :smile:
Original post by OddThings
I've written a few directed writing essay's which were timed in class and I did alright,but I know I can do better :smile: I guess I struggle with what I want to say,and overthink it a bit.(grammer is a bit of a sore point for me) but I will take your advice,I had never thought about just memorizing an essay before,my teacher has us thinking we need to be amazing and flawless and just write an essay in the exam no problem.SO not gonna happen.

I pray I dont start freaking out in the exam,that would suck! You are unbeliavbly lucky to be studying three subjects this year! Are you in 6th year,if you dont mind my asking.. :smile:


Hi there :smile: Memorizing an entire essay is a bit extreme I'll admit, but if you do get say 21 or 23 for a critical essay in class then you may want to keep in mind the things you wrote about, what structure you had. Simply because there is a chance that you could get a very similar question in a prelim.

The key to essay writing is not learning loads of quotations (since you can get 25/25 with none) rather ensuring that you have a good understanding of all the themes and ideas running through your text so that you will not be caught out.

Revision generally is tedious but necessary :tongue: Active learning does help i.e not just writing it down till it sticks in your head. Try revising with friends, it realy does make a difference.

Hope that helped, best of luck :smile:
Reply 6
For English you should practice close reading papers. Try get yourself " grade booster " and the " how to pass" book. They're good. Draw mind maps or use another method to explore your novel, poems etc. You need to know them inside out!

For German, again past papers are good. Perhaps to vary reading you could try read a German newspaper, you can find them online. translating each sentence as you go.

Be sure to get a study timetable up and running!

Hope that quick bit of advice helps
Reply 7
Everyone's advice has helped and I have got myself a few past paper books and grade booster books :smile: I just really need to learn to control the panic :smile: thanks all so much x lets just hope to hell I pass XD
Good luck :smile:

I'd simply echo the previous comments. The 'how to pass' book I found useful, but the most important thing is to work through past paper questions, in order to be able to recognise how to answer each type of question. For the critical essay - learn a few versatile quotes that can be applied to many questions, and have some analysis to follow each quote with. As others have said, ensure you have a very firm grip in the main themes/character/scenes if appropriate.
Reply 9
Original post by sandys1000
Good luck :smile:

I'd simply echo the previous comments. The 'how to pass' book I found useful, but the most important thing is to work through past paper questions, in order to be able to recognise how to answer each type of question. For the critical essay - learn a few versatile quotes that can be applied to many questions, and have some analysis to follow each quote with. As others have said, ensure you have a very firm grip in the main themes/character/scenes if appropriate.


I have found the 'how to pass' book really useful in helping me get my head around the Close Reading questions,how they are worded,what not to do etc...

As for the Critical essay,I have read King Lear,and memorized a few quotes,and am working on the analysis side. I think I may need to get a stronger grip on the main themes,I struggle with those.
Reply 10
Original post by OddThings
I have found the 'how to pass' book really useful in helping me get my head around the Close Reading questions,how they are worded,what not to do etc...

As for the Critical essay,I have read King Lear,and memorized a few quotes,and am working on the analysis side. I think I may need to get a stronger grip on the main themes,I struggle with those.


u dnt need to worry at all im doin higher english i know its hard but all u need to do is get motivated and picture gettin an A also with higher german i do higher spanish i am also scared cause listening is really hard and so is directed writing but look at it like this people have got As before so its not impossible so keep the head and bare in mind a lot of people r in the same boat as u
Reply 11
Original post by catmandoo
u dnt need to worry at all im doin higher english i know its hard but all u need to do is get motivated and picture gettin an A also with higher german i do higher spanish i am also scared cause listening is really hard and so is directed writing but look at it like this people have got As before so its not impossible so keep the head and bare in mind a lot of people r in the same boat as u


It does help to remember that lots of other people my age are in the same boat.
You do Higher Spanish? Impressive :P The listening and DW are pretty scary in german as well.Thanks for your support,I hope you get an A in english and Spanish aswell! Even if you get a B,thats still good. Buena suerte!
Reply 12
Original post by OddThings
It does help to remember that lots of other people my age are in the same boat.
You do Higher Spanish? Impressive :P The listening and DW are pretty scary in german as well.Thanks for your support,I hope you get an A in english and Spanish aswell! Even if you get a B,thats still good. Buena suerte!


same to u aswell u will b fine good luck
i'm really struggling with how to revise for english - especialy the timing :frown: i can write good answers for homework when theres no pressure or time limits, but i freak out in class and dont finish :mad: does anyone have any advice on how to speed up but still get good marks? and any tips on how to calm down and stop stressing :colondollar: x
Original post by armadillo91
i'm really struggling with how to revise for english - especialy the timing :frown: i can write good answers for homework when theres no pressure or time limits, but i freak out in class and dont finish :mad: does anyone have any advice on how to speed up but still get good marks? and any tips on how to calm down and stop stressing :colondollar: x





Are you writing a Plan before you start your essays? This helps me alot.

Spend at max 3-4 minutes on quickly scribbling things down,.... example...

If your writing about how the setting etc in the novel helps you to gain a better understanding etc...

Then write down for example - setting-cold,war camp,unhygenic
Then perhaps write the start of a couple quotes.... " the cold made.. "
.................................................................................."frost lay two inches .."

Then ask yourself, how else is the setting evoked? perhaps by the themes..

so do the same for the themes..




For close reading:

Read The Questions

Read The Passage

Read The First Questions

Underline the key ideas/things in the questions

Go To the directed section

Read it

Answer the question

Do this for the second passage too





It's also important that you know your quotes. I do not mean simply memorise them. By that i mean you must , most obviously, memorise the quotes but secondly know how to explain them instantly. Alot of people waste time trying to think about how to explain the quotes they mentioned, so knowing them inside out is key to saving time.

Just a few little tips, hope it helps you
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by Inlineadam

Original post by Inlineadam
Are you writing a Plan before you start your essays? This helps me alot.

Spend at max 3-4 minutes on quickly scribbling things down,.... example...

If your writing about how the setting etc in the novel helps you to gain a better understanding etc...

Then write down for example - setting-cold,war camp,unhygenic
Then perhaps write the start of a couple quotes.... " the cold made.. "
.................................................................................."frost lay two inches .."

Then ask yourself, how else is the setting evoked? perhaps by the themes..

so do the same for the themes..




For close reading:

Read The Questions

Read The Passage

Read The First Questions

Underline the key ideas/things in the questions

Go To the directed section

Read it

Answer the question

Do this for the second passage too





It's also important that you know your quotes. I do not mean simply memorise them. By that i mean you must , most obviously, memorise the quotes but secondly know how to explain them instantly. Alot of people waste time trying to think about how to explain the quotes they mentioned, so knowing them inside out is key to saving time.

Just a few little tips, hope it helps you


Thanks for the tips! ill try memorising sections of my essays iv already written and see if it helps with time :smile:
Has anyone had a tutor for higher english? if u did, did it help? :smile: i know some people have got them but i dont know if its worth it, any advice? anyone seen any grade improvements like from C to B etc? :smile:
Reply 17
For Higher English- practice, practice, practice. Get confident in writing essays: write them in realistic time, get them marked, improve them. Remember quotes / lines / passages from them that can be applied generally to the texts you are studying. Be succinct, talk about content and style, not excessively about plot. Constantly bring up the writer's technique (imagery, characterisation, symbolism, sentence structure, tone...etc).

It helps to know a little bit about the texts as well- when they were published, the context of the text at the time, how characters would have been received by its intended audience...

As for close reading, go through questions and marking schemes.

Basically- practice. It can take ages, but it will click.

If I haven't added anything new, sorry, I didn't read all the replies.
Reply 18
For English last year, I memorised wee paragraphs I'd written about certain quotes so I knew all the analysis of them already and all I had to worry about was relating it to the question. And do you know PEE? Cause that really helped me to structure my essay paragraphs. And close reading, do LOADS of past papers, it really helps you get to know exactly what the examiners are looking for when they ask certain types of questions.

For German (I did Spanish but I imagine the exams are of a very similar style) I would recommend plenty of listening practice to be able to pick up the little words that can make a big difference to the meaning of the sentence. And for writing, memorise key phrases so you can easily piece an essay together no matter what the question, NOT entire essays, this could tempt you into forcing an essay to fit a question which wouldn't get marked favourably, also, its way more difficult/time comsuming.

Good Luck! :smile:
I already posted this on another thread but I thought it might be useful to people on here to. Here's some tactics for Higher Close Reading =)

Understanding Questions -
(1) Use your own words wherever possible
(2) Answer is in the passage
(3) Don't forget the obvious answers
(4) WHAT the writer is saying

Analysis Questions -
(1) ALWAYS quote
(2) Identify any techniques
(3) Think about HOW the writer is saying something
(4) Answer the question

Evaluation Questions -
(1) Asses the effectiveness of the writers' style/ideas.
(2) Give reasons for why you think this: quote or refer to text.

Context Questions -
(1) State what the word(s) mean
(2) Quote the word(s) or feature(s) that helped you to figure out that meaning
(3) Answer the question!

Sentence Structure Questions -
Identify aspect of sentence structure:
- Length of sentences
- Types of sentences
- Punctuation, parenthesis
- Repetition, lists, inversion, climax
Answer the question - usually explain effect of sentence structure

Imagery Questions -
(1) Quote the image
(2) Type of image
(3) Literal meaning ("Just as... the ocean is really violent)
(4) Figurative meaning ("So... is X characters actions)
(5) Answer the Question

Features of Language -
(1) Identify language feature (word choice, imagery, tone, sentence structure, repetition, sound technique)
(2) Use tactics for that technique to answer question

Tone Questions -
(1) Identify the tone (feeling)
(2) Quote from or refer to the passage to show why you think that is the tone: word choice, structure
(3) Answer the question

Word Choice Questions -
(1) Quote the word(s)
(2) Denotation
(3) Connotations
(4) Answer the question

Link Questions -
(1) Quote from link that refers back
(2) State what first paragraph is about
(3) Quote from link that refers forwards
(4) State what next paragraph is about
(5) Answer the question

THE FINAL QUESTION! -
(1) Quote from both passages
(2) It's like a mini essay
(3) Aim to spend 15 minutes on it
(4) Ideas = writers' points
(5) Style = writers' techniques


And here is an amazing site for Higher Maths Notes and Revision notes:
Higher Still Notes

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