SQA Exams Advice

IF YOU WANT ADVICE, JUST REPLY TO ME

Hello my lovely scots!

I am a first year History student at Warwick. At my time in school, I did the following subjects and here are my grades

NAT5s:

German - A band 1

History - A band 1

English - A band 1 (96%)

Maths - A

Art - A

Business - A

Biology - A

HIGHERS:

German - A

English - A band 1

History - A band 1

Maths - A

Psychology - A

ADVANCED HIGHERS:

German - A

History - A

English - B

PLEASE ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT REVISION, EXAM TECHNIQUES ETC!

Reply 1

redoubtable

Original post by blossomblue

hi,
how did you prepare for the essay part of the English exam (national 5)? And do you have any general advice for the national 5 maths exam?

Reply 2

username4503254

Original post by pineapplepink

hi,
how did you prepare for the essay part of the English exam (national 5)? And do you have any general advice for the national 5 maths exam?

hello!

for the essay part: THEMES THEMES THEMES
Go on spark notes and write down the main theme and find short RELEVANT quotes. also note any important events in your text!
I suggest you have a context opener for your introduction to get you started like "Macbeth, written in (insert year) is a famous play by William Shakespeare following the rise and fall of the main character Macbeth." gives you something to write and get the ball rolling.

in regards to maths: simplify everything, understand the basics so you're able to start to figure out what problem solving questions. are about. past papers are your best bet and try do the hardest questions so you're prepped!

Reply 3

redoubtable

thanks for the advice- I really want to do well in English especially. :smile:

and well done on your results btw

Original post by blossomblue

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 4

AyrshireStudent

How should I revise for the critical essay? Should I group and learn quotes together which fit in multiple essay plans (I'm doing the Great Gatsby) and then use a PEQAL (Point, Context, Quote, Analysis, Link) paragraph structure?

Original post by blossomblue

Reply 5

ravenshill

Original post by blossomblue

how do I prepare for national 5 close reading? I struggle to get a pass each time I do a practice paper, its a hit or a miss. What advice can you give me to improve my score?

Reply 6

Labrador99

Volunteer Team

Original post by blossomblue

Really nice of you to offer to share your advice and experience :h:

Have just moved this to a new thread, so let me know if you want the title changed :smile:

Reply 7

AzureCeleste

Original post by AyrshireStudent

Original post by ravenshill

how do I prepare for national 5 close reading? I struggle to get a pass each time I do a practice paper, its a hit or a miss. What advice can you give me to improve my score?

Practice basically. Remember it's always worth writing a quotation from the passage down for more analysis like questions as you get a mark for that. Work out which questions you are specifically struggling with (is it the analysing ones, in your own words etc.)

Side note I studied:
Nat 5- Geography, Maths, English, French, Drama, Chemistry, Physics, Biology
Higher- Maths, English, French, Chemistry, Physics, Biology
AH- Statistics, Chemistry, Biology

A's in all of them

Reply 8

AyrshireStudent

Thanks very much and congratulations on all your results.

Original post by AzureCeleste

When I did it I learned quotes that fit for multiple essays. I only learnt about 12 for nat 5 and 14 at higher (could literally answer any essay you wanted with them, I did know a couple of other ones but they weren't my go to quotes).
For structure I did point, evidence (so quote), analysis and the link (back to essay q). I was taught the PEAL structure

Practice basically. Remember it's always worth writing a quotation from the passage down for more analysis like questions as you get a mark for that. Work out which questions you are specifically struggling with (is it the analysing ones, in your own words etc.)

Side note I studied:
Nat 5- Geography, Maths, English, French, Drama, Chemistry, Physics, Biology
Higher- Maths, English, French, Chemistry, Physics, Biology
AH- Statistics, Chemistry, Biology

A's in all of them

Reply 9

AmyPaterson

Hi, I'm sitting Higher History this year and I'm struggling with remembering the essays, any advice on how to memorise them?

Reply 10

Quick-use

Original post by AmyPaterson

Hi, I'm sitting Higher History this year and I'm struggling with remembering the essays, any advice on how to memorise them?

When I did Higher History, I revised by doing bullet points with very condensed information. For each topic, I'll try to condense down every single important point as much as possible into a very short bullet point. I always have important dates or names etc in them as well. These bullet points are made up of a few phrases at most - try not to do long sentences because that defeats the purpose of condensing everything down. During the exam, I remember a bullet point and by doing that, I end up remembering the entire information. I use these small condensed bullet points to trigger all the main important information that I condensed everything down to.

For example:

Topic - Feudal Japan:

•

also known as the Edo period or Tokugawa period

•

from 1603 to 1867

•

Japan was closed off from the rest of the world and this was known as sakoku

•

Sakoku initiated because the rulers thought that Christian ideology would corrupt the people

•

1614 - all Christian missionaries ordered to leave; churches destroyed; Japanese Christians persecuted

•

70 missionaries put to death

-
I also always try to use colour with my notes. I'm not sure but apparently colours are supposed to stimulate the brain more. Colours might help you remember your notes better. In any case, try various methods and see what works for you.

Reply 11

AmyPaterson

thanks so much

Original post by Quick-use

•

also known as the Edo period or Tokugawa period

•

from 1603 to 1867

•

Japan was closed off from the rest of the world and this was known as sakoku

•

Sakoku initiated because the rulers thought that Christian ideology would corrupt the people

•

1614 - all Christian missionaries ordered to leave; churches destroyed; Japanese Christians persecuted

•

70 missionaries put to death

Reply 12

orangelemonade

hi whats the best way to study for psychology because ive been doing the occasional past paper but im more concentrated on memorising all theories also how do you get a high mark in maths because when I do new past papers I get B's but when I attempt older ones I keep getting C's

Reply 13

username4503254

Heya,

Yes this technique works. But also disect your question, understand it so you are able to answer it fully. Simply answer the question and referring to it in your analysis can bump you up an entire grade!
Yeah use quotes which are applicable across themes. However, quotes are not the be all and end all. My best mate got full marks without any quotes, he just vv closely referenced to the text and events.

Original post by AyrshireStudent

Reply 14

username4503254

Close reading is a weird one. Just practice practice and learn what the sqa looks for (which is the understanding literary techniques). I got full marks in mine because I went overboard - I answered a 4 marker with 7 points! LIterally, use ANYTHING you can think of and try to understand as many literary techniques as possible.

(Original post by ravenshill)

how do I prepare for national 5 close reading? I struggle to get a pass each time I do a practice paper, its a hit or a miss. What advice can you give me to improve my score?