The Student Room Group

Higher English 2019-2020

Scroll to see replies

Original post by thepunmaster.e
Thanks, this may be a stupid question but I've never really understood how you write imagery?

Honestly, don't worry, I'm exactly the same lol. I can't give you much advice tbh because I'm not the best either. Maybe look at different things on google, that's what I tend to do when I'm looking for English related things :smile::smile:
Original post by aingidh
I didn’t know how similar this was to the Nat 5 course. It’s basically all the same but RUAE is longer.

For Set Text, my class are doing the play “Slab Boys”, and for the Critical Essay, the novel “Trumpet” by Jackie Kay. We are also going to be studying a film which gives us a choice for the essay.

and you 300 extra words to fill in your portfolio piece
does the word count for the portfolio include the title?
Original post by thepunmaster.e
does the word count for the portfolio include the title?


The Title of each essay is not included in the word count, the list of sources for your discursive/persuasive essay is also not included in the word count
Hello there,
I am literally at the brink of a meltdown. I am doing everything that is required yet I am lacking somewhere which is reflected in my grades. I have a tutor, but I feel like she might give up on me anytime soon. I am worried, how can I improve my close reading score? it should be easy but it isn't.
I am confident in set text and critical essays. Recently I scored a 16/20 for my timed essay on 'A View From The Bridge'.
I also keep analysing newspaper articles, which has been beneficial as I was able to expand my vocabulary.
Please help me here.
Thanks.
Original post by rittajmoghal29
Hello there,
I am literally at the brink of a meltdown. I am doing everything that is required yet I am lacking somewhere which is reflected in my grades. I have a tutor, but I feel like she might give up on me anytime soon. I am worried, how can I improve my close reading score? it should be easy but it isn't.
I am confident in set text and critical essays. Recently I scored a 16/20 for my timed essay on 'A View From The Bridge'.
I also keep analysing newspaper articles, which has been beneficial as I was able to expand my vocabulary.
Please help me here.
Thanks.


Close reading is a about how to answer questions, if you know the formula then you've cracked it, the sqa want each candidate to answer the questions in a certain way and if you dont then they can't give you the mark, its frustrating I know but that's how it is. Just revise how to answer each question and then use those techniques on a past paper and see how you do, use highlighters to highlight parts of the text you'll use.
Original post by Valeriex
What is everyone doing this year?

I'm doing All my sons for the essay, which I am really enjoying.
And for set text Jekyll and Hyde but we haven't started it.

I enjoy english with the texts but I get so worked up when writing essays I just feel like i can't do them, and end up getting bad marks. Any advice? I do quite well in the other areas (or at least at N5) but honestly I don't think I've ever scored more than 12 on an essay, and ideally I'd like to get 15/20


This year my teacher has chosen to analyse the movie 'Black Swan' for the critical essay and we are doing Norman Maccaig poems for the critical reading paper. I absolutely hate writing critical essays too and I am finding it so difficult :frown:
Original post by blossomblue
Hands down the easiest higher to get an A in. I sat it 2 years ago, feel free to ask any questions

Any tips for the critical essays? How to structure and sentence opener phrases...
Original post by kawaii_panda101
Any tips for the critical essays? How to structure and sentence opener phrases...

Hi there, i sat higher English last year and got an A so i'm happy to help! To get high marks use topic sentences at the start of each paragraph - this will also make it easier to understand what you will address within each paragraph. For example, "The use of symbolism effectively portrays the differences between East Egg and West Egg, thus exemplifying the inability of Gatsby to ever marry Daisy." You can use short quotations too, as its your analysis which will increase your marks (but use many quotations too!) Basically, your topic sentences is a brief description of what you are going to talk about in a particular paragraph, perhaps mentioning techniques used, and it should be related to the overall subject you've been asked to talk about in your essay. Hope this helps!
Original post by rittajmoghal29
Hello there,
I am literally at the brink of a meltdown. I am doing everything that is required yet I am lacking somewhere which is reflected in my grades. I have a tutor, but I feel like she might give up on me anytime soon. I am worried, how can I improve my close reading score? it should be easy but it isn't.
I am confident in set text and critical essays. Recently I scored a 16/20 for my timed essay on 'A View From The Bridge'.
I also keep analysing newspaper articles, which has been beneficial as I was able to expand my vocabulary.
Please help me here.
Thanks.

Hi, using synonyms helps alot is something i found. e.g. How does the word choice of "precious" help convey x, The word choice of "precious" suggests delicacy and fragility, suggesting how ... (insert explanation which answers questions.) You can also take it further, does the word precious remind you of a diamond? Hope this helps. You can always memorise candidates answers to close reading that has scored high in understanding standards, it may give you a structure to work from x
Hello, I need help

Does anybody do Jekyll and mr Hyde for critical essay/set text? if yes then would anybody provide me some notes about the last chapter where Jekyll speaks?

This is so far I have spotted: (but idk if it’s true)

-J wanted to separate good and evil

-He created a potion to transform himself to H at night

- j is telling us that he had problems with H such as: unable to control him

-He had a choice to who he wanted to become: J or H.

-J tells us that the cheque (chapter 1) was signed by him and H had bank account opened

This is what I got. Ill try to read polish version of the chapter but idk if I get to spot anything else
I would advise tackling a simple topic where you can have two points for, two points against avoiding religion,sex and politics.

Original post by Kubsyy
Hello, I have a problem: my teacher wants us to think of an idea for our discursive and I had an idea of doing a topic about brexit but the problem is that it’s a quite hard topic to discuss and if the marker is the supporter of brexit then the marker would get really triggered talking about being a non-supporter and blah blah blah. So I thought that I would do about how technology have an impact on us or how it contributes to today’s world plus its cons and pros, and do you guys think it’s a good topic to do or is it just another boring topic that will not score anything?...[/
Original post by Catriona23
Nice, we’re doing the Norman MacCaig poems for Set Text and Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller for critical essay. Right now we’re focussing on folio work

I hated Death of a salesman at higher, the title gives away the story and it was painful to read and view over and over and over. I would much rather have done Shakespeare. Good luck
Original post by AfricanDream
I hated Death of a salesman at higher, the title gives away the story and it was painful to read and view over and over and over. I would much rather have done Shakespeare. Good luck

Ahaha thanks, got my first critical essay due on Monday yaaay
Original post by Catriona23
Ahaha thanks, got my first critical essay due on Monday yaaay

Have they made you watch the weird play/ film with Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman? It is okay watching it a few times but honestly it gets painful!! :facepalm:Good luck!!
Original post by AfricanDream
Have they made you watch the weird play/ film with Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman? It is okay watching it a few times but honestly it gets painful!! :facepalm:Good luck!!

Yeah we watched it once before we read the play and I’m pretty sure we won’t watch it again haha
Original post by amber100
Hi there, i sat higher English last year and got an A so i'm happy to help! To get high marks use topic sentences at the start of each paragraph - this will also make it easier to understand what you will address within each paragraph. For example, "The use of symbolism effectively portrays the differences between East Egg and West Egg, thus exemplifying the inability of Gatsby to ever marry Daisy." You can use short quotations too, as its your analysis which will increase your marks (but use many quotations too!) Basically, your topic sentences is a brief description of what you are going to talk about in a particular paragraph, perhaps mentioning techniques used, and it should be related to the overall subject you've been asked to talk about in your essay. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much! So helpful, I thought that you had to mention the technique in the topic sentence but my teacher keeps telling me not to. I feel like it is better to do that though. I just can't write concisely and I write way too much and run out of time :frown: I find critical essays so hard.
Original post by Catriona23
Yeah we watched it once before we read the play and I’m pretty sure we won’t watch it again haha

Lucky you!! My teacher was obsessed with it, we watched it and the Godfather so many times!
Original post by kawaii_panda101
Thank you so much! So helpful, I thought that you had to mention the technique in the topic sentence but my teacher keeps telling me not to. I feel like it is better to do that though. I just can't write concisely and I write way too much and run out of time :frown: I find critical essays so hard

Yeah no problem! What i did to stop myself running out of time in the exams was to write essays and keep redrafting them until they were at marks i was happy with, and learnt them off by heart for the exams. That way, regardless of the question, i could pick out different paragraphs across essays to make them fit for the question. I can always send you some of my essays that got 19/20? X
Original post by amber100
Yeah no problem! What i did to stop myself running out of time in the exams was to write essays and keep redrafting them until they were at marks i was happy with, and learnt them off by heart for the exams. That way, regardless of the question, i could pick out different paragraphs across essays to make them fit for the question. I can always send you some of my essays that got 19/20? X

That’s interesting bc I did that at n5 and did well but I was worried that it wouldn’t work at higher bc of the variety of questions that could come up

Quick Reply