how to study for national 5 English
I'm not that good in English and history for national 5 so some tips and information would be appreciated I literally have no clue how to revise .currently I am hovering over C and B how can I improve.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by whocaresaboutwho
I'm not that good in English and history for national 5 so some tips and information would be appreciated I literally have no clue how to revise .currently I am hovering over C and B how can I improve.
Hey, I did national 5 english last year and got an A. I personally just did loads of past papers as they are the best way to get "exam prepped". It's also a good idea to do some of your own reading (news articles for example) to help with RUAE as it exposes you to the sorts of language that's used in the paper. For the textual analysis, it depends on what type of text you're studying but it's always helpful to learn relevant quotes and their analysis that can be worked into several different questions.
Original post by kerm19
Hey, I did national 5 english last year and got an A. I personally just did loads of past papers as they are the best way to get "exam prepped". It's also a good idea to do some of your own reading (news articles for example) to help with RUAE as it exposes you to the sorts of language that's used in the paper. For the textual analysis, it depends on what type of text you're studying but it's always helpful to learn relevant quotes and their analysis that can be worked into several different questions.
thank you ! i have waiting so long for an answer!
Original post by whocaresaboutwho
thank you ! i have waiting so long for an answer!
No problem! I’m struggling with revision for higher so I know than any advice can be helpful
I am sitting Higher English this year and struggling too. I find every other subject easy know how to revise and just have a block when it comes to English.
For RUAE - I would do the past papers and read more. Past papers have marking instructions so you can mark yourself after and compare really critically the text, your answer and the correct answer to see where you went wrong or what type of answers they are looking for. Also read opinion pieces in quality newspapers as much as you can between now and your assessment to get used to complex texts, don't just read them, look at the language and sentence structures used the same as you would in an RUAE question.
For your Scottish Set Text - Your RUAE revision and writing in your own words will help you with this. Scottish Set Text is all about memory. I have 6 poems and I have selected quotes and their analysis from each and have the themes that link the quotes to each other. I need to memorise them all and do some past paper questions.
For your Critical Essay - This is the hardest for me. Again most of it is memory. I have an essay plan with an introduction, and 4-5 paragraphs each for a theme or setting question with quotes which I am trying to remember. I am then practicing adapting the plan to different past paper questions.
I am spending so much time studying English but still don't feel like I am getting anywhere 😭
For RUAE - I would do the past papers and read more. Past papers have marking instructions so you can mark yourself after and compare really critically the text, your answer and the correct answer to see where you went wrong or what type of answers they are looking for. Also read opinion pieces in quality newspapers as much as you can between now and your assessment to get used to complex texts, don't just read them, look at the language and sentence structures used the same as you would in an RUAE question.
For your Scottish Set Text - Your RUAE revision and writing in your own words will help you with this. Scottish Set Text is all about memory. I have 6 poems and I have selected quotes and their analysis from each and have the themes that link the quotes to each other. I need to memorise them all and do some past paper questions.
For your Critical Essay - This is the hardest for me. Again most of it is memory. I have an essay plan with an introduction, and 4-5 paragraphs each for a theme or setting question with quotes which I am trying to remember. I am then practicing adapting the plan to different past paper questions.
I am spending so much time studying English but still don't feel like I am getting anywhere 😭
Original post by BlackLab
I am sitting Higher English this year and struggling too. I find every other subject easy know how to revise and just have a block when it comes to English.
For RUAE - I would do the past papers and read more. Past papers have marking instructions so you can mark yourself after and compare really critically the text, your answer and the correct answer to see where you went wrong or what type of answers they are looking for. Also read opinion pieces in quality newspapers as much as you can between now and your assessment to get used to complex texts, don't just read them, look at the language and sentence structures used the same as you would in an RUAE question.
For your Scottish Set Text - Your RUAE revision and writing in your own words will help you with this. Scottish Set Text is all about memory. I have 6 poems and I have selected quotes and their analysis from each and have the themes that link the quotes to each other. I need to memorise them all and do some past paper questions.
For your Critical Essay - This is the hardest for me. Again most of it is memory. I have an essay plan with an introduction, and 4-5 paragraphs each for a theme or setting question with quotes which I am trying to remember. I am then practicing adapting the plan to different past paper questions.
I am spending so much time studying English but still don't feel like I am getting anywhere 😭
For RUAE - I would do the past papers and read more. Past papers have marking instructions so you can mark yourself after and compare really critically the text, your answer and the correct answer to see where you went wrong or what type of answers they are looking for. Also read opinion pieces in quality newspapers as much as you can between now and your assessment to get used to complex texts, don't just read them, look at the language and sentence structures used the same as you would in an RUAE question.
For your Scottish Set Text - Your RUAE revision and writing in your own words will help you with this. Scottish Set Text is all about memory. I have 6 poems and I have selected quotes and their analysis from each and have the themes that link the quotes to each other. I need to memorise them all and do some past paper questions.
For your Critical Essay - This is the hardest for me. Again most of it is memory. I have an essay plan with an introduction, and 4-5 paragraphs each for a theme or setting question with quotes which I am trying to remember. I am then practicing adapting the plan to different past paper questions.
I am spending so much time studying English but still don't feel like I am getting anywhere 😭
I'm the exact same! I can study completely fine for my other 3 highers but English just confuses me. I've also started studying really late so I have a lot of work to do 😂
Original post by kerm19
I'm the exact same! I can study completely fine for my other 3 highers but English just confuses me. I've also started studying really late so I have a lot of work to do 😂
Me too, I am doing my National 5 English exam this year as well and I will be doing my first real assessment on April 26th on RUAE. I don't really know how to exactly revise for it though and I keep studying late at night, but I have done a timed practice assessment already and I didn't really get stuck on any of the questions during school.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by chans02
Me too, I am doing my National 5 English exam this year as well and I will be doing my first real assessment on April 26th on RUAE. I don't really know how to exactly revise for it though and I keep studying late at night, but I have done a timed practice assessment already and I didn't get really get stuck on any of the questions during school.
I think for RUAE it’s best to just have quite a wide vocabulary range to avoid not knowing the meanings of words in the paper which is why reading news articles and things is really helpful. And making sure you actually know how to answer the questions is important too, like knowing not to quote in own words questions for example. I’ve been doing pretty bad at higher tbh but I mainly struggle with the textual analysis cuz I really don’t like poetry.
Original post by kerm19
I think for RUAE it’s best to just have quite a wide vocabulary range to avoid not knowing the meanings of words in the paper which is why reading news articles and things is really helpful. And making sure you actually know how to answer the questions is important too, like knowing not to quote in own words questions for example. I’ve been doing pretty bad at higher tbh but I mainly struggle with the textual analysis cuz I really don’t like poetry.
I personally don’t think that poetry is too bad in National 5, I’m actually doing quite well with it, although sometimes poetry does get boring. I’m actually quite good at analysis questions for RUAE, but I think understanding questions are harder, probably because my vocabulary range isn’t too well, so it can be hard to reword sentences sometimes. For poetry it is actually just quite important to remember the quotes and knowing how to analyse it well enough to pass that part.
I did Higher English last year and managed to get an A.
UAE: As said previously, the best thing to do to prepare for UAE is do a TON of past papers. Don't just limit yourself to what is on the SQA website. Try and go digging for old papers (right back to the early 2000s) or specimen papers (I always find Hodder Gibson specimen papers are quite useful). Another good thing to do is to read lots of newspaper articles and try to spot writer's techniques. Lots of UAE papers are old newspaper articles.
Scottish Text: I did The Cone Gatherers as my Scottish Text novel last year and although I hated the book, I found it great for analysis. At Nat 5 we did Edwin Morgan's Poetry which was also great for analysis. Scottish Text is like a wee hybrid between UAE and essay writing so you need to have skills from both these sections quite sharp. I'll link some quotes/past papers below but again the best advice I can give is to learn your quotes/analysis inside out and do lots of practice papers.
Critical Essays: Somehow my favourite and least favourite section. The best advice I can give is to try and learn generic character/theme essays and twist them to work with the question you are given. At Nat 5 this shouldn't be a big problem as the questions are quite broad but this gets a bit harder at Higher. Being able to think on your feet is an invaluable skill when writing essays. Also, learning your quotes is very important. Although for many it may seem counterintuitive, I'd recommend writing essays on Shakespeare whenever you can. Although the language can be quite strange sometimes, its incredibly easy to learn quotes (due to the iambic pentameter) and Shakespeare plays always have good meaty analysis.
A final piece of advice is to make sure to manage your time. I never had a time management problem with UAE but with the Critical Essays/Scottish Texts I often found myself running out of time. It's really important to give enough time to each section.
If anyone has any more questions feel free to PM me.
National 5 Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/6871426/
Higher Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/12629109/
Source for old SQA English past papers: https://papers.xtremepape.rs/SQA/English/
UAE: As said previously, the best thing to do to prepare for UAE is do a TON of past papers. Don't just limit yourself to what is on the SQA website. Try and go digging for old papers (right back to the early 2000s) or specimen papers (I always find Hodder Gibson specimen papers are quite useful). Another good thing to do is to read lots of newspaper articles and try to spot writer's techniques. Lots of UAE papers are old newspaper articles.
Scottish Text: I did The Cone Gatherers as my Scottish Text novel last year and although I hated the book, I found it great for analysis. At Nat 5 we did Edwin Morgan's Poetry which was also great for analysis. Scottish Text is like a wee hybrid between UAE and essay writing so you need to have skills from both these sections quite sharp. I'll link some quotes/past papers below but again the best advice I can give is to learn your quotes/analysis inside out and do lots of practice papers.
Critical Essays: Somehow my favourite and least favourite section. The best advice I can give is to try and learn generic character/theme essays and twist them to work with the question you are given. At Nat 5 this shouldn't be a big problem as the questions are quite broad but this gets a bit harder at Higher. Being able to think on your feet is an invaluable skill when writing essays. Also, learning your quotes is very important. Although for many it may seem counterintuitive, I'd recommend writing essays on Shakespeare whenever you can. Although the language can be quite strange sometimes, its incredibly easy to learn quotes (due to the iambic pentameter) and Shakespeare plays always have good meaty analysis.
A final piece of advice is to make sure to manage your time. I never had a time management problem with UAE but with the Critical Essays/Scottish Texts I often found myself running out of time. It's really important to give enough time to each section.
If anyone has any more questions feel free to PM me.
National 5 Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/6871426/
Higher Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/12629109/
Source for old SQA English past papers: https://papers.xtremepape.rs/SQA/English/
Original post by Charlie_Campbell
I did Higher English last year and managed to get an A.
UAE: As said previously, the best thing to do to prepare for UAE is do a TON of past papers. Don't just limit yourself to what is on the SQA website. Try and go digging for old papers (right back to the early 2000s) or specimen papers (I always find Hodder Gibson specimen papers are quite useful). Another good thing to do is to read lots of newspaper articles and try to spot writer's techniques. Lots of UAE papers are old newspaper articles.
Scottish Text: I did The Cone Gatherers as my Scottish Text novel last year and although I hated the book, I found it great for analysis. At Nat 5 we did Edwin Morgan's Poetry which was also great for analysis. Scottish Text is like a wee hybrid between UAE and essay writing so you need to have skills from both these sections quite sharp. I'll link some quotes/past papers below but again the best advice I can give is to learn your quotes/analysis inside out and do lots of practice papers.
Critical Essays: Somehow my favourite and least favourite section. The best advice I can give is to try and learn generic character/theme essays and twist them to work with the question you are given. At Nat 5 this shouldn't be a big problem as the questions are quite broad but this gets a bit harder at Higher. Being able to think on your feet is an invaluable skill when writing essays. Also, learning your quotes is very important. Although for many it may seem counterintuitive, I'd recommend writing essays on Shakespeare whenever you can. Although the language can be quite strange sometimes, its incredibly easy to learn quotes (due to the iambic pentameter) and Shakespeare plays always have good meaty analysis.
A final piece of advice is to make sure to manage your time. I never had a time management problem with UAE but with the Critical Essays/Scottish Texts I often found myself running out of time. It's really important to give enough time to each section.
If anyone has any more questions feel free to PM me.
National 5 Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/6871426/
Higher Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/12629109/
Source for old SQA English past papers: https://papers.xtremepape.rs/SQA/English/
UAE: As said previously, the best thing to do to prepare for UAE is do a TON of past papers. Don't just limit yourself to what is on the SQA website. Try and go digging for old papers (right back to the early 2000s) or specimen papers (I always find Hodder Gibson specimen papers are quite useful). Another good thing to do is to read lots of newspaper articles and try to spot writer's techniques. Lots of UAE papers are old newspaper articles.
Scottish Text: I did The Cone Gatherers as my Scottish Text novel last year and although I hated the book, I found it great for analysis. At Nat 5 we did Edwin Morgan's Poetry which was also great for analysis. Scottish Text is like a wee hybrid between UAE and essay writing so you need to have skills from both these sections quite sharp. I'll link some quotes/past papers below but again the best advice I can give is to learn your quotes/analysis inside out and do lots of practice papers.
Critical Essays: Somehow my favourite and least favourite section. The best advice I can give is to try and learn generic character/theme essays and twist them to work with the question you are given. At Nat 5 this shouldn't be a big problem as the questions are quite broad but this gets a bit harder at Higher. Being able to think on your feet is an invaluable skill when writing essays. Also, learning your quotes is very important. Although for many it may seem counterintuitive, I'd recommend writing essays on Shakespeare whenever you can. Although the language can be quite strange sometimes, its incredibly easy to learn quotes (due to the iambic pentameter) and Shakespeare plays always have good meaty analysis.
A final piece of advice is to make sure to manage your time. I never had a time management problem with UAE but with the Critical Essays/Scottish Texts I often found myself running out of time. It's really important to give enough time to each section.
If anyone has any more questions feel free to PM me.
National 5 Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/6871426/
Higher Quizlet Class: https://quizlet.com/class/12629109/
Source for old SQA English past papers: https://papers.xtremepape.rs/SQA/English/
Say if we are doing an essay on a Shakespeare play, would it be risky to write an essay beforehand and memorise it, as I’ve noticed for nearly every paper for the past 6 years, there has been essay questions in the drama section about themes. I’ve got some quotes memorised for a poem, so it’s not too big a deal, but would be good to know
(edited 2 years ago)
Hi there, sorry I didn't get back to you. I personally wouldn't recommend learning an essay of by heart, particularly if you're doing Higher because the questions can be quite tricky and learning a whole essay is a hefty amount of work. When preparing I learnt my quotes and analysis from flashcards and I learnt general structures for my essays but I never once memorised them. Although some followed a similar structure, every essay was uniquely written. Which Shakespeare play(s) are you studying?
Original post by DrFuntimes24
Say if we are doing an essay on a Shakespeare play, would it be risky to write an essay beforehand and memorise it, as I’ve noticed for nearly every paper for the past 6 years, there has been essay questions in the drama section about themes. I’ve got some quotes memorised for a poem, so it’s not too big a deal, but would be good to know
Original post by Charlie_Campbell
Hi there, sorry I didn't get back to you. I personally wouldn't recommend learning an essay of by heart, particularly if you're doing Higher because the questions can be quite tricky and learning a whole essay is a hefty amount of work. When preparing I learnt my quotes and analysis from flashcards and I learnt general structures for my essays but I never once memorised them. Although some followed a similar structure, every essay was uniquely written. Which Shakespeare play(s) are you studying?
Hi, just out of curiosity, how is everyone doing in English? I have finished my National 5 English exam already and I got an A* Band 1. For RUAE I got 26/30, Scottish set text 20/20 and for Critical writing 20/20. TBH I was pretty surprised. 😄 This is the outcome of revising and if anyone choose to not revise for English, trust me you shouldn’t do that.
Original post by whocaresaboutwho
I'm not that good in English and history for national 5 so some tips and information would be appreciated I literally have no clue how to revise .currently I am hovering over C and B how can I improve.
everyone has their own ways to study when it comes to certain subjects. Studying for English can be a pain in the neck.
Firstly, find out how you learn. By this I mean, what ways are there that help you learn?
the following are characteristics of learning:
Visual learners - they learn by looking or reading pictures, PowerPoints, videos, graphs, or articles. Basically anything that involves mainly the eyes. I suggest you do a mind map or poster on a white piece of paper, with different colours instead of doing it in black or blue pen.
Auditory learners - they learn more by hearing so watching videos, listening to podcasts, having a one-on-one conversations, group discussions. It involves them using there ears more basically.
I'm more of an auditory learner but when I was studying for my English Scottish Sub-text exam, I basically wrote down the quotes and analysis over and over again until it was engraved in my memory. I know, I know this might sound stupid and tiring but it worked a treat for me as I got all 40 marks.
When I was studying for my exam, I used this website called Quizlet. This website helped me a lot. It allowed me to quiz myself with these mini games which was really great and helpful. I would recommend Quizlet for both visual and auditory learners.
How much you study is also important. I studied 6 to 8 hours after school, and on weekends up to 12 hours for my Scottish Sub-text, with breaks of course. It was hard for me to concentrate the first few days as I wasn't used to studying and because I get distracted easily but the more I studied, the more I got used to it. I studied only for 1 week because we got our exam schedules 1 week before exams but I suggest you start studying even before you get your exam schedule.
Hopefully this helped, it’s not the best advice but it helped me achieve full marks. Good luck!
Have a great day/night and be safe!
Original post by chans02
Hi, just out of curiosity, how is everyone doing in English? I have finished my National 5 English exam already and I got an A* Band 1. For RUAE I got 26/30, Scottish set text 20/20 and for Critical writing 20/20. TBH I was pretty surprised. 😄 This is the outcome of revising and if anyone choose to not revise for English, trust me you shouldn’t do that.
omg that it amazing. Well done. I still have my critical essay left and it’s tomorrow. I’d didn’t study at all! I’m scared but I guess that’s life and my stupid self.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by chans02
Hi, just out of curiosity, how is everyone doing in English? I have finished my National 5 English exam already and I got an A* Band 1. For RUAE I got 26/30, Scottish set text 20/20 and for Critical writing 20/20. TBH I was pretty surprised. 😄 This is the outcome of revising and if anyone choose to not revise for English, trust me you shouldn’t do that.
I haven’t got any grades back for higher but i’ve submitted my folio and done the critical essay and scottish TA. I just have RUAE left to do on tuesday
Original post by chans02
Hi, just out of curiosity, how is everyone doing in English? I have finished my National 5 English exam already and I got an A* Band 1. For RUAE I got 26/30, Scottish set text 20/20 and for Critical writing 20/20. TBH I was pretty surprised. 😄 This is the outcome of revising and if anyone choose to not revise for English, trust me you shouldn’t do that.
Hey, got any tips for writing an essay since you got 20/20, I usually sit at a 18/20, but im scared this will drop on the exam. Im struggling to kind of analysing my quotes, I usually pick out like word choice and that but I was told it was too "RUAE'ey"
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