Higher English Exam 2011 Coming Up!!

Reply 200

tryingtolearn94

Original post by Inlineadam

Almond Tree & The Horses,

That gives me quite a few options :smile:

what are those poems about? :smile:

Reply 201

laridum

2

I'm doing: Hotel Room, Assisi, Brooklyn Cop (will probably just use this if my only option is a "two poems" question, Visiting Hour (I was going to do Aunt Julia and Praise of a Man as well but I thought that might be pushing it a bit...) and In Mrs Tilscher's Class by Carol Ann Duffy.

Reply 202

ErinMc

Wishing everyone lots of luck for the English exam! I'm feeling the pressure because I'm in fifth year and I would love to do Advanced Higher English next year and hopefully go on to do English at university. I'm probably nervous about the English exam the most :frown:

I'm hoping it will be okay because I got an A in my prelim (43/50 for Close Reading, 19 for a Jaguar Essay and 19 for a Romeo and Juliet Essay) but I honestly believe that the Close reading was just by chance for me in the prelim. I'm just having the panic over whether a question I can answer will come up.

I'm doing:

Drama: Romeo & Juliet
Poetry: In Mrs Tilscher's Class by Carol Ann Duffy, The Jaguar and Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes
Prose: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm doing everything we've studied this year except for The Old Women by George MacKay Brown so I'm really worried that a question for that will come up and I'll need to use it but I haven't looked over it.

Worried about Gatsby as well. Is it too easy to do In Mrs Tilscher's class by the way? Not trying to sound stuck up or anything but my friend said something about it being too easy because it's relatively easy to understand it as a poem???
Good luck everyone! Hope everyone is relatively calm :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 203

username356927

13

Original post by ErinMc

Wishing everyone lots of luck for the English exam! I'm feeling the pressure because I'm in fifth year and I would love to do Advanced Higher English next year and hopefully go on to do English at university. I'm probably nervous about the English exam the most :frown:

I'm hoping it will be okay because I got an A in my prelim (43/50 for Close Reading, 19 for a Jaguar Essay and 19 for a Romeo and Juliet Essay) but I honestly believe that the Close reading was just by chance for me in the prelim. I'm just having the panic over whether a question I can answer will come up.

I'm doing:

Drama: Romeo & Juliet
Poetry: In Mrs Tilscher's Class by Carol Ann Duffy, The Jaguar and Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes
Prose: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm doing everything we've studied this year except for The Old Women by George MacKay Brown so I'm really worried that a question for that will come up and I'll need to use it but I haven't looked over it.

Worried about Gatsby as well. Is it too easy to do In Mrs Tilscher's class by the way? Not trying to sound stuck up or anything but my friend said something about it being too easy because it's relatively easy to understand it as a poem???
Good luck everyone! Hope everyone is relatively calm :smile:

There is no such thing as an easy poem. Only easy interpretation :smile:

I've you can successfully justify your points then you will be fine.

Reply 204

why-hello-there

hi all

seems like only yesterday i was wondering what the hell i'd just read in the sg credit close reading :P

texts i'm doing:

death of a salesman-arthur miller
night over birkenau-tadeusz borowski (hope that's right XD)
letter to daniel-fergal keane

hope something comes up for death of a salesman and letter to daniel :biggrin:

i also studied shooting stars in class. when i was revising for my prelims, i abbreviated it to SS in my notes-took me about a week to notice what i'd done...whoops XD

anyone else find that the close reading in higher is much easier than in standard grade? seems to be more methodical with the analysis questions this time which i quite like :P

think the boundary for an A will move up substantially because of the folio?

Reply 205

username356927

13

Original post by why-hello-there

hi all

seems like only yesterday i was wondering what the hell i'd just read in the sg credit close reading :P

texts i'm doing:

death of a salesman-arthur miller
night over birkenau-tadeusz borowski (hope that's right XD)
letter to daniel-fergal keane

hope something comes up for death of a salesman and letter to daniel :biggrin:

i also studied shooting stars in class. when i was revising for my prelims, i abbreviated it to SS in my notes-took me about a week to notice what i'd done...whoops XD

anyone else find that the close reading in higher is much easier than in standard grade? seems to be more methodical with the analysis questions this time which i quite like :P

think the boundary for an A will move up substantially because of the folio?

A boundary shouldn't move too much. The first year of a new system is on the pupils' side. The SQA have to appreciate the fact that it is new for teachers etc

Reply 206

why-hello-there

Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope

A boundary shouldn't move too much. The first year of a new system is on the pupils' side. The SQA have to appreciate the fact that it is new for teachers etc

I was thinking/hoping that :tongue:

thanks

Reply 207

rocky123456789

Last day of revision :frown:

ahhh!
Not going to lie I'm beginning to panic about everything - what if a question doesn't come up, what if the close reading's really hard etc...
Anyone else in the same boat or am I going mad alone? :smile:

Reply 208

NaturalDisaster

15

In...twenty four hours and twenty three minutes we'll be opening those papers and seeing exactly what we're facing. So nervous!!

Reply 209

INeedToLoseWeight

Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope

A boundary shouldn't move too much. The first year of a new system is on the pupils' side. The SQA have to appreciate the fact that it is new for teachers etc

I find close reading in higher easier than SG too! I'm not sure why, I think I prefer the questions. Anyway, I think it will depend on the quality of the folios won't it? If they're rubbish it'll be lowered, good it will be higher.

Reply 210

burial

2

I'm not getting too worried. I've worked out my plan:

I'm wearing a watch to track time, because if I look up I will no doubt be intimidated by someone who is writing more.

Bringing a bottle of water to keep me focused and hydrated.

Highlighters and loads of pens.

When I sit down at my desk:

1. Read the final close reading question, as it will be a comparison of some sort between the 2 passages.

2. Read the entire passage, even the bits in italics.

3. Spend adequate time on each question, example: dont waste 5 mins on a 2 Mark understanding question.

For the essays:

1. Read all questions possible and pick the 2 I'll use. I reckon I'll perform better if I have some sense of what I am to write about next.

2. Construct a small plan, spider diagram with the essay questions key word ("contrast" for example.

Reply 211

ErinMc

Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope

There is no such thing as an easy poem. Only easy interpretation :smile:

I've you can successfully justify your points then you will be fine.

Thank you for the advice. I did try telling my friend that there is no such thing as an easy poem but she tends to panic more than me ha ha :smile:

Reply 212

chr1stopher11

14

aaaa! Starting to panic now!

I'm not worried about CR, just the essays. I really really really hope there are some good questions for the Crucible (play) and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (novel). If not I might be forced to do poetry, which would be worst case scenario.

If a question is like:

•

In the prose section, choose a short story where there is notable narrative stance, (anti)climax, or just structure.

•

Or in drama, choose a play in which a character makes a crucial error, develops as a character, reveals a truth or climax/turning points.

•

Or in prose, choose a novel where there is conflict between 2 characters or a character develops.

If a few of those questions came up then that would also be amazing.

Argh, I just don't want to do poetry :frown:

Good luck everyone!

Reply 213

Evan7788

7

Whilst revising via this past paper i quickly found out that it was a lot harder than any other ones.

Hopefully it goes hard (2010) then easy (2011).

Reply 214

INT2 Warrior

Hi Evan7788. Im sitting the INT2 close reading tomorrow, and i realllyyyyy hope its a simple one! :frown:

Reply 215

INeedToLoseWeight

I hope you're right! But 18% of people got an A last year which is quite high, so i think it will be quite hard :/

Reply 216

RyJ

11

(Sorry if you've seen a post similar to this one before, I posted it in the wrong place and I'm not sure how to delete it)

Hey, is anyone else really nervous about the Higher English exam tomorrow? I'm mainly worried about the essays, I'm just praying that I get good essay questions and that I'll remember all these quotes!! :frown:

Reply 217