About the National 5 English course Section Two - Critical Essay
The National 5 English course is assessed on folio writing, a spoken language assessment, a final exam as well as revision and coursework throughout the year. Structuring your answers and understanding the marking can help you get the best result.
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Section Two - Critical Essay
The second half of the Critical Reading exam requires you to write a critical essay on a text you have studied in class .
You will not have a copy of the text in front of you in the exam, nor will you have access to any notes or essay plans.
This component is worth 20% of your overall grade.
The Critical Essay
In the exam you will turn to the section appropriate to the text you have studied ( prose, poetry, drama, film and television or language ).
Before they get started, some candidates like to:
- sketch out a brief essay plan
- write down quotations that they plan to use
Some candidates just prefer to launch into writing the essay.
You only have 45 minutes – so be realistic about what can be achieved in this time.
How to structure a Critical Essay
- introduction - refer to author, title, task, techniques
- summary of text - concise, focusing on the bits of the poem/story/play/film relevant to your question
- main paragraphs - 4/5 paragraphs where you analyse and evaluate the writer’s use of literary techniques, whilst linking to the question
How to prepare
You should try to avoid guessing which essay questions might come up in the exam. This approach might leave you exposed if a question that you haven’t planned for comes up on the day. However, during the course of the year you will have comprehensively studied your essay text – you should know this piece very well.
For example, if you have studied a play or a novel/short story you should be familiar with aspects of:
- characterisation close characterisation The way a writer creates a fictional character through aspects such as personality and motivation.
- setting close setting The surroundings in which a text occurs such as time and place.
- theme close theme Central, unifying idea(s) that run through a text.
You might also have examined:
- effective openings and endings
- a key incident
- a turning point close turning point A decisive moment at which a change occurs.
Realistically, the exam questions should be open enough for you to manipulate to suit your text and what you know about it.
To prepare for the exam, you might want to try timed paragraphs (7-8 mins) before piecing everything together in a timed/no notes essay.
Read more about the Critical Essay section of National 5 English here.
Related links
- BBC Skillswise
- BBC Writers Room
- SQA National 5 English
- Skills You Need - Presentation
- Writing a Descriptive Essay
- Scottish Poetry Library
- BBC 500 words
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- Main SQA Website
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National 5 English - critical reading
Critical reading 2023.
- 2023 Question paper (External link to SQA website)
- 2023 Marking instructions (External link to SQA website)
Scottish Text - Section 1
- Text 3 Drama - Tally's Blood
- Candidate 1 Evidence
- Text 2 Poetry - Edwin Morgan
- Candidate 2 Evidence
- Text 1 Prose - The Cone Gatherers
- Candidate 3 Evidence
- Candidates 1 to 3 Commentaries
Critical Essay - Section 2
- Question 5 Poetry (Shooting Stars by Carol Ann Duffy)
- Question 7 Film and Television Drama (The Truman Show)
- Question 4 Prose (The Hate U Give)
Critical Reading 2022 (All links open to PDF files)
- 2022 Question paper (External link to SQA website)
- 2022 Marking instructions (External link to SQA website)
- Candidate 1 Evidence - Question 7 - Shutter Island
- Candidate 2 Evidence - Question 6 - Mrs Tilscher's Class
- Candidate 3 Evidence - Question 9 - Letter to an MP
Critical Reading 2021 - Section 2
- 2021 Question paper (External link to SQA website)
- 2021 Marking instructions (External link to SQA website)
- Candidate A - Q4 Of Mice and Men
- Candidate B - Q3 Lord of the Flies
- Candidate C - Q4 The Solution
- Candidates A to C Evidence
- Candidates A to C Annotated Evidence
- Candidates A to C Commentaries
Critical Reading 2019 (All links open as PDF files)
- 2019 Question paper (External link to SQA website)
- 2019 Marking instructions (External link to SQA website)
Scottish text: Tally's Blood. Critical essay: On the Sidewalk Bleeding
Scottish text: the way my mother speaks. critical essay: a view from the bridge, scottish text: tally's blood. critical essay: shooting stars, scottish text: my grandmother's houses. critical essay: lord of the flies.
- Candidate 4 Evidence
Scottish text: Bold Girls. Critical essay: The Pedestrian
- Candidate 5 Evidence
Scottish text: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Critical essay: Mid-Term Break
- Candidate 6 Evidence
Scottish text: The Way My Mother Speaks. Critical essay: Of Mice and Men
- Candidate 7 Evidence
Scottish text: Brooklyn Cop. Critical essay: A Hanging
- Candidate 8 Evidence
- Candidates 1 to 8 Commentaries
Critical Reading 2017 (All links open as PDF files)
Candidate 1 (section 1 - war photographer. section 2 - the dark knight).
- Candidate 1 Commentary
Candidate 2 (Section 1 - Aunt Julia. Section 2 - The Ferryman's Daughter)
- Candidate 2 Commentary
Candidate 3 (Section 1 - Sailmaker. Section 2 - The Hanging)
- Candidate 3 Commentary
Candidate 4 (Section 1 - Tally's Blood. Section 2 - Animal Farm)
- Candidate 4 Commentary
- Candidates 1 to 4 Commentaries
- Terms & Conditions
- Back To Top
English National 5 Essay Examples Available
The English Department have sent more resources for National 5 critical essay revision to this site for inclusion.
They take the form of exemplar timed essays on the novels studied in the course: Stone Cold, Of Mice and Men and Animal Farm.
Find them on the dedicated critical essay revision page . The PDF files are named according to: the novel they are concerned with; whether they are the first or second example (1 or 2); and each example is numbered into parts – (i) – (iv).
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English National 5 – Critical Essay Questions: PROSE PROSE Answers to questions on Prose should refer to the text and to such relevant features as characterisation, setting, language, key incident(s), climax, turning point, plot, structure, narrative technique, theme, ideas, description . . . 1.
National 5 Past Prose Essay Questions Choose a novel or short story in which there is an interesting character. By referring to appropriate techniques, show how the author makes the character interesting. Choose a novel or short story in which the writer creates a realistic or convincing character.
Jan 8, 2014 · PROSE QUESTIONS. 1. Choose a novel which gives you an insight into an aspect of human nature or behaviour. State what the aspect is, and show how the characters’ actions and relationships lead you to a deeper understanding of human nature or behaviour. 2. Choose a novel with an ending which you find satisfactory.
Part B — Prose Pages 08–17 or Part C — Poetry Pages 18–25 Attempt ALL the questions for your chosen text. SECTION 2 — Critical essay — 20 marks Attempt ONE question from the following genres — Drama, Prose, Poetry, Film and Television Drama, or Language. Your answer must be on a different genre from that chosen in Section 1.
N5 Prose Critical Essay Questions. PROSE. Answers to questions on Prose should refer to the text and to such relevant features as characterisation, setting, language, key incident(s), climax, turning point, plot, structure, narrative technique, theme, ideas, description . . . 1. Choose a novel or . a short story . or
Critical Essay: MUSTS You must refer to the question constantly. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence which re-uses the wording of the question. You must not commentate on what you’re doing: ‘In this essay I will…’ You must refer to the writer appropriately. You must refer to the text accurately (poem not play; short story not
National 5; About the National 5 English course Section Two - Critical Essay. The National 5 English course is assessed on folio writing, a spoken language assessment, a final exam as well as ...
NATIONAL 5 CRITICAL ESSAY EXEMPLAR – ‘OF MICE AND MEN’ Prose: Characterisation, setting, language, key incidents, climax, turning point, plot, structure, narrative technique, theme, foreshadowing Choose a novel or a short story or a work of non-fiction which explores an important theme.
Text 1 Prose - The Cone Gatherers; Candidate 3 Evidence; Candidates 1 to 3 Commentaries; Critical Essay - Section 2. Question 5 Poetry (Shooting Stars by Carol Ann Duffy) Candidate 1 Evidence; Question 7 Film and Television Drama (The Truman Show) Candidate 2 Evidence ; Question 4 Prose (The Hate U Give) Candidate 3 Evidence; Candidates 1 to 3 ...
Jan 31, 2016 · The English Department have sent more resources for National 5 critical essay revision to this site for inclusion. They take the form of exemplar timed essays on the novels studied in the course: Stone Cold, Of Mice and Men and Animal Farm. Find them on the dedicated critical essay revision page. The PDF files are named according to: the novel ...