1. 2010 Higher English Intensive Revision Course

2. What we’re NOT…

3. Magicians

5. Miracle workers

7. Unrealistic

13. What we ARE about Active Learning Skills |& Strategies Knowing what the MARKER wants

14. Today’s Focus Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses A structured approach to Close Reading Questions With advice and practice all three areas: UNDERSTANDING ANALYSIS EVALUATION

15. Task 1 ‘Cheap Chic’ Personal Demons Student Worksheet 1

16. Types of Question U Understanding What the writer is saying A Analysis How the writer is saying it E Evaluation How effectively the writer is saying it.

17. U Meaning Identifying Points Following Arguments and Tracing Developments Summarising a Number of Points Links

18. Understanding Questions ALWAYS answer these ‘in your own words’. These questions require you to demonstrate that you understand the more complex words and phrases used in the passage. If you simply quote or use the words already in the passage, the marker won’t know whether you understand what they mean – and will assume that you don’t.

19. Understanding Questions There are usually several questions worth 3 or 4 marks for understanding. These are gifts! Bullet point your answers to these questions. Do not answer in a paragraph! Direct Lifts are severely penalised

20. Examiner Inside Knowledge All understanding questions are gifts so make sure you use your own words and find the appropriate part of the passage to find the answer. Remember the questions are sequential and follow on from the previous question and you are ALWAYS directed to the appropriate paragraph!

21. Examiner Inside Knowledge Locate the part in the passage where the answers are and put the expressions into your own words. You may use several words to explain one of the writer’s words so do not worry about finding an exact equivalent for each word. Concentrate on putting the ideas into your words as direct lifts will score zero – even if the answer is correct!

24. Harrison started out as a carpenter. He completed his first pendulum clock in 1713, before he was twenty years old. Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice remain mysteries. Aside from the fact that the great John Harrison built it, the clock claims uniqueness for another feature: it is constructed almost entirely out of wood. Harrison, every practical and resourceful, took what materials came to hand and handled them well. This is a carpenter’s clock. Question: What are the two mysteries which puzzle the writer concerning the building of John Harrison’s clock? (2 marks)

25. Harrison started out as a carpenter. He completed his first pendulum clock in 1713, before he was twenty years old. Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice remain mysteries. Aside from the fact that the great John Harrison built it, the clock claims uniqueness for another feature: it is constructed almost entirely out of wood. Harrison, every practical and resourceful, took what materials came to hand and handled them well. This is a carpenter’s clock. Question: What are the two mysteries which puzzle the writer concerning the building of John Harrisons clock? (2 marks)

26. Question: What are the two mysteries which puzzle the writer concerning the building of John Harrison’s clock? (2 marks) Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice remain mysteries.

27. Paraphrase Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice remain mysteries. Why he came to take on this project What made him wish to undertake this scheme

28. Paraphrase Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice remain mysteries. and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice and how he managed to be superb at it without having had the opportunity to work as a trainee watchmaker

29. Paraphrase Question: What are the two mysteries which puzzle the writer concerning the building of John Harrisons clock? (2 marks) Words from the PassageOwn Words (Paraphrased) Why he came to take on this project and how he excelled at it with no experience as a watchmaker’s apprentice What made him wish to undertake this scheme and how he managed to be superb at it without having had the opportunity to work as a trainee watchmaker

31. Not for the first time Arsène Wenger finds himself at the heated centre of a debate about aggression and modern football. On one side stand those who believe occasional broken bones remain an unfortunate but inevitable by- product of the game's enduring appeal as a contact sport. Across the divide, there are others, Wenger included, who feel the extreme pace of 21st-century football demands increased cleansing and rule tightening. Arsène Wenger Has roughing up Arsenal become part of the plan? Guardian 6 th March 2010 Question: What are the two sides of the debate about aggression and modern football. (2 marks)

32. Paraphrase Question: What are the two sides of the debate about aggression and modern football. (2 marks) Words from the PassageOwn Words (Paraphrased) On one side stand those who believe occasional broken bones remain an unfortunate but inevitable by-product of the game's enduring appeal as a contact sport. Across the divide, there are others, Wenger included, who feel the extreme pace of 21st-century football demands increased cleansing and rule tightening.

34. Summarising Questions Again, this is a good opportunity to get ‘free marks’ You have to do the following to get FULL MARKS a)Pick out the KEY IDEAS If you copy out the whole thing, you aren’t answering the question b) PARAPHRASE them Lifting large chunks of the writer’s words does NOT show the marker that you have understood their meaning

36. Because one dog once ate one child, some hopeless little twerp from the department of dogs had to think of something sincere to say on the steps of the coroner’s court. Inevitably, they will have argued that the current law is “not fit for purpose”, whatever that means, and that “steps must be taken to ensure this never happens again”. The steps being considered mean that every dog owner in the land will have to fit their pet with a microchip so that its whereabouts can be determined from dog-spotting spy-in-the-sky drones, and that before being allowed to take delivery of a puppy, people will have to sit an exam similar to the driving theory test. In other words, the normality of dog ownership will be skewed. Instead of spending your free time with your pooches, throwing balls or tickling them under the chin, you will be forced to provide tea and biscuits for someone from the department of dogs while he inspects your cupboard under the stairs for evidence that they’ve eaten the cleaning lady. This will achieve nothing good. It will ruin the enjoyment of dog ownership for millions, it will result in thousands of abandoned dogs, as people realise they can’t afford the insurance, and yet it will make no difference to men in the north called Mick, who will continue to tattoo their dogs with gothic symbols of hate. Jeremy Clarkson From The Sunday Times March 7, 2010 What a daft way to stop your spaniel eating the milkman

37. “And last week stupidity made yet another lunge into the fabric of society with the news that government ministers were considering new laws that would force everyone to take a test before they were allowed to keep a dog. (lines 32–33) Question: Explain, using your own words as far as possible, what issues Jeremy Clarkson has with this Government ruling. Refer to lines 30–52 in your answer. (4U) Here you are being asked to PARAPHRASE his objections to this new ruling It’s worth 4 marks, so you must make 4 separate points You must use your OWN WORDS as far as you can

38. Examiner’s Hints The number of marks allocated to an Summary question will clearly indicate the number of points you are expected to make. Try to make your answers to these questions fairly brief; using bullet points is perfectly acceptable here and will help you to ensure that you are making 4 separate points

39. Here are the insider tips on answering the LINK question and getting FULL MARKS with my formula!

40. WHAT YOU’RE LINKING BACK TO LINK SENTENCE WHAT YOU’RE LINKING FORWARDS TO

41. The Link Question This is a common question, although it's not asked every year. Note that this is an 'Understanding' question. You must demonstrate an understanding of each of the two paragraphs AND EXPLAIN HOW they’re being linked. In addition you must identify the word or words in the link sentence which connect with the preceding paragraph and the word or words in the link sentence which connect with what follows.

42. The Link Question To gain FULL MARKS in the Link Question your answer should contain ALL of the following components : a quotation (from the link sentence) which refers back to the idea(s) of the preceding paragraph; an understanding of the idea(s) of the preceding paragraph; a quotation (from the link sentence) which refers to the idea(s) of the coming paragraph; an understanding of the idea(s) of the coming paragraph. 

43. The Link Question Read beyond the link sentence before attempting to answer. Use your own words as far as possible HERE IS THE FORMULA: Quote the words/phrase from the link sentence which refers back to ideas in preceding paragraph Write what the main point in the preceding paragraph was Quote the words/phrase from the link sentence which refers to the ideas in the next paragraph Write down what the main point is after the link Look at 2003 Q5(a) 2008 Q3(a) 2009 Q2

45. 2008 SQA PAPER “It might be thought — indeed, it is widely assumed — that it must be good for the countryside to be returned to the central position it enjoyed in British life long ago. Yet there is a particularly worrying aspect of the new rural mania that suggests it might finally do the countryside more harm than good.” BACKBACK FORWARDFORWARD 3. Read lines 21–29. (a) By referring to specific words or phrases, show how lines 21–24 perform a linking function at this stage in the writer’s argument.

46. 2008 SQA PAPER “It might be thought — indeed, it is widely assumed — that it must be good for the countryside to be returned to the central position it enjoyed in British life long ago. Yet there is a particularly worrying aspect of the new rural mania that suggests it might finally do the countryside more harm than good.” BACKBACK FORWARDFORWARD 3. Read lines 21–29. (a) By referring to specific words or phrases, show how lines 21–24 perform a linking function at this stage in the writer’s argument.

47. 2008 SQA PAPER 3. Read lines 21–29. (a) By referring to specific words or phrases, show how lines 21–24 perform a linking function at this stage in the writer’s argument. The phrase “central position it enjoyed” LINKS back to the preceding argument where the writer is remembering the golden age of the countryside whereas “particularly worrying aspect” LINKS forwards to the following paragraph where the writer goes on to talk about the more disturbing aspects of the countryside revival BACKBACK FORWARDFORWARD

48. 1.QUOTE a phrase that refers back to the preceding argument 2.Explain in your own words what the preceding argument actually was 3.QUOTE a phrase that refers forward to the following point in the writer’s argument 4.Explain in your own words what he’s going on to talk about

50. 2009 SQA PAPER 2. Referring to specific words and/or phrases, show how the sentence “So, before... as a whole?” (lines 13–14) performs a linking function in the writer’s argument. And when I hear politicians—most of them comfortably off—trying to deny enlightenment and pleasure to “working class” people, I reach for my megaphone. Maybe Tommy Tattoo and his mates do use cheap flights to the sunshine as an extension of their binge-drinking opportunities, but for thousands of people whose parents would never have ventured beyond Blackpool or Rothesay, air travel has been a social revelation. So, before we all give the eco-lobby’s anti-flying agenda the unconditional benefit of the doubt, can we just review their strategy as a whole? Remember, it is not just air travel that the green tax lobby is trying to control: it is a restriction on any mobility. Clamping down on one form of movement, as the glib reformers have discovered, simply creates intolerable pressure on the others. BACKBACK FORWADFORWAD

51. Actual SQA Mark Scheme 2. Referring to specific words and/or phrases, show how the sentence “So, before … as a whole?” (lines 13-14) performs a linking function in the writer’s argument. 2 U Four elements are required: 1 “eco-lobby’s anti-flying agenda” … 2 … refers back to the restrictive air travel proposals discussed in the opening two paragraphs; 3 “their strategy as a whole”/“can we just review” 4 … leads into the discussion of the eco-lobby’s proposed restrictions on travel as a whole/on energy use in general Answers which do not follow the requirement to refer to “specific words and/or phrases” cannot score more than 1 mark.

53. The Context Question These questions test your ability to work out the meaning of a word by searching for clues in the surrounding sentence/s. Do Remember that there will ALWAYS be clues around the word you’re being asked about Make sure that the first thing you do is DEFINE the word you’re being asked about. Quote the words that enabled you to work out the meaning of your word Don’t  Give unnecessary examples of your word’s meaning  Leave it blank! Make an ‘educated guess’ about the word in question  Forget to show HOW you worked it out, even if you were already familiar with the word that you’re being asked about This question calls for detective skills rather than prior knowledge…

54. It’s elementary…

56. First… You have to provide a definition of the word you’re being asked about Forgetting to do this is one of THE most common mistakes at Higher You should phrase it in the following way: “ X clearly means…” Remember: you don’t have to find an exact word match, a phrase that explains your definition clearly is just as acceptable

58. After that… After defining your word, you are now being asked to ‘show your working’ The marker wants to see that it’s not just a lucky guess but a process of deduction You now have to QUOTE from the surrounding paragraph to show how you arrived art your definition

59. Worked example Explain how the context enables you to work out the meaning of ‘hirsute’ in the following extract. “Billy was extremely hirsute. He had to shave twice a day and was perpetually running out of both razors and shaving foam.”

60. Hirsute clearly means very hairy. I can understand this from the context as it says that he had to ‘shave twice a day’ and the fact that he was always running out of ‘razors’ and ‘shaving foam’ suggests that his hairiness was a big problem for Billy.

62. Hirsute clearly means very hairy. I can understand this from the context as it says that he had to ‘shave twice a day’ and the fact that he was always running out of ‘razors’ and ‘shaving foam’ suggests that his facial hair was a big problem. THERE ARE TWO STEPS TO REMEMBER: 1. STATE CLEARLY WHAT YOU THINK THE WORD MEANS 2. SHOW WHICH QUOTES ENABLED YOU TO WORK OUT THE WORD’S MEANING.

63. Formula “X clearly means…” (+ your definition) “I can understand it from the context as…” (+ Quotes to support my definition)

66. What we’re NOT http://rhsenglish.jellycast.com/files/aud io/Writing%20the%20Critical%20Essay. mp3http://rhsenglish.jellycast.com/files/aud io/Writing%20the%20Critical%20Essay. mp3