Higher English - An Introduction

High Schools usually give this information out on a nice A4 sheet to fifth year pupils. In case you need a general guide to Higher, this covers the main points.

Overview

Higher English is important for many University courses and gives people an excellent start in life - it shows you can read and write to a high standard.

Scottish school pupils sit Highers in S5 after their Standard grades but many people sit Highers later in life. There are two levels of Intermediate English to help pupils reach Higher level.

The rule of thumb is, if you received a grade 4 at Standard Grade, you should sit Intermediate 1; grade 3, Intermediate 2; and credit grade 1 or 2, Higher.

Coursework

Candidates have to pass three units before they get to sit the final exam. These are graded by your teacher or lecturer and given either a pass or fail, although they might give you an actual mark as they would with the final exam, to show how well you got on.

You're assessed on:

• Class essay – personal, argumentative or imaginative. Your teacher will set a question for you to answer.
• Personal Study Unit – formerly known as the RPR. You choose a novel, play, short story(s) or poem(s) and write about it in some depth.
• Close reading – read the passage, answer the questions; same as your final exam for Standard Grade but more challenging.
• Textual analysis – close reading with a different emphasis. These tests ask you to look at aspects of language in more detail. They have fewer questions worth more marks and often cover drama or a piece of poetry.

The Close Reading and Textual Analysis come from a National Assessment Bank of test papers. They are usually called NABs.

If you are unable to pass the NABs at your level you will not be able to sit the final exam – if this happens, your teacher might recommend you drop down to Intermediate 2.

The final exam

One paper of Close Reading. Two passages, with questions worth fifty marks.

One essay paper. You write two essays in 90 minutes, on the texts studied during the year. These can be on drama, poetry, prose or media.

Your final mark is based on your performance at the exam.