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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- Sep 19, 2019
Our top 8 tips on how to write your National 5 English Critical Essay
Your critical essay is an essay that allows you to demonstrate your analysis, interpretation and evaluation of pieces of literature. Your national 5 English critical essay is worth 20 marks (or half of the critical reading exam) so it is important to make this count. In this post, we have outlined our top 8 tips on how to write and pass your National 5 English critical essay.
Remember: The N5 English Critical Essay questions are found in Section 2 of the Critical Reading paper. You must only answer one question.
1) Choose the right genre!
Ensure you select the correct genre for your essay. The Critical Essay paper will give you a choice of genres: Drama, Poetry, Prose and Language . You can only write an essay on a novel or short story using one of the Prose questions.
Writing about the wrong genre will stop you getting the grade you deserve.
Remember that your Critical Essay cannot be from the same genre as your Scottish text.
2) Choose the right question!
Under each genre heading, you will have a choice of two questions. Make sure that you read both of them carefully and select the one which you feel you could write about best.
3) Identify the key words in your chosen question! These words will be the focus of your essay.
For example:
Choose a poem in which the poet creates a powerful sense of place …
Choose a novel in which there is an interesting character .
In each of these examples, you would use the underlined phrase as your key words.
4) Introduce the text! Your introduction should consist of a brief paragraph consisting of two parts. Firstly, include the title, author, form and subject of your text.
E.g. ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker is a powerful gothic novel based upon an ancient vampire’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England.
The second part of your introduction should be a link to the question – using those key words.
E.g. Throughout the novel, we can clearly see how Stoker portrays Count Dracula as a mysterious and interesting character .
5) Structure your discussion! After your introduction, identify where you first see the key words in your chosen text.
E.g. In the opening stages of the novel, Stoker establishes Count Dracula as an interesting character when the protagonist – Jonathan Harker- is travelling to his castle:
‘I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula…’
Start every other paragraph, with a topic sentence that includes the key words.
Later in the novel, we see Stoker further develop the idea of Count Dracula as an interesting character , when Jonathan meets him in person…
6) Provide analysis of any evidence!
Here, the author makes effective use of setting , when he locates Dracula in a mysterious home. This helps develop the sense of the count being an interesting character.
Note that evidence can be quotations, but it doesn’t need to be – especially if you are writing about drama or prose. You just need to explain what events are significant and why they are effective.
7) Remember to evaluate!
Use phrases throughout your discussion to evaluate the writer’s methods:
E.g. this clearly shows… this is effective in revealing… this provides a vivid image of…
8) End in a proper manner!
Your essay must be complete. This means that you need to include a separate concluding paragraph, which sums up your discussion.
You can start your conclusion with
In conclusion, throughout (name of text) we can clearly see (key words) in terms of…
Ultimately, throughout (name of text) we can clearly see (key words) in terms of…
Just remember to include the key words in your conclusion and include an evaluative term too.
Eg. In conclusion, throughout the novel ‘Dracula’, Bram Stoker has clearly presented Count Dracula as an interesting character . This is evident in his effective use of setting to make Dracula mysterious, and later through the character development where the count changes from a proud Transylvanian to a murderous monster.
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National 5 English
The National 5 English Course enables learners to develop their literacy skills and to understand, analyse and evaluate a range of texts, including Scottish texts, in the contexts of literature, language and media. The Course also enables learners to create and produce texts and to apply their knowledge and understanding of language.
Performance-spoken language
Additional candidate evidence and commentaries for the Performance-spoken language component are available on this website. This material is for teachers, lecturers and assessors only and must be kept securely. Login details are required if you want to view it and these can be obtained from your SQA Coordinator
Once you have the login details, enter them by clicking the Login button at the top-right of this page. You will need to navigate back to this page and should then be able to see the additional option in the menu, as shown below:
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Task 1: Talk to friends and family and come up with 3 possible topics you could research and write about. Write down your 3 possible topics. It is unrealistic to take a wide topic and say: 'My essay is on Scottish Independence'. You must narrow your focus and have a clear argument based around your topic.
Coursework (27/05/24) This section provides information on marking instructions and/or the coursework assessment task (s). It includes information that centres need to administer coursework and must be read in conjunction with the course specification. Instructions for the submission of National 5 and Higher English coursework January 2024, pdf ...
What will the SQA expect? •Well researched. •Appropriate use of evidence. •Detailed ideas and insights. •Well-developed and coherent argument. •Effective structure and well organised. •Effective use of persuasive techniques. •Well-written with a good use of language.
There are 5 key stages involved in structuring a discursive paragraph: Topic sentence. (link word/phrase + reference to research topic + link to argument) Clarification. (explain and give information about this area of research) 3) Make your point. 4) Back up this point with evidence.
Writing a persuasive essay for National 5 English can be a challenge but it can score high grades if done well.
Indeed, at N5 level, you would be given more leniency with regards to the selection of your topic. That said, there are exceptions. For example, I would caution most pupils against doing an essay on capital punishment; however, three years ago I marked a persuasive essay with this as its topic that scored 13/15.
Getting started with your SQA National 5 English persuasive essay is often the hardest part. This video gives advice and a model. You can send your drafted e...
National 5 Folio 2 - WB 9th December. SAMPLE FOLIO: On-the-Edge-SAMPLE. Writing Types. 1) Discursive. There are two basic types of discursive essay. Firstly there are persuasive essays in which you can argue strongly either in favour of or against a given discussion. Alternatively, there are argumentative essays.
Getting the overall structure of your National 5 English essay is crucial to writing a good essay. This video shows you how. www.myetutor.tv
National 5 English Course assessment. It must be read in conjunction with the specific assessment task(s) for this component of Course assessment which may only be downloaded from SQA's designated secure website by authorised personnel. Valid from session 2013/14 and until further notice . This edition: September 2014 (version 1.1)
Other types of Nat 5 questions. Attitude and how the writer's language shows this. 1/ say what the attitude is. 2/ quote. 3/ explain the quote. Explain what the writer means by '____________'. In this question, you should explain what the words mean. You will be helped to do this by the lines you are directed to.
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 ...
persuasive techniques. Conclusion • Sum up the points that you have made. • Use persuasive techniques throughout. • End in a particularly persuasive way. Tips on Style: You may wish to use rhetorical questions to involve the reader in your essay and encourage them to consider more closely the points you are making.
Specimen question papers are available for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications. These show what a question paper looks like - how it is structured and the types of questions it contains. They also include marking instructions. Find them under 'Past Papers and Marking Instructions' on our NQ subject pages.
This document contains instructions for candidates for the National 5 English portfolio- writing and performance-spoken language, and recording documentation for the performance-spoken language. It must be read in conjunction with the course specification. The portfolio-writing is worth 30 marks. It consists of one piece, which is ...
In your SQA National 5 English essay persuasive essay, if you don't deal with evidence well then you do not get the grades. But if you show a range of eviden...
1) Choose the right genre! Ensure you select the correct genre for your essay. The Critical Essay paper will give you a choice of genres: Drama, Poetry, Prose and Language. You can only write an essay on a novel or short story using one of the Prose questions. Writing about the wrong genre will stop you getting the grade you deserve.
Portfolio 2018 (All links open as PDF files) Candidate A - Holiday to Blackpool. Candidate B - School Uniforms; good thing or a bad thing? Candidate C - The Long and Winding Road. Candidate D - Why childhood beauty pageants should be banned. Candidate E - My Story.
The National 5 English Course enables learners to develop their literacy skills and to understand, analyse and evaluate a range of texts, including Scottish texts, in the contexts of literature, language and media. The Course also enables learners to create and produce texts and to apply their knowledge and understanding of language.
Portfolio of Writing. Two pieces of writing for Higher must be submitted and will be sent to the SQA for grading purposes. Each essay is worth 15 marks and should be 800 - 1,000 words in length. It is essential that your son/daughter keeps up to date with homework and deadlines set by his/her English teacher.
Course report 2022. Subject. English. Level. National 5. This report provides information on candidates' performance. Teachers, lecturers and assessors may find it useful when preparing candidates for future assessment. The report is intended to be constructive and informative and to promote better understanding.