National 5
Exam preparation
Reading for Understanding, Analysis
and Evaluation
Preliminary Examinations
In January you will have a practice run of the exams
you’ll sit in May.
The Preliminary exam will consist of:
•Answering questions on the MacCaig poetry
45 minutes = 20 marks (includes 8 mark question)
•Writing an essay on either the film/short
story/play you’ve read in class 45 mins = 20 marks
•Reading a NON-FICTION passage and answering
questions (1 hour = 9 questions = 30 marks)
• Answering questions using your own words
• Picking out and explaining why certain words
have been used
• Explaining why sentence types are effective
including linking
• Summarising points/ideas made by the writer
• Explaining effective imagery and use of language
• Identify and explain the tone/attitude of the
writer
LAST YEAR’S PAPER
PASSAGE, QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
ON MRSWOODSENGLISH
Exploring Question TYPES (i.e. how to answer)
And
MARKS (i.e. How many points do I write?)
Question Clues:
“In Your Own Words” = Find + Translate
How many points? 4 marks = 4 points
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•
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“Show how
Explain how
With reference to the text
Quote/Find a word, phrase, expression
Analyse how” = Quote + Comment/Effect
(1) + (1) = 2 Marks
So 4 marks = 2 sets of Quote + Comment answers
This week – Answering questions in
your own words
You will either:
1) Be given specific paragraph/line references,
or
2) Will be required to summarise key points in
the whole passage
=> Find and Translate
=> Use Bullet Points
Task 1: On the board there are sentences with very
similar meanings. Find and match them.
Niagara Falls is viewed
by thousands of
tourists every year
The grey clouds were
a warning of an
approaching storm
The still waters of the
Caribbean were teal in
colour
The coming storm was foretold
by the dark clouds
The turquoise Caribbean
waters were calm
It was a spacious room
with lit candles all over
Each year, thousands of people
visit Niagara Falls.
Candles flickered from many
areas of the large room
Now you’ll see how you can use this skill in the exam
True, the iPhone 5S does have one major innovation in
the fingerprint sensor, a security feature which may
help make consumers more confident in banking and
shopping online.
Under the bonnet, it may also prove to be the fastest
smartphone on the market - for a few months until the
game of leapfrog continues. But in appearance - unless
you go for the gold version - you would be hard put to
differentiate it from the previous model.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24034507
These paragraphs offer 2 advantages and 1 disadvantage of the new iPhone 5s.
In your own words explain what these are (3 marks)
Answers
Advantages:
1) It scans your finger prints making internet
banking and shopping safer
2) It has a powerful processor
Disadvantages:
3) It does not look any different from the
previous version.
QUESTIONS ABOUT
WRITER’S LANGUAGE
Writer’s language means …
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•
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•
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Word choice
Poetic techniques (similies/metaphors etc)
Imagery
Sentence structure
Tone
Word Choice
One feature of language you could be asked
about is word choice. Look for strong words.
Answers should follow the pattern: Q+C/E:
•Quote the word from the passage
•Comment on its connotations (what the word
suggests)
•Effect - Explain why it has been used by the
writer – try and be specific
Word Choice Questions = 2 marks
Quote + Comment/Effect
(1)
+
(1)
Comment on the word choice in each of the following:
The boy was interrogated about his actions by his parents.
“Interrogated” means to be questioned intensely over a long period of time.
This suggests the parents asked the boy lots of questions, possibly to catch
him out.
We have been bombarded with numerous images.
“Bombarded” means to be inundated/overwhelmed with something. This
suggests that there have been an excessive amount images.
A return to the dark ages could be imminent.
“imminent” means about to happen/soon. This suggests that it could happen
at any moment soon.
Task : Show how the language used in the following is
effective ….
• sloppy clothes
• squandered his money
Steps:
•QUOTE the word
•COMMENT on connotations
•EFFECT: why it is an effective
word to use.
• a reckless plan
• a calculated response to the question
• a valuable employee
• The shirt was made of flimsy material
The missing part of the Cinderella story is what
happens when she puts on the glass slipper and
disappears into the palace. Rowling filled in the
blanks, describing to Jeremy Paxman how she
has to cope with begging letters, journalists
rifling through her bins, photographers lurking
on the beach, and strangers accosting her in the
supermarket.
taken from an article in The Scotsman newspaper, June 2003
SQA specimen question paper
Explain how the writer’s word choice in these lines helps to show the negative
effects of fame. (4 marks)
• “begging” is constant and relentless requests/peads
for something. This suggests that JK Rowling had
constant demands for money from some fans.
• “rifling” is to sort through something quickly and
without much care. This suggests that she had
people digging through her bins making a mess
searching for things.
• “lurking” means to follow or watch in a odd way
from a distance. This suggests that photographs
followed/watched her in an almost sinister manner.
Language Techniques
•Name the technique (simile, metaphor etc.),
explain what it means and explain why it’s
effective
Task One: Copy down the definitions to add to your
glossary/notes on close reading
Simile
A comparison of two things
using the words LIKE or AS
Metaphor
Saying that one thing IS
something else
Personification
Giving something human
qualities
The sun is like a yellow football in the sky
Life is a roller coaster
The tall grass danced in the wind
Some other examples of language features
Alliteration
Repetition of consonants at
the start of several words
Onomatopoeia
Using a word to describe a
sound
Oxymoron
Contradictory terms placed
side by side
Irony
Using words to show the
opposite of its literal meaning
Cliché
An over-used expression
Hyperbole
An exaggeration
Use all these definitions to identify examples of these techniques
Examples of OXYMORONS ….
It was an open secret that the company had used
a paid volunteer to test the plastic glasses. Although
they were made using liquid gas technology and
were an original copy that looked almost exactly like
a more expensive brand, the volunteer thought that
they were pretty ugly and that it would be simply
impossible for the general public to accept them. On
hearing this feedback, the company board
was clearly confused and there was a deafening
silence. This was a minor crisis and the only
choice was to drop the product line.
Task Two: Copy out the examples and
write the name of the technique
Her home was a prison.
.
Britain’s biggest dog was
called Tiny
Language Technique Questions:
The fact that it’s been put in a question means that it’s
obviously effective…but the examiner wants to
know WHY!
Steps:
1.
2.
3.
Quote - What is the technique?
Comment - What does it mean? (what is being compared?
Effect - Why is it effective?
Read the following extract and explain why the
language technique is effective.
It was easy standing here to recall the bustle of business life. It
came to him how much he wanted it, that activity. It was more
than just something you did to make money: it was the only life
he knew and he was missing out on it, standing on the side-lines
like a face in the crowd at a football game.
Identify and explain this image. Comment on the effectiveness of this image.
1. What is the technique?
2. What does it mean?
3. Why is it effective?
Quote: “standing on the side-lines like a face in the crowd at a
football game.”
Comment: Simile: His life is being compared to a spectator in a
crowd.
Effect: He feels he is an unknown observer watching, but not
participating in the main activities (of life)
Imagery
Follow the Steps:
1. What two things are being compared?
(metaphor/simile)
2. What is the literal meaning of the image?
3. Why is the comparison effective?
A tidal wave of tourists crashed into the
souvenir store stripping the shelves tinsel
and tack.
1. What two things are being compare?
2. What is the literal meaning of the image?
3. Why is it effective?
4. What does the word choice of “tinsel and
tack” suggest about the writer’s attitude to
souvenir shops?
Links to poetry …
Image
“sat slumped like a halffilled sack”
“a withered hand trembles
on its stalk”
“a glass fang is fixed not
guzzling but giving”
“a carousel of language”
“a walking masterpiece”
Steps 1,2 and 3
Sentence structure/link sentences
You need to explain how the sentence is put together
and explain why it has been done in that way.
In order to get the marks you should: Q+ C/E
Identify the feature of sentence structure
 Quote or give the line number
Comment on the effect of the sentence
Task One: Copy out this list of possible sentence
structure features
Short (minor) sentence
Rhetorical question
Parenthesis (brackets/ellipsis)
Use of list, climax/anti-climax
Ellipsis
Repetition
Antithesis (balanced structure ie. Contrast in a
sentence)
How to Answer a question on Sentence
Structure:
1) Quote the technique (and the line/s it
appears on if necessary)
2) Comment on its effect – WHY has the writer
written this way??
Now try a couple of examples
The transaction seemed to fluster her, as if she might
not have enough money to pay for the few things she’d
bought. A tin of lentil soup. An individual chicken pie.
One solitary tomato. Maybe she did need the avocados
– or something else.
Q: How
does the writer emphasis that the woman had
bought ‘few things’ through the use of sentence
structure?
A: Fragmented sentences. To emphasise how little she
bought the writer puts each item in a sentence of its
own. Suggests each purchase is well-considered.
The surreal plot emerged from bedtime stories Dahl told to
daughters Tessa and Olivia. The hero, four-year-old James, is
orphaned after his parents are killed by a rhinoceros. James is
sent to live with his wicked aunts, the start of a traditional Dahl
theme – the solitary child at the mercy of cruel adults.
Q: Describe a feature of sentence structure in this paragraph
and explain the purpose of this feature.
A: Use of a dash.
Used to introduce the traditional theme
Here are some key punctuation features you should
know
…
Ellipsis
Dots used to tail off a sentence or to
show gaps in speech or writing
:
Colon
Often used to introduce a list, a quotation,
an idea, information, an explanation or
statement
-
Dash (parenthesis)
Can be used like a pair of brackets to set
aside information or singly to introduce a
piece of information
‘‘
Inverted commas
Go round exact words said when someone
speaks or round the words quoted or can
imply that something is just ‘so called’
()
Brackets
Used to separate off information
which is interesting but not vital. The
sentence would still make sense
without the information in the
brackets
Linking questions
You could be asked to explain how paragraphs (ideas) are linked
together through the structure of a sentence.
There are 4 things you should do in order to get full marks:
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What the idea is BEFORE the link
QUOTE from the link sentence showing that idea
What the idea is AFTER the link
QUOTE from the link sentence showing the new idea
The three witches in Macbeth, prancing and cackling round their
cauldron, provide the accepted cliches of witch behaviour and
taste. Alas the Macbeth witches have merely served to reinforce
prejudice, rather than cast illumination.
So does the witch deserve her poor image?
It is probably that the Wiccan creed goes back to the dawn of
religious belief, when cave dwellers peered out and saw wonder
in the rhythm of the changing seasons. Early witchcraft was
probably no more than a primitive attempt to make sense of the
unknown.
Q: In what way can the single sentence be regarded as a link of
the ideas within this article?
Answer
1. ‘her poor image’
2. Refers back to the prejudiced ideas about
withes mentioned already, such as those
found in Macbeth.
3. The questions ‘Does the witch deserve…?’
4. Introduces the next part of the passage,
which is going to present a truer history of
witchcraft.