This document provides guidance for students on how to answer close reading questions for an exam. It emphasizes several key points: never leave a question blank, write answers based on your own understanding rather than looking up answers online, and focus responses on accurately conveying understanding rather than repeating points. The document then provides examples of how to identify an author's attitude and areas of disagreement between two passages, with tips on highlighting key details while reading. Finally, it directs students to examples of answers addressing similarities and differences in authors' views on video games.

1. Close reading revision and
question on both passages
Tuesday 26th February

2. From 2010 practice paper...
 NEVER leave a question unanswered. Even if
you think you have no idea what the answer is
you must write something. You can never get
any marks from a blank space, but something
that you write may go towards gaining you that
crucial extra mark.
 Using the SQA website to help you revise is
fine, but please do not look at it until after you
have attempted the paper yourself.
 Even if you just have a quick look before you
answer it’s almost impossible to forget the
wording of the answer that they gave in the
marking scheme, and this is reflected in your
work.

3.  We don’t want to see what the SQA put for
their answers (they get full marks every
time!). When you are completing past
papers write what you think the answer to
be so that we can see how you are
actually getting on and give you support
when you need it.
 You MUST revise your formulas and use
these to answer each question.
 Those who used the formulas regularly
scored much higher in this paper.

4.  Think about the way you are phrasing your
answers – sometimes I could tell what you
wanted to say but clumsy phrasing meant
that I couldn’t give you the mark.
 Try not to repeat points – once you have
stated something in an answer that is it, even
if it looks short.
 Think about the length of the answers you
are giving. If you are writing more for a 2
mark question than a 4 mark one you need to
think about how you can amend this.

5. Formula revision quiz
 You have 5 minutes to revise your
formula notes.
 Once five minutes are up you must put
your notes out of sight, turn to the
back of your close reading jotter and
write the heading – Formula Revision.

6. Question on both passages
Example:
 Consider the attitude displayed by each
writer to video games and their effects on
young people.
Referring to important ideas in the
passages, identify the key areas on which
they disagree.
You may answer this question in
continuous prose or in a series of
developed bullet points.

7. U/E
 This is a question that tests your
◦ Understanding
◦ Evaluation
◦ What does this mean?
◦ What is the question asking you to do?

8. Information about the
question
 The question on both passages asks you to
compare the ideas presented in both passages
and to comment on the similarities and
differences between the attitudes of the writers.
 You have to demonstrate that you have grasped
the topic of and information contained in the
passage.
 You have to demonstrate that you can back up
your poits with evidence from the passage and
show HOW the similarities and differences
expressed in the passage. In your opinion what
are the key aspects in which the passages
agree/disagree?

9. The writer’s attitude
 What does this mean?
 How can the writer reveal their attitude
in the passage?
 Discuss this with the people around
you.

10. Writer’s attitude
 The writer’s attitude is how they feel about a particular
topic.
 Evidence on how the writer’s feel will come across in
the opinions that they state in their passage and the
information that they use to back up their opinions.
 It may also come across in the tone that they use within
the passage.
 For example, if you felt strongly in favour of something,
such as introducing the Euro into Britain, what sort of
tone would you use to convey your opinion?

11. Tips for answering the question on
both passages...
 Read the ‘question on both passages’ before you begin
to read the passages for the first time.
 While you are reading passages one and two, highlight
or underline key words, phrases or other clues as to the
writer’s attitude towards to the topic they are discussing.
 In the second passage, you should concentrate on how
the writer’s attitude differs from that conveyed in the first
passage.
 When you come to answer the question, skim through
the points that you have underlined and think about how
these attitudes are similar/different.
 You can answer this question in a series of bullet points.
Structuring your answer in this way will help you to
clearly show the examiner which points you are making
and can be less time consuming than trying to phrase a
paragraph correctly.

12. Introductory material
 Turn to page 92. in the textbook ‘Higher
English Close Reading’.
 Read the information about the question on
both passages. Take notes from this page to
help you further understand how to answer
this type of question.
 Once you have done this read through
exercises 1 and 2. These are worked
examples of what you should be picking up
from the passage as you read.

13. Example answers...
 Turn to page 6 of the handout. The next three
pages give examples of answers to the question
detailed below:
 Consider the attitude displayed by each writer to
video games and their effects on young people.
Referring to important ideas in the passages,
identify the key areas on which they disagree.
You may answer this question in continuous prose
or in a series of developed bullet points.
5U/E
 The points and attitudes expressed in each of the
passages that accompany this question are listed
on the first two pages of the handout (labelled pg.
3 and 4)

14. • In your row, read through each of the
answers provided and decide which
answer is best.
• Give each answer a mark out of 5.
• You should use the notes that you have
made so far to gauge the success of the
answers.
• Be prepared to report back to the rest of
the class.