Some facts about the paper

Close Reading: Intermediate 1

• Some facts about the paper
• Some general advice
• How to prepare/practise for the exam
• Some specific advice
• Useful website links
• See also: Intermediate 1 Critical Essay - Candidate Guide

Some facts about the paper

Time

Content

The exam paper will have one passage. The passage will be selected from a work of non-fiction or from quality journalism. The total length will be in the region of 1,000 words.

The questions will test your ability to understand the writer's ideas, to analyse the writer's techniques, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the writing.

Marks

The total number of marks available is 30 (scaled to 50) (half of the total for the whole exam). The number of questions will vary. The number of marks allocated to each question is shown at the end of each question.

Codes

As well as an indication of the number of marks allocated, there is a code letter to tell you which skill is being tested in each question. These codes are: U for Understanding, A for Analysis, E for Evaluation. Sometimes these are combined to indicate that there is a focus on more than one skill – for example, U/E indicates that you are being asked to show an understanding of the writer's ideas and to make an evaluation of them.

Arrangements

Full details of the Arrangements for Intermediate 1 English can be found on SQA's website.

Specimen question paper

The specimen question paper for Intermediate 1 English can be found on SQA's website.