SQA Higher English

Higher English reading uses non-fiction of the kind found in newspapers and magazines: opinion columns, personal reflections, reports with a point of view, humorous pieces and arguments about an issue. The skill is close reading, which means paying attention to what the writer says and to how the language says it. Two questions sit behind everything: what are the writer's main ideas or views, and which techniques put those ideas across? ## What to establish before answering anything A first read should leave you able to say, in a sentence or two, what the passage is about and what the writer thinks about it. After that, three further questions are worth asking. 1. What is the writer trying to do? The aim might be to persuade, to inform, to provoke a reaction, to reflect on a personal experience or to entertain, and some pieces combine several. 2. Who is the writer talking to, and what do they assume the reader already knows or believes? A columnist who writes "we all remember" is building a shared position with the audience. 3. How does the passage develop? Many writers open with an anecdote or a striking image, move to the general issue, qualify their view and close by returning to the opening or by looking ahead. Making a margin note on each paragraph that says what the paragraph is for, in four or five words, is the quickest way to see the line of argument. A paragraph might be introducing a claim, giving an example, conceding a counter-argument or drawing a conclusion…