nat 5 english reflective essay

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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• Past Papers
• National Qualifications  >  Subjects  >  English  > National 5

National 5 English

Updates and announcements, consultation on the scottish set text list (07/03/24).

As part of our ongoing review and maintenance of National Courses, we’re running an eight-week consultation to gather feedback from teachers, lecturers and learners on the current Scottish set text list for National 5 and Higher English courses.

We plan to update the list for use in session 2025-26 onwards, so that it more fully reflects life in Scotland. There are two surveys – one for practitioners and one for learners.

Complete our practitioner survey .

Complete our learner survey .

This is the first time we’ve asked learners for their views on the content of the Scottish set text list. We’re seeking views from learners across a range of age groups – including learners in S1 to S3, those in the senior phase (S4 to S6), recent school leavers attending college and university, and those in the workplace.

Both surveys will remain open until Monday 6 May 2024 . We’ll then organise focus groups with teachers, lecturers and learners in August/September to explore the survey feedback in more detail.

We’ll publish the revised Scottish set text list in November 2024, for implementing in session 2025-26. The 2026 exams will be the first to feature content from the revised list.

View our news release on the Scottish set text consultation 

Alternative certification model

Essential information, course specification ( 13/09/2023 ).

Explains the structure of the course, including its purpose and aims and information on the skills, knowledge and understanding that will be developed.

• N5 English Course Specification September 2023

Past Papers and Marking Instructions

Access all past papers by subject/level

Additional question papers resources

Illustrates the standard, structure and requirements of the question papers candidates will sit (includes marking instructions).

• English: Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation Specimen Question Paper National 5 June 2018
• English: Critical Reading Specimen Question Paper National 5 October 2018

There were no exams in 2021. The 2020-21 question paper resources are, for most subjects, modified papers which reflect the modifications put in place for session 2020-21

• National 5 English Critical Reading question paper
• National 5 English Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation question paper
• National 5 English Critical Reading marking instructions
• National 5 English Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation marking instructions

Coursework ( 18/1/24 )

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

• Instructions for the submission of National 5 and Higher English coursework   January 2024
• English Coursework Template - Microsoft Word
• English Coursework Template - Google Docs
• Coursework assessment task for National 5 English
• Guidance on conditions of assessment

Information on the production and submission of SQA-assessed coursework for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.

• Coursework for External Assessment (261 KB)

Understanding Standards ( 27/11/2023 )

• Examples of candidate evidence with commentaries

Course assessment overview

National 5 english webinar (changes to course assessment from academic session 2017-18 onwards).

• Download webinar
• Overview of Course Assessment Presentation with audio (2 minutes)
• Overview of Question Paper Presentation with audio (4 minutes)

Changes to understanding standards materials

• Changes to published Understanding Standards materials

Please note: Understanding Standards materials are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain up to date.

Additional Resources session 2020-22

Please note: Additional resources published during sessions 2020-2022 are currently under review. Further information can be found on the Understanding Standards Website

Course reports ( 14/09/2023 )

Provides information on the performance of candidates - which is useful to teachers, lecturers and assessors in their preparation of candidates for future assessment.

Course Reports

• 2023 National 5 English Course Report September 2023
• 2022 National 5 English Course Report September 2022
• 2019 National 5 English Course Report September 2019
• 2018 National 5 English Course Report August 2018
• 2017 National 5 English Course report October 2017

Verification Reports

• English Verification Key Messages Round 1 March 2017
• English and Communication Qualification Verification Summary Report June 2019 June 2019

Scottish Texts in English Courses

Scottish text list for National 5 and Higher English courses (valid from session 2018-19):

• Scottish set text list 2018-19

Ushare open learning resources

Where can you take this course?

Centre Finder

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• Sep 28, 2021

Maximising success in your N5 or Higher English folio

Kenny, our Subject Leader at Saturday School has put together this brilliant blog to help and support Higher and National 5 English students with their all-important folio. We hope you find it useful!

As I am sure you will know, the folio is of huge importance, it accounts for 30 percent of your final award. Consequently, it can help to compensate for any deficiencies you may have elsewhere. Indeed, a score of 24 in your folio would allow you to “scrape” a pass in the RUAE and Critical Reading papers and still receive a B as your final grade; it would also allow you to score (just) underneath 70 percent for every other element and still receive an A!

This year (2021/22), you will only have to submit one folio piece. It will be scored out of 15 and then doubled. As a result, it would be wise to spend some time considering where your strengths lie and focus on channelling them towards the type of writing that will secure you the best mark, regardless of whether your teacher forces you to write two or not.

Broadly Creative

This refers to:

Personal/ reflective

This involves looking at an event(s) or experience(s) in your life and/ or an aspect of your personality and/ or an aspect of your life that is of huge importance.

Choosing your topic:

A timeline of the major events in your life - making sure you only list things of which you have a vivid memory.

A mind map of all the main relationships in your life and your interests.

A mind map of your personality- introvert, extrovert, shy etc.

Once you have your topic, the next thing you need is a theme. A theme is, ‘THE BIGGER PICTURE,’ the part of human existence you are going to write about. Examples would be bullying, change, love, relationships, death, pressure, confidence. You should talk about theme in a general sense by using the word we .

Feelings should be explored on 3 levels:

Stated: ‘I felt…’

Explained/ explored: ‘I felt…because…’

Compared: ‘while most people would feel… I …’

I have found the “ We I We” structure to be highly effective. This involves the following:

We : start with a paragraph exploring your theme in general using the word We instead of I.

I : how does this theme relate to your experience? Tell your story.

We : reflect on how the experiences you have described and explored link to the theme in general.

A good technique to secure a high mark is the inclusion of an extended metaphor. For example, use water imagery for feelings: stream, river, sea, ocean, swamped, drowning, flooded, etc.

A symbol of something or an object used to communicate an idea. For example, you can mention something that connected you to another person early in the essay and return to it at the end.

Short Story Writing

I would personally avoid this unless you actually enjoy reading and perhaps do this in your spare time. It tends to receive little focus in class teaching after second year. If you are going to attempt it, here are some top tips:

· Use 3rd person instead of 1st as this gives you more scope and prevents it from reading like an outlandish personal/ reflective essay

· Don’t try to do too much with your essay. As many candidates often do not read much, they attempt to base their narrative on some film that they have watched. The result is an often-undeveloped series of huge events that have global significance yet the story lacks any real setting or character development.

· Try to focus your events on a select group of people and a limited time frame. For example, I have read great essays on a person who lost their sight going outside for the first time since this happened; I have read a great essay on a president about to make a huge yet unnamed decision; I have read a great essay about a pupil returning to school for the first time since being disfigured in an assault. All of these short stories took place over a few hours, made use of flashbacks/ memories and had a maximum of three big things happening.

· Have your characters face internal and external obstacles and overcome them. Internal obstacles are human flaws such as greed, jealousy, indecision, uncertainty, fear. External obstacles are things outside of the character’s control such as a car crash or a flood.

· Play about with the chronology of your story. It can be a highly effective strategy to begin your story at the end of the events and ten work your way back to it.

Broadly Discursive

For most candidates, this means either an argumentative or persuasive essay. The following are tips for ensuring a quality piece of work:

· Try to select a topic that is not overdone or overly simplistic UNLESS you genuinely believe there is something new and different you can bring to the argument. It is worth noting that this is less true for National 5 than Higher. 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.

· Topics that might be considered overdone/ too simplistic (especially at Higher) are as follows: school uniform, banning boxing, legalising cannabis, freeing Orcas, capital punishment, size zero/ body image, the negative effects of social media.

· Another thing to guard against is essays that focus on America such as gun control or racism in this country. You are better focusing on British/ Scottish issues

· Try to select a topic that is current. You can keep abreast of issues by reading the comment/ opinion sections of quality broadsheet newspapers such as The Guardian and The Scotsman.

· Here are some examples to consider: we need to embrace technology, the treatment of the elderly, profiteering from COVID, sex and gender in sports, funding for music, climate change, the cost of pharmaceuticals, how do we adapt to a post-covid world? Do Disney princesses have a negative effect upon young girls?

· Make sure your introductions clearly show what you are going to be writing about. In a persuasive essay, use a range of persuasive techniques to get your points across. In an argumentative piece it is okay to make it clear what your thoughts are/ position is.

· Avoid ‘In this essay I will…’

· In the body of the essay, try to have 5-6 paragraphs for a persuasive essay and 6 for an argumentative essay.

· Try to link your paragraphs and sentences using words such as Furthermore, Indeed, However, Despite this…

· Get the structure of your paragraphs right: have a topic sentence, present your evidence, react to this. In a persuasive essay, react by persuading using a variety of techniques; in an argumentative, weigh up and evaluate the evidence as you consider its implications.

· Finish strongly. In a persuasive essay, drive home your point using persuasive language. Inclusive language such as we and our is particularly effective. In an argumentative essay, go over the main points but don’t feel that you have to come to a decision upon which side you agree with - you might still be undecided.

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• SQA Nat 5 and Higher English

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Portfolio 2023  (all links open as pdf files), my childhood.

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Are fireworks worth it?

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Ballet - Behind the Curtains

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Ebbing Away

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The British Empire - benevolent or brutal?

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Portfolio 2022  (All links open as PDF files)

I hate school, why you should adopt from animal shelters, tea for two.

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A millionaire's dream.

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Goal line technology; good or bad?

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I have seen how disabilities affect the people I love

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Should There Be Dedicated Parking Spaces For The Elderly?

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Pablo Escobar and the Illegal Drugs trade in Colombia - A biographical Account

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The Light Side to Dark Humour

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Chapter One: Jane Doe

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I was within and without

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Missy Testerman Makes Immigrant Students Feel Welcome. She’s the National Teacher of the Year

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Missy Testerman, a K-8 English-as-a-second-language teacher in Rogersville, Tenn., has been named the 2024 National Teacher of the Year.

Testerman, who taught 1st and 2nd grade at Rogersville City School for three decades before earning her ESL endorsement three years ago, was awarded the national honor Wednesday during an appearance on CBS Mornings. She was chosen for her focus on inclusivity and connection in rural Appalachia, and her commitment to serving her students and their families.

“There are 3.5 million dedicated teachers in this country, so to be chosen as the one who gets to advocate for our teachers and our students over the next year is just a phenomenal honor,” Testerman said in an interview with Education Week after the announcement.

“Teaching is an immensely hard job,” she continued. “There’s so many demands placed on teachers, and the emotional workload is every bit as hard as the physical workload. ... But I want [teachers] to remember there will always be joy in education, and they are the joy-makers. They are the people who make it possible.”

First lady Jill Biden surprised Testerman on CBS Mornings with flowers and an announcement: When Testerman and the state teachers of the year visit the White House this spring for an annual ceremony, they’ll be honored in a state dinner.

It will be the first time educators are the guests of honor at a state dinner—a formal event typically used to recognize visiting foreign heads of state.

“I always say teachers are heroes,” said Biden, a long-time educator who teaches English at a community college in northern Virginia.

Testerman said she was “incredibly touched” by the invitation: “I know that we share the joy that there is to be found in education,” she told Biden.

Becoming a teacher of English-learners

Testerman told Education Week that her career trajectory changed when she found out that her school’s ESL teacher was leaving.

“Instantly, I became worried about who would advocate for these families,” she said. “I was very vested in them. I had been the classroom teacher who had them in my classroom—I considered their families to be my friends.”

She then pursued her ESL endorsement through the Tennessee Department of Education’s Grow Your Own program, which creates a pathway for licensed teachers to add that endorsement for free. The state pays for the coursework, materials, and exam fees. (The Grow Your Own model also provides a pathway for people to become teachers .)

Being an ESL specialist is different from being a classroom teacher, Testerman said: “In addition to just teaching content, it is figuring out which community resources families need or what I can do to help them.”

Just last week, Testerman said, she helped the mother of one of her students find tax documents in her native language. She will also schedule doctor’s appointments for her students, or help their parents contend with utility companies and government bureaucracies.

She also hopes to advocate for her students and their families on a larger scale, by calling for policymakers to maintain civility as they discuss immigration. Too often, she said, politicians will speak negatively about immigrants or rely on stereotypes in interviews or on social media.

“It emboldens other people to feel as though it’s appropriate to also say those things, and children are a reflection of what they hear,” she said. “Sometimes, that language makes it back into the school day, and it’s hurtful. It’s hurtful to my students, it’s hurtful to their families, it’s hurtful to me. ... If politicians would tone down the rhetoric and just stick to the issues that are at hand regarding immigration, instead of just putting out blanket statements, it would be very helpful.”

CBS Mornings interviewed several of Testerman’s former students, who spoke of her warmth and commitment to their success and well-being.

“She really believed in us,” said Mariam El Kammash.

Testerman has often taught multiple siblings, creating strong bonds with their families. Jasmen Aglan, another former student, said: “Mrs. Testerman helped us feel more welcome when my brother started school. She’s really nice to my family.”

Said Caroline Hicks: “Every time I see her in the hallway, she always makes me smile every time, and I really like that.”

On the CBS Mornings program, Biden said those types of relationships are paramount to the work of a teacher.

“Students are struggling with mental health issues since the pandemic and so are teachers,” she said. “Our students trust us, and they come to us every day with what they’re struggling with, and they expect us to help them and find answers. I think we have such a strong bond with our students. It’s such a great part of the job—that connection.”

An ambassador for teachers and students

Testerman will spend the next year on a sabbatical from the classroom, serving as an ambassador for the teaching profession.

She was selected by a national committee from a pool of 55 teachers of the year representing states, territories, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity.

The committee includes representatives from 16 education groups and is run by the Council of Chief State School Officers, which facilitates the award.

“With a rallying call to action for her fellow teachers, Missy’s message of advocating for inclusivity and success for all students meets the moment we’re in as a country,” the committee said in a statement. “We believe her knowledge of both the issues and the people involved in education policy and practice will lead to better outcomes for students, and we know Missy’s voice will resonate with every teacher she meets as she serves as the 2024 National Teacher of the Year.”

The three other finalists were : Joe Nappi, a higher school history teacher in Tinton Falls, N.J.; Christy Todd, a middle school music technology teacher in Fayetteville, Ga.; and Catherine Walker, a science and career and technical education teacher in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rebecka Peterson, a high school math teacher in Tulsa, Okla., was last year’s winner .

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