advanced higher dissertation marking grid

Plan Your Mental Health Days in Advance

Every month, I try to mark off at least one weekend day as a No Plans Day. During that day, I do what might otherwise be considered “nothing;” I read, I nap, maybe I rewatch a favorite movie or TV show, and I spend a lot of time staring into space and just, like, thinking.

If I don’t get that kind of day on the schedule often enough, I feel it—which is why I try to prioritize my No Plans Days as often as I can.

These kinds of days are what people tend to call “mental health days,” except I frame them as “no plans days” because the name makes it very clear whether or not I’m actually taking one. But putting them on the schedule proactively—instead of getting so bogged down in work and plans and obligations that I kind of end up taking a “I can’t do any more work this afternoon” Thursday followed by a “oh crap now I have to make up the work I didn’t get done” Saturday—helps me stay even-keeled in a world that is constantly tipping us towards burnout.

SELF recently ran a post on how to take a successful mental health day , and they also suggest planning your mental health days in advance:

In an ideal world, mental health days would be something you automatically work into your schedule to prevent you from getting to a place where you desperately need a break, David Klow , licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Chicago’s Skylight Counseling Center, tells SELF. We’d notice signs of work fatigue early and, instead of pushing through it, proactively take care of our mental health, including the occasional day off filled with restoration and self-care .

While some of us might have enough vacation time (or freelance flexibility) to take mental health days during our work week, planning mental health days in advance means you can schedule them for days when you don’t have to work. That way you can use your vacation time for an actual vacation , which is equally important to staving off burnout.

That said, if you need a mental health day that hasn’t already been scheduled, you can absolutely use sick leave to cover it—assuming you have sick leave, of course. It’s also worth noting that many mental health conditions can’t be planned for in advance; depression and anxiety flare-ups happen, and sometimes you can’t control when you need to take some time off.

But if you can block off a full day every month for mental health and self-care, get it on the calendar. Because sometimes the best time to take a mental health day is before you need to take one.

English Department

Advanced higher.

In S6 pupils who have been successful in Higher English have the opportunity to further develop their skills in Advanced Higher. The course is excellent preparation for university as it requires a great deal of independent work, organisation and a high level of understanding of complex and sophisticated texts.

The Advanced Higher class are also given a range of opportunities beyond the classroom to develop their skills. In recent years, these opportunities have included visits to the Mitchell Library and Strathclyde University Library to develop their understanding of how to use secondary sources, a creative writing workshop at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, theatre performances and visits from journalist Peter Ross and author (and ex-Williamwood pupil) Martin Stewart.

The Advanced Higher Course consists of four elements

Literary Study

Throughout the year, students will study a range of work by classic writers, such as Tennessee Williams, Sylvia Plath, John Donne and James Joyce. In the final exam they will complete a critical essay that will require them to compare a number of different texts. This is worth 20% of their overall mark.

Textual Analysis

Over the course of the year, students will develop their independent analysis skills. In the exam, students will be given an unseen text and will be required to complete an extended analysis. They will be able to choose between poetry, prose-fiction, prose non-fiction and drama. This is worth 20% of the overall mark.

Portfolio of Writing

Pupils will be given the opportunity to study a range of different genres of writing and be given a number of stimuli to help them begin their own work. They will select two pieces to re-draft and submit as coursework. The writing folio of worth 30% of the overall mark

Dissertation

The dissertation is very different to any work undertaken at Higher and an excellent opportunity for pupils to explore their own literary passions. Pupils will choose their own texts and topic and will complete, re-draft and submit a 2500 word essay. The dissertation is worth 30% of the overall mark.

Advanced Higher Writing Folio and Dissertation Template

From 2017-18, all Advanced Higher English writing folios and dissertations will be scanned and e-marked. To enable this, all pupil work must be submitted on an SQA template. You should complete your work on this template and then print the document off and submit it to your teacher as usual.

Please download the following template document.  Please select the version that is compatible with the programme you are using:

Microsoft Word: English Coursework Template

Google Docs: English Coursework Template

• This template must be used. If it is not, then we will not be able to submit your folio to the SQA
• Both folio pieces should be included on one document . Clear headings should be used to make it obvious where one ends and the next begins
• There is space for your Scottish Candidate Number and a page number at the bottom of every page . These must be filled in. If you are unsure of your Scottish Candidate Number then Mr Fisher will inform you.
• You must include your word count for each piece of writing and your list of sources.
• You will not be able to copy and paste footnotes into the template, therefore you must start your dissertation on the template.

If you have any questions, then please check the following document  Instructions For The Submission Of Advanced Higher English Coursework  or ask your teacher for guidance.

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  RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies . RMPS . Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies .

Advanced Higher RMPS

Faculty of Humanities and Citizenship, Religious Studies Department

Course Information 

Advanced Higher RMPS: Course Information

Past Papers:

SQA Past Papers   are available free on the SQA website. The marking schemes are available on the same page - use the drop-down menu under the table.

Remember that the format of the exam has changed and so, although the past papers that are available are useful for revision and essay practice, they do not give an accurate preview of the format of the exam you will sit in 2010. The Specimen Paper gives a sample of what the new style exam looks like. It also includes a marking scheme.

Dissertation:

The SQA list of Dissertation Topics for 2009/10

Arrangements:

The full Arrangements document for the course is available on the SQA website.  

Documents to download:

Course Information - a summary of the SQA Arrangements for Advanced Higher RMPS, outlining course structure, course content, assessment and rationale.

Detailed overview of the Medical Ethics unit .

Dissertation Information 

Dissertation and Study Skills

Reading and Writing:  

Core skills unit: " Communication (Higher ) " on LTS NQ , interactive resource. 

Self-study unit: " Reading " on OpenLearn , free learning resources from the Open University , in particular, see the sections on reading actively and reading critically. NB - this is a university level resource.

Study Skills:

 Advice: " Revision and Study Skills " on the BBC's Schools pages

Self-study unit: " Learning how to learn " on OpenLearn, free learning resources from the Open University . NB - this is a university level resource.  

Self-study unit: " Revision and examinations " on OpenLearn, free learning resources from the Open University . NB - this is a university level resource.

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