To succeed in your Higher written exam you need to focus on detailed analysis. The better you revise the set text and understand the theatrical context, the better you will do. In section one you must use textual references (quotes) and throughout the exam you need to focus on specific examples to demonstrate your understanding.
TASK 1: Look at the 2026 Sample Question Paper HERE and read all of the questions carefully. Make sure you are comfortable with the types of question you will have to answer in the exam.
TASK 2: Choose a question from the 2026 Question paper and write an essay in response to one of the questions in section 1. Hand it to your teacher and ask them to mark it, to give you an idea of where your learning is right now. Do the same for section 2.
TASK 3: Choose a Sample Candidate written example from one of the older past papers. Whilst these are NOT QUITE THE SAME QUESTIONS you will have in your exam, look at the answers that the candidate has given and try to work out how many marks you think they should get for their answers. When you have marked it, look at the marking commentary and see how close you were to the examiners marks.
TASK 4: Open the 2026 Sample Question Paper and complete it in a timed period as though it is your exam. This will help you practice the timings and allow you to get used to writing for the 2 hours that the exam will go on for. If you have extra time, use that for your practice paper. When you have finished your practice, take the paper to your teacher and ask them to mark your work and give you advice.
TASK 5: Look at a Sample Candidate written example. Compare the length of their answers to the marks they were given. Think about how much detail you need to include, but also how concise you can be to still get top band marks. Practice writing paragraphs that you think will tell the information required, but still allow you time to fit everything in.
Task 6: Choose a section 1 question and make a list of quotes that you believe would best help you to provide the answers to the question. Do this once with your quotes out in front of you and then choose another question and only make your list from memory.
Task 7: Choose a section 2 question and make a list of 10 key moments from the play you watched that will allow you to answer the question.