100+ Free Advanced Higher English Practice Questions
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Key Facts: Advanced Higher English Exam
C824 77
SQA course code
Qualifications Scotland
SCQF Level 7
Qualification level
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
100 marks
Total course assessment
AH English Course Specification
2,500-3,500
Dissertation word count
Qualifications Scotland
Qualifications Scotland AH English (C824 77) is assessed through two 1h30 question papers (Literary Study, Textual Analysis) plus a 30-mark Portfolio and a 30-mark Dissertation; the course rewards sophisticated literary technique analysis, theoretical awareness, and sustained independent argument.
Sample Advanced Higher English Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your Advanced Higher English exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1In John Donne's 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning', two lovers' souls are compared to the legs of a drawing compass. Which literary term most precisely names this kind of extended, intellectualised analogy?
2Which term describes a recurring image, word, or idea that helps develop a theme across a literary work?
3A leitmotif differs from a motif primarily in that a leitmotif is:
4Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress', in which Christian travels through places named Vanity Fair and the Slough of Despond, is most fully described as:
5When T. S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' weaves quotations from Shakespeare, Dante, the Upanishads, and Wagner into its surface, the technique is best called:
6In rhetoric, what is the term for the deliberate placement of contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures, as in Dickens's 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'?
7Identify the rhetorical figure in Kennedy's 'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.'
8Churchill's 'we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields...' deploys which rhetorical scheme?
9Lincoln's 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' is a famous example of which scheme?
10Caesar's 'Veni, vidi, vici' (I came, I saw, I conquered) is famous for using which scheme?
About the Advanced Higher English Exam
Advanced Higher English (course code C824 77) is the highest-level SCQF Level 7 English qualification in Scotland, delivered by Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA). It is degree-foundation level study built around sophisticated literary analysis, independent research, and extended writing across the Literary Study paper, the Textual Analysis paper, a Portfolio of writing, and a Dissertation.
Questions
100 scored questions
Time Limit
Two 1 hour 30 minute papers plus coursework
Passing Score
Grade D is the minimum pass; A-D count as a pass
Exam Fee
Entry fees set by Qualifications Scotland; typically covered by school for school candidates (Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA))
Advanced Higher English Exam Content Outline
Literary techniques and theory
Sophisticated analysis of metaphor, conceit, symbolism, allusion, irony, narrative technique and critical frameworks (Formalism, structuralism, feminism, post-colonial, psychoanalytic, reader-response, New Historicism, eco-criticism, queer theory)
Textual Analysis paper
Close reading of unseen poetry, prose and drama: form, structure, sound devices, metre, sonnet types, point of view, tone, generic conventions and how meaning is constructed
Specialist Literary Study
In-depth study of Scottish writing and other set texts: Welsh, Gibbon, Gray, Spark, Morgan, MacCaig, Duffy, Lochhead, Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, modernist fiction, post-war drama
Dissertation and critical essay craft
Research methodology, primary vs secondary sources, sustained argument across 2500-3500 words, MLA/Harvard citation, integration of secondary criticism and theoretical perspectives
Portfolio of writing
Broadly creative writing (1500 words) and broadly discursive writing (1000 words): genre conventions, voice, structure, register, audience awareness
How to Pass the Advanced Higher English Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: Grade D is the minimum pass; A-D count as a pass
- Exam length: 100 questions
- Time limit: Two 1 hour 30 minute papers plus coursework
- Exam fee: Entry fees set by Qualifications Scotland; typically covered by school for school candidates
Keys to Passing
- Complete 500+ practice questions
- Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
- Focus on highest-weighted sections
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
Advanced Higher English Study Tips from Top Performers
Frequently Asked Questions
Who awards Advanced Higher English?
The qualification is awarded by Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA). The naming changed on 1 February 2026, but the course code (C824 77) and structure remain unchanged.
What is the structure of Advanced Higher English?
Two question papers (Literary Study, 20 marks, 1h30; Textual Analysis, 20 marks, 1h30) plus two pieces of coursework — a Portfolio of writing (30 marks) and a Dissertation (30 marks).
How long is the AH English Dissertation?
The Dissertation is an extended critical essay of 2,500 to 3,500 words on student-chosen literary texts, requiring sustained independent argument and secondary critical research.
What grade do I need to pass?
AH courses are graded A-D, with D the minimum pass. A no-award is recorded below D. Grades count toward UCAS tariff points for university entry.