Exam Preparation

National 5 Philosophy – Advice to parents and carers from staff

• All practice should be done according to exam timings. For this 2 hour 15 minutes exam, this means pupils should allocate time as follows:
• Arguments in action (approx. 30 minutes)
• Knowledge and Doubt (approx. 50 minutes)
• Moral Philosophy (approx. 50 minutes)
• The N5 Philosophy assignment is worth 20% of the final grade and completed in class time under exam conditions.
• Pupils should meet all deadlines for the completion of the assignment. This will be submitted to the SQA in March
• Pupils should have a strong focus on learning the different definitions within the Arguments in Action topic for paper 2. We recommend making use of the glossary found on the SQA website.

Further Information: N5 Philosophy

Higher Philosophy – Advice to parents and carers from staff

• Pupils should have planned 30-mark essays for Knowledge and Doubt and Moral Philosophy.
• Pupils should focus on evaluating the different philosophical theories for these essays.
• Pupils should remember to analyse and evaluate in accordance with the scenario and to quote in moral philosophy essays.
• Pupils should have a strong focus on learning the different definitions within the Arguments in Action topic for paper 2.
• All practice should be done according to exam timings
• Paper 1 –  7 minutes to plan each essay and 1 hour for each essay.
• Paper 2 –
• Arguments in action (65 minutes)
• Knowledge and Doubt (20 minutes)
• Moral Philosophy (20 minutes)

Further Information: Higher Philosophy