Higher Modern Studies Revision Checklist & Tracker

Know exactly what is in Higher Modern Studies, see your gaps at a glance, and close them one by one before the prelim and the final exam.

This printable checklist turns every option into clear “I can…” statements, 56 in total, based on the current Higher Modern Studies course specification. Tick your two options, colour a traffic light for each statement, tick it off every time you revise, and watch the reds turn green.

UP TO DATE FOR 2026-27
The course and exam are unchanged for 2026-27: Paper 1 (52 marks, 1 hour 45 minutes: two 20-mark and one 12-mark extended response), Paper 2 (28 marks, 1 hour 15 minutes: conclusions, objectivity and reliability) and a 30-mark assignment written up in 1 hour 30 minutes. Everything in this checklist follows that structure.

WHAT’S INSIDE (18 A4 pages)

• Cover with name, school, target grade (A / B / C / D) and exam date
• How to use, plus the exam at a glance: both papers and the assignment, timings, where the 110 marks come from, and what each part asks you to do
• My options: everything everyone studies, plus Social inequality or Crime and the law, and World powers or World issues, with the page number for each
• Paper 1 essay guide: how the 20 marks are split (knowledge, analysis, structure, conclusions), how 12-mark answers are marked, the four question types, and an essay planner
• Paper 2 source skills guide: conclusions, objectivity and reliability, with how each is marked, plus a reliability practice box
• 5 checklist pages covering Section 1 (governing Scotland, leaving the EU, scrutiny, electoral systems, voting behaviour, influence), all four options and the Paper 2 skills. Every statement has Red / Amber / Green circles, Revised x1 / x2 / x3 boxes and an Exam Qs? tick box
• My check-ins: count your greens, ambers and reds three times over the year
• Key terms: 20 must-know words, from federalism and class dealignment to provenance
• My up-to-date examples: a page for the recent examples and statistics that lift your marks
• Past paper tracker: marks for each Paper 1 section and Paper 2, total out of 80, percentage and weakest question type for 10 papers, plus a progress graph
• My fix-it list: what went wrong, how you will fix it, and a Fixed box
• Assignment: research checklist, what you can and cannot take into the write-up, a plan, and a write-up checklist showing where all 30 marks come from
• Exam-week checklist: pack your kit, the week before, and on the day
• Notes page

PLEASE NOTE

• A4 portrait PDF. Prints in colour or greyscale on standard A4 paper.
• An independent revision resource, not an official exam board product. Topics and statements are based on the current Higher Modern Studies course specification published by Qualifications Scotland.

Good luck with your exams!