Leaving Cert English Paper 2

Hugh - Higher Level

So, the dreaded paper 2. My single text was Hamlet; comparative texts were “Dancing at Lughnasa”, “Casablanca” and “The Kite Runner”. In terms of poets I prepared Heaney, Larkin and Plath, in order of preference.I answered on part 1 of the Hamlet question which required a discussion of “Hamlet’s madness, whether genuine or not, adds to the fascination of the character for the audience.” This meant combining previous essays on Hamlet’s madness and his appeal and was relatively manageable. The second part required a discussion of techniques employed by Shakespeare to convey a world of corruption; in short it was a horrible question that most students seem to have run a mile from.The comparative was interesting this year, with a much more prescriptive set of questions than previous years. That said the first question which dealt with how the reader’s attitude to a central character can shape the general vision and viewpoint wasn’t that bad in hindsight, it just required tweaking of material most students would have covered at some point.  Part two of the general vision and viewpoint was an “aspects of narrative” question, in other words literary genre dressed up as general vision and viewpoint. This sort of question seems to be the way the comparative is going, it caused a slight hiccup the last time it came up but hopefully people were able to handle it because after the prescribed poetry shock “I’m getting to it” we needed something to keep us going! Unseen poetry asked for an interpretation of the title “The Beautiful Lie” and to choose one image that appealed to you from the poem. The second part was a straight-forward personal response question.Prescribed poetry was the biggest shock since the “Boland episode” of 2010. Most students had anticipated Plath and Heaney, Heaney hasn’t been on for nearly ten years everyone said, Plath is definitely due to come up. Unfortunately far too many people fell into the trap of just preparing the two most anticipated poets, in the end neither of them came up and we were left with a choice between Thomas Kinsella, Adrienne Rich, Phillip Larkin and Patrick Kavanagh.  The questions themselves were again much more prescriptive than previously. Overall this was a much more difficult paper than we would have seen about 10 years ago, with prescriptive questions almost eliminating the possibility of just producing a learned off answer and an unpredictable prescribed poetry section. In short, the minister got his way; the exam is no longer “student friendly” the S.E.C. has put an end to “playing nice” with students.Now on to Maths!

Katarzyna - Higher Level

Well... English is finally finished. My arm is very sore but I suppose that it is a good sign as it shows that I gave it my best shot!Yesterday, I listened to the radio and all the students that were questioned expressed their hopes that Plath would come up. My friends were almost certain that Plath and Heaney would be on. So today when I got the paper, the first thing I looked at was the prescribed poetry. Kinsella, Rich, Larkin and Kavanagh. I looked around and was horrified by the responses of some of the students sitting near me. However, I was lucky because I love Adrienne Rich but I felt so sorry for those that miserably stared at the paper as if they couldn't believe their eyes. The poems that I referred to in my answer were "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers", "Storm Warnings", "Living in Sin" and "Power". The question was quite nice and suited the poems that I had learned.Then I moved on to unseen poetry which was very nice. The poem was called "The Beautiful Lie" written by Sheemagh Pugh. It was a very accessible poem and the questions were also fine.Next, I looked at the single text. I studied "Dancing at Lughnasa" written by Brian Friel. The two questions were quite fair, but the second about the male characters in the play suited me better. I discussed Gerry Evans, Father Jack and Michael Mundy. I did not fully agree with the statement and I gave my personal opinion on each character. I studied this play a lot and I really knew it inside out so hopefully I will have done well in this section!Lastly, the comparative. 'General Vision and Viewpoint' and 'Literary Genre' came up. I answered Question 1 on General Vision and Viewpoint. The question asked us to discuss how the attitude towards the central character shapes the General Vision and Viewpoint of the texts. The texts that I had studied were "Inside I'm Dancing", "Hamlet" and "Oedipus the King". The question was very fair and I was glad that I managed to answer it in the time left. Timing was very tight and I wish that I had a little bit more time to think. I can't write really fast and an extra half an hour would definitely have taken some of the pressure off. However, I still think that over all it was a nice paper, with the exception of the poetry, which disappointed many people.It's done now. We'll never have to do it again. Recently I learned that it is better never to look back so if any of you are disappointed, don't let this one paper influence the rest of your exams! Best of luck to all sitting maths and geography tomorrow!

ISSU Commentary - Dylan

I think the exams have started off well. With no hiccups on the distribution of the paper one or two, most students found the higher and ordinary level papers fair, although most students were expecting Plath to appear on paper two which may  well have caused difficulty for a large number of students. On the whole, there seems to be a trend towards more directed questions to prevent students using prepared answers in anticipation of more general questions.  While this presents a greater challenge, that challenge is experienced by all students so hopefully across the board people will still get the grades which they are aiming for.

Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.

Leaving Cert Home Economics

Claire

First day done and dusted and what a relief that is!After the success of English paper one I was (believe it or not) looking forward to home ec.  It's one of my favourite subjects and one I'd like to continue studying next year. I felt like I put a lot of work into it so I was ready to give it my best shot!The short questions were not as bad as expected, one or two caught me out alright but other than that I'm happy.  It's interesting to note however that the short questions were different to usual.  Not much came up about the macronutriets, nothing even about protein which was predicted! To be honest that's not usual at all.I am appalled at the compulsory part one they gave us. It was nothing at all like I have ever seen previously. The graph It was confusing and hard to make head or tails of. The questions following it were very vague and random! I didn't get an opportunity to show my knowledge of the nutrients which has always been the case and I must say I'm dissapointed.The other long questions again were not as predicted.  One or two parts of a question may have been expected but HACCP, sensory analysis, an appliance did not show up. Again I was disappointed!The questions I must say were very vague and it was hard to grasp what the examiner was looking for. You have tonnes to say and not an inkling of what they want!The elective I studied was number three.  The non conpulsary parts were expected and I knew those well so I was happy. The part one on the other hand was too vague. It's a huge topic in the course and the question simply did not specify what they wanted. It was very frustrating!!Overall I am disappointed with the home ec paper, I'm left wondering if a home ec teacher even set the paper?I gave it my best shot though and I'm glad it's over and I can move on through my list of exams!Roll on summer!

ISSU Commentary

Day one is always a tough day for students doing Home Economics and English as there's a lot of writing to be done - thankfully anyone who doesn't do Engineering will have the morning off tomorrow - a welcome chance to recover before English Paper 2!In both higher and ordinary papers, section A (short answer questions) was generally fair with one or two tricky questions, but pretty standard overall so hopefully this helped students settle into their stride for the remainder of the exam.In the Higher Level Paper, the compulsory question in section B was on food-based dietary guidelines.  Most of the questions relating to this really focused on students' ability to understand and use information put forward as against dictate paragraphs of learnt off facts which may have been difficult for students as it can be pretty tough to know how much to write to give a sufficient answer but hopefully everyone managed it to the best of their ability.  The rest of section B had a strong focus on food with a further 2 questions so anyone who had it studied well was well covered, and we were very enthused to see a topical question on the Rights of the Child in the Family ahead of the Children's Rights Referendum which we are anticipating!  The topical nature of the paper continued in section C where there was a question about unemployment for those who did the social studies option.In section B of the Ordinary Paper there were questions on recent nutritional surveys as well as carbohydrates, family law as well as the nutritional needs of adolescents - a gentle reminder to students to look after their nutritional needs during the exams perhaps?  Section C was in line with previous years and topical issues appeared again under various options - including social change and planning regulations.Hopefully everyone got on well and get a good rest in before their next exam.

Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.

Leaving Cert English Paper 1

Hugh

Well that’s one down and far too many to go, delighted to have finally started! I’m cautiously optimistic about how English Paper 1 went, and hope everyone else who sat it is too! In short it was a fair and balanced paper which seems to have been well received all round. With an overall theme of memory the reading comprehensions were for the most part engaging and accessible. The “Question A” sections of Texts 2 and 3 contained questions which required students to react to visual material, and all three texts examined knowledge of features of style and asked for personal opinions on the effectiveness of the piece/overall quality of the piece.I did Question A from Text one despite being tempted to have a go at the Question B element of it. Text 1 was very accessible in contrast to previous years and both Question A and B were well received by students. Question A asked for three pieces of evidence in support of a claim about the author’s home place, a question on the author’s “very clear” attitude towards the small town she grew up in, and a question on the effectiveness of the piece as an example of good autobiographical writing. Question B asked students to write a letter to the author commenting on what interested you in the extract and the impact of your own home place on you.Then I got going on my selected question B, from Text 2 which asked for, oddly enough, a “proposal” to be submitted to the relevant authority regarding a person or event you feel should be commemorated, why they deserve to be commemorated and what form this commemoration should take.  Must admit I was a bit unsure as to the exact format needed for a “proposal” but it ended up somewhere between a letter and an obituary! Regardless, two and a bit pages on the virtues of Martin McAleese await correction!The accessibility of the Comprehensions was off-set a bit by a few “quirky” and prescriptive essay titles such as “an inferior rock band howling for fame” which was to be the inspiration for a short story, and a speech on the importance of literature in people’s lives. I opted for a speech on what defines Irish national identity and I must say Leaving Cert History helped out considerably on that one!So that’s my spiel on Paper one, now for Paper 2!

Katarzyna 

Hi everyone! I am sure that all of the Leaving Certs out there are delighted to have their first exam behind them. I most definitely am!The English paper one today was, in my opinion, a very nice paper. The theme was 'Memory' which was the first thing I noticed when I got my paper and I was fairly happy with that. When I was allowed to open the paper, I went to the very end to scan through the essay titles. They were not fantastic. I had prepared a short story and there were two essay assignments. One of the essays was to be inspired by "an inferior rock band howling for fame". When I saw that I couldn't believe my own eyes, so I looked at the second one which asked students to write about a young character eager to leave home. Both of these titles were not fantastic. The first one shocked me and even though I love rock music, I didn't do it because I had nothing prepared. I picked the other one because I was able to use some parts of the short story that I had prepared. I did a quick brainstorm and went on to look at the three texts.The first comprehension seemed okay, but when I saw the question about it being a good example of autobiographical writing, I knew that it was not something that I wanted to do. Section B seemed fine and I thought that I could perhaps do it if there was nothing better. Text Two was a very interesting comprehension. It was an extract from a speech made by Mary Robinson. I love Mary Robinson so I was eager to see if the questions suited me. Thankfully the questions were pretty straight forward, so I knew that this was my Question A. I had a quick glance at the Question B in Text Three. It involved writing a persuasive article for your school website supporting or opposing the idea of school outings. During school, I was a member of the Student Council so it was a good option for me. I wrote an article from the point of view of a Student Council member about the benefits of school outings.Then I went back to do my essay. My essay was about a girl, who was very smart but was poor and her father was an alcoholic. After she did her Leaving Cert, she got into a physics course in Trinity. Her physics teacher took her to Dublin and helped her start a new life away from her toxic family. She later became very successful and worked in CERN. Then at the end when she finally gets the Nobel prize she finds out that he died. He won't be there for her acceptance speech but he will always be in her heart as her guardian angel. Therefore the title of the essay was guardian angel. I came up with the title at the very end. I know the story is a bit fictitious but again, it wasn't something that I had prepared. Instead of panicking, I just went with the flow and gave it my best. And that is basically what you have to do.In the morning before my exam, my past principal, who by the way is amazing, came in to wish us good luck. I asked her for any last words of wisdom and she simply told me - "Just believe in yourself". After the first exam, I can honestly say that confidence and believing in yourself are very important. There might be a question that we won't be sure about and we will have to improvise a little bit or leave it and come back to it later. The knowledge is there, you just have to extract it at the right moment and let it flow through you. Best of luck to everyone sitting Paper 2 tomorrow. Please don't just look over Sylvia Plath because what if she's not there? Look over Rich and Boland and I know what everyone will say - "Boland was on last year". I know but if you all look carefully at past papers, there was a situation when Plath came up twice in a row in 2003 and 2004. The choice is yours.Look after yourselves and get plenty of sleep and chocolate!

ISSU Commentary

The general feeling from 57,000 thousand or so who sat the Leaving Cert exams were that they were generally far and the fact that iconic features such as Mary McAleese and Brian O’Driscoll came up, as well as the choice element were two major positives from the exams. However some students at Higher Level found the essay titles difficult to write about in a great deal of depth.  Another iconic figure Mary Robinson came up which was again a positive.  Overall students seemed relatively positive about two ‘fair’ papers.

Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.

Leaving Cert Students’ thoughts on the eve of the exams

Aoife

The leaving cert is tomorrow, it’s finally here. After all the months of talking about it and referring to it, it has finally come. It took it’s time. After working hard all year I’m not too nervous about it but it’s just the case of getting out the right information and using it correctly. There’s no use getting too stressed about the exams, it’s still good to have a little bit for motivation though.English is my first exam and hopefully my wrists are still usable after it, I’m hopeful that Plath or Heaney comes up like many of the people in my year. My favourite subject is Geography but to have it combined with Maths Paper 1 wasn’t a good idea. That’s going to be a long day.I have two exams a day until the following Wednesday and then I’m off until Physics. Physics is the exam I’m least looking forward to doing but at least I will have extra time to study for and hopefully that will make a difference.Best of luck to everyone sitting their exams, Aoife

Katarzyna

Only one day left before my first exam. The exams have not started yet, but I can't wait until they are finally over. It has been a very short school year and I have worked super hard to prepare for the exams as best as I can. Now it is all about revision, exam papers and more revision. At this stage I am physically exhausted.Today is my last opportunity to recharge my batteries before the two weeks of exams. First up is English and I hope my right arm won't fall off after it. I also hope I will see the poetry of Ms Sylvia Plath or Ms Adrienne Rich on the paper. Then the worst day... Geography and Mathematics paper 1... honestly having them on the same day is not great, but I'll try to keep a positive mindset.My other exams are all on different days which is really helpful. The exam I am most looking forward to... well ehmm... yes... the exam I am most concerned about is probably maths paper two. This is because it is the project maths paper and we did not get many good exam papers for practice and also the exam is only two hours and thirty minutes and we get no choice on the paper. Thankfully I will have the whole weekend to study for it, because it is on Monday. I'm doing German as my foreign language and I hope that something about the 2012 Olympics will come up in the letter. I am doing all science subjects and while most people think that it must be very hard, it actually isn't.The exams are actually quite nice if you are into science. Generally I am very determined to simply go into the exam, be relaxed and do the best I can in all exams. I am tired and a bit scared, but I am not stressing myself out. My teachers told me many times that in order to perform my best I need to just get rest and keep under control. Lets face it... most people know their stuff and all they have to do now is just be confident in what they know and use their knowledge in the exam. That is basically the key to all exams.I have studied for long hours of day and night for almost two years and now all I have to do is answer a couple of questions. It can't be that hard, right? Well, I wish all students in Ireland the best of luck in all of their exams!!!

Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students' Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.