English Paper 1

Eiman

Higher Level

Scoil Mhuire Clane

The first exam can make or break the confidence of a student for the rest of their exams so I’m glad my English paper 1 went well. I answered Text 3 Q.A for section 1. I found the first part to be quite typical. However, the wording of the question put me off but I think I managed nonetheless.

Part two was also something I suspected would come up as it has in recent years; a question that isn’t related to the text and more of your opinion on a more general issue. I was able to talk about how purpose allows me to have goals and dreams and has led me to meet like minded people to share the same purpose as me. Did it entirely answer the question? Probably not lol. 

Part three was a typical style question on the language of persuasion and I found the speech to be filled with examples of the language style. So overall, no surprises in section 1 which is always nice.

For the composing task I was banking on the personal essay. I read the first question about birthdays and their significance and released a sigh of relief. I found I had a lot to talk about and filled 6 pages. 

Overall, a nice paper, bring on paper 2!

Eva

Higher Level

Ursuline Blackrock

Akeno

Higher Level

Coláiste an Chroí Naofa

Day one is done, and what a relief! This year's paper was a wee bit different than usual. I felt relieved knowing that I only had to answer one question from Section 1. Section 1 had three very engaging texts; I was honestly amazed by the range of topics addressed. The overall theme of the texts seemed to be time. Text 2 discussed bees, and I did Question B, an open letter about animal rights.

Admittedly, I did not read Text 1, but apparently, it was about trains. A short story in Section 2 related to trains, too, if I had realised it at the time, I could have written a revised version of the infamous Cáca Milis! For the first time ever, we were given a chance to write a fairytale in Section 2. This was a surprising and refreshing addition to the paper. Three personal essays, a fable, a speech, a short story and a discursive essay: these were the seven options that covered a broad range of issues. I chose the speech question, which was to speak against stereotypes. The prompt originated from Text 3, an extract from a speech by the late Chadwick Boseman. Today was a marvellous start to the Leaving Cert and a remarkable confidence booster. I am excited to see what other surprises appear on the exams.