Junior Cert Irish
Sophie - Higher Level
Today was the Irish exam, everyone was terrified coming into school today. When we got paper 1, I had a quick read through it. At the beginning there was the two “Leamhthuiscint”s, they weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. But even before that there was the listening test, I found it very easy. In the “Trialacha Teanga Comhtheacsula ”, I wasn’t very confident. But I gave it my best shot, although I’m not very good at grammar. We had to change the words into the present tense (Aimsir Laithreach ). Everyone was praying for the past tense, but the present tense is pretty easy too.I was really nervous about the “Ceapadoireacht” section at the end. I was so happy when I saw the “Laethanta Saoire” question. I knew exactly what to write. I wrote 2 A4 pages for that question. Which I was overjoyed with because that question was worth 50 marks. Paper 2 I found extremely hard. The unseen “Pros” I wasn’t sure what the story was about. But I think I answered it okay. The “Filiocht” I found average. I definitely answered well.Also the studied poetry was good I could use the poem “An Blascaod Mor Anois” so I was good in the poetry aspect of the paper. The Letter on the other hand, was awful. In my opinion I thought the subjects were very unusual. I ended up writing a letter about a new computer game I had got recently. I was disappointed, as I really studied for the letter but nothing I had studied came up. Tomorrow is Geography and Maths paper1, wish me luck!
Keela - Higher Level
Paper 1.The first part of the exam was the aural section. I found cuid A quite easy as it was easy to understand the people talking and the questions were not hard to understand. Cuid B I found a little harder as the people on the c.d were talking quite fast I thought but still answerable. Cuid C I found the hardest out of all parts of the aural.Next were the Léamhthuiscints. I was happy with the reading comprehensions on The Hobbit and and Festival. I found that they were quite easy to find the answers.I found that the verb section was quite easy as it only have a few verbs to change and it was into the present tense.Also the grammar section I found quite easy as well.The last section on paper 1 was the ceapadoireacht. My class were always told to answer question B part ii about the event that happened. We were taught how to write about a car accident or a fire but suprisingly a funny event that happened in school came up. My class found this quite hard to answer.Paper 2.I started paper 2 off with the Litir as I found it had the most marks for a single question. I answered B and found it easy enough but little bits hard to answer as I was not quite sure what parts of one of the points meant.I then answered the prós question Q.2. part B first.I studied the prós " Díoltas an Mhadra Rua" by Seán Ó'Dálaigh, so I found it quite easy to answer as one of the mothuchains was Díoltas. I found the reading comprehension for prós quite hard at times as I was not sure what the question was saying or what some of the words in the comprehension meant.I then answered the Filíocht question. I answered B for Q.4 .I also found that the studied poem was quite easy to answer and one of the types of people went perfectly with the poem. I finished my paper as much as I could with the unseen poetry . I found this the hardest section as I did not know all of the words from the poems or questions. Though it was hard I tried my best to answer the exams and I'm quite happy.
Please note: blog post reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students' Union.
Junior Cert English
Sophie - Higher Level
Today was the first state exam that I have ever sat. To be honest I wasn't exactly calm, despite all the “Best of Luck’s” I had received beforehand. English is not my best subject, but, of what I wrote I was pretty happy.I found paper 1 harder, which surprised me. I did not have a lot to write in one of the reading questions. But it wasn't too bad, I’m sure I made up for it in the Personal Writing section. I thought we got really good topics this year, in terms of personal writing. I wrote “A Moment of Sheer Madness”. I Would have liked to write more but, I was very conscious of the time I was spending. Section 3, I found okay, but in comparison to the topics in personal writing, they were a little boring.Finally media studies, I was happy with the media studies questions. I had a lot to write about, but my worst nightmare come true. I ran out of time and paper mid-sentence. Although I didn't finish, the exam couldn’t have ended sooner, my hand was sore from writing.After the break, I was ready for paper 2. I was delighted with the studied aspects of the paper 2. The scene I had been studying before the exam begun, ”Act 3 Scene 1”, I could use for Question 2. So I started the paper optimistically. I also liked the studied poetry question we got, because you could answer with any poem I studied. After I finished the two main parts of the paper, I realised I didn't have enough time to answer all the questions in the Fiction section. But apart from the questions I didn't answer I definitely did my best and was happy with the paper.
Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Cert English Paper One
Shahed - Higher Level
The past two years have been building up to this moment and now here it was: the first day of the Leaving Cert! The first exam was English Paper 1. I wasn't nervous beforehand, as it's a nice paper to start off with (usually!) I took some time to read through the paper then dived into the questions. The texts were, for the most part, straightforward, though people were thrown when they saw Seamus Heaney in Text 3! I answered Question A on his essay, which was about the importance of objects from the past. For Question B, I wrote a talk on negative and positive influences, which was without a doubt the best question of all three, in my opinion. Next came the composing section. Luckily for me, there were two short story questions, so I was spoiled for choice. The first was about a ghostly presence that plays a significant role and the other was to be based on "...a new beast, slouching towards us... The beautiful mutant," which was taken from the second text. I chose the short story about the ghost. Over all, I think it was a good paper and am happy with how it went. Here's hoping Paper 2 is just as good!
Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Irish Second-Level Students' Union Launches 2014 Exam Blog
For immediate release:
The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) would today like to wish the very best of luck to students nationwide who are beginning their Leaving Cert, Leaving Cert Applied and Junior Cert examinations this week.The ISSU annual exam blog will go live on Wednesday the 4th of June, and students from across the country will be blogging throughout the exams, letting us know how they’re finding the exam process, and what they think of the exams themselves.
ISSU President, Craig Mc Hugh said; ‘“Students in Ireland should take care to relax over the next few weeks and avoid cramming, the most important thing is for them to present what they’ve learned over the course of their studies, not in the night before. As a fifth year student myself, I can only begin to imagine the feelings among exam students, but I’d like to urge all candidates to relax and realise that they are only human and can only do their best.”
ISSU Education Officer Joanna Siewierska said; “I wish all exam students the very best of luck for the next few weeks. Exams can be stressful for many students, but I’d encourage them all to remember that this is their chance to show what they have been learning for the last few years. Ninety-nine percent of the work is already done and everyone really is in the finishing straight now!”.
The ISSU will be running a daily exam blog on issu.ie with contributions from students nationwide.
Minister Quinn welcomes report on Transition Year compiled by the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union
For immediate release:
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., has welcomed the publication of a new report on Transition Year (TY) compiled by the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU). The ISSU undertook this quantitative and qualitative study “Transition year: exploring the student experience” at the request of the Minister. The study shows 89% of those surveyed took part in Transition Year in their school and the same percentage were happy that they did so. The overall consensus of students and TY co-ordinators is that the year should be maintained, although there are suggestions on how to improve it. Overall, - 85% of students felt they learned new skills - 85% of students agreed that their Transition Year Programme was well promoted in their school - 83% of students agreed their TY Co-ordinator was good overall - 82% of students enjoyed their experience - 80% of students either agree or strongly agree that their TY year was well organised - 77% felt that it was a worthwhile experience
Minister Quinn said, “This is a very valuable survey and will inform policy in this area. I believe it is important that we hear the voice of students in relation to matters that directly affect them such as Transition Year.”
Transition Year is made up of four set layers: core subjects, subject tasters, Transition Year specific layers (which comprises of classes specifically designed by teachers to fit students’ needs and experiences such as entrepreneurship) and calendar layer such as work experience or An Gaisce. Students surveyed reported that the core subjects, such as English, Irish and Maths are taken very seriously; they believed that less emphasis could be placed on subjects as they already did them in Junior Cycle. Subject tasters were deemed to be helpful as were the specific layer subjects where subjects of interest to students such as entrepreneurship can be undertaken. An Gaisce is perceived as a lot of hard work but the medal awarded at the end is seen as a recognition of that. Some students believe that not enough time is given to work experience (2-4 weeks) and some difficulties are reported in organising it.
Incoming ISSU President, Craig McHugh said, “We were tasked by Minister Quinn to explore the perceptions of Transition Year on a national level. Students embraced the opportunity to share their thoughts on Transition Year. I believe this report provides an objective view about this worthwhile programme.”“Students enjoyed the short courses and dynamic feel of real world learning, which echoes the concepts reinforced in the new Junior Cycle. Young people benefit from the space to mature, and the opportunity to learn and test real life skills. The Transition Year programme is a hallmark success of the Irish Education System, and I am delighted to see a report of this nature supported by the Department, and let it be the first step in real engagement with students as stakeholders in their own education”.
Trips are the most popular element to TY, from day trips to foreign exchanges or holidays. Students claim they are fun and good from an academic and learning basis. Many of the students surveyed request more group work and that they would like teachers to use different teaching methods and styles in the classes. Students also report that TY is an expensive year with the average contribution being €300 but ranging from €150 and €900. The Department gives an extra grant of €95 per student to schools who have a TY programme. Teachers were also surveyed as part of this report.Overall, they perceived the strengths of TY to be the sampling of subjects, changes in assessment to a more student centred approach, the acquisition of new skills and the space for young people to mature. Teachers had a mixed opinion on work experience and also cited lack of funding for TY as a weakness of the programme. Recommendations contained in the report include maintaining the optional nature of TY, introduce information session for third year students, costs of TY to be made clear to students and including students in decision making on activities, trips and classes.ENDS
The full report can be accessed hereImages are being supplied without charge by Maxwells Photography1,323 students responded to an on-line survey and 57 Transition Year Co-ordinator responses were collected.Focus groups were also held in Dublin, Galway and Cork and TY co-ordinators were also interviewed in-depth.
ISSU Supports Bring Back Our Girls Campaign
The ISSU have fully endorsed the #bringbackourgirls campaign. We believe everyone is entitled to an education regardless of their ethnicity, religion or gender, and we are horrified at the recent events in Nigeria where girls were kidnapped for availing of their right to an education.We wish to express our sorrow to the parents and friends of the abducted girls, and will do our best to support the campaign to get them back safe and sound. Craig McHughISSU President