Leaving Cert English Paper 1

Leah - Higher Level

Hello and good afternoon to the readers of this post! I hope everyone is feeling well on this fine evening and that if you're one of the "lucky" few to be going through exams at the moment, I truly hope that everyone finds the strength to do their best over the next few weeks. I myself have been inflicted with the trials & tribulations that go hand in hand with the thoughts of the Leaving Certificate today.Firstly, however, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Leah and I have never done an official State Examination - until now. As you can imagine, I was extremely nervous at the daunting prospect of my first State Exams to be so significant to my future. But, no pain, no gain - right? These past few months have been a nail biting experience but now, finally, I have made it. Alongside all of my friends and classmates, we have all reached the first day of exams.This morning I arrived at my school fully decked out in my uniform at 8:30. That's an entire hour before my exam was due to begin but I was too full to the brim of nervous energy. After waiting for what seemed like both endless hours and fleeting minutes, my exam centre was opened and slowly but surely, each of my peers poured into the centre. As the clock neared towards 9:30, I decided to make a basic plan of action for my first exam - English Paper I. I decided that my first priority was to get Section II out of the way, seen as it's worth the most marks. Luckily enough, I was blessed with a creative mind from a very young age and so I knew my best shot would be to write a short story. Then, I chose to continue on to part B of Section I and finally, I would finish with the Comprehension. I love it when a plan comes together. With that plan in mind, I felt anxious to get going and, sure enough, 9:30 came and there was a flurry of rustling papers in the exam centre. I kid you not, it sounded like a flock of pigeons taking flight!With my plan of action in mind, I decided to do Question 1 in Section II. The question was focusing on a problem the main character had to go through and then how they had to change throughout the course of the events of short story. For me personally, I decided to write an epilogue-like ending of a book that lead onto a sequel. Each problem my character experienced were in the past and yet, they still had many more to overcome. I was incredibly lucky that my hours in bed, where I was trying to sleep last night but instead thinking of intricate plot lines had not gone to waste.As soon as I had written over four pages for my tale, I decided it was time for me to move onto the next thing. For my Question B of Section I, I chose to do Question B from Text 1. It suited me down to the ground as it was about writing a letter to the Principal of the School on behalf of the Student Council in order to reason with the Principal and their choice to get rid of a Graduation Ceremony for the students graduating in 2015. Now, as many of my close friends know, this was a question close to my heart, as I have written a letter to my school's Principal in the past and it sounded like something the Principal may have threatened to do in the past. Therefore, this Question B suited me down to the ground and I used my own past experiences of being on the Student Council to help me make it more reasonable and relatable. I was not surprised either when I learned my friend and current Chairperson of the Student Council did likewise. We had a right old laugh about that afterwards as we both had a good idea of what each of us had specifically written. It's always nice to leave your exam centre in chortles of laughter.Finally, I finished off my exam with the Comprehension. I immediately rushed to start reading Text 2 as I realised I was short on time and I finished off answering the questions in the nick of time. It turned out that I actually quite enjoyed answering on Text 2 because I love to read anything scary and I thought it was a unique moment where I could understand the thought process. Was it just me that found the first book cover image scarier than the first and the second more childlike for part (iii)?All in all, for my first "proper" exams they haven't gone too bad so far. Dare I even say it, I found Paper I fun? The topics intrigued me and even inspired me. It was a somewhat nice paper to get on the first day too. Here's hoping that Paper II will run just as smoothly and that Ní Chuilleanáin and Montague will come up on the Poetry Section! Well done to everyone who got over the first hurdle too; we're well on our way to enjoying the long summer!

Rob - Higher Level

We sat down way too early for English paper 1, the feeling of anxiety and expectation growing as the clock reached 9:30. On turning the paper over, I read the Question Bs and the essay titles.I had been hoping for an article or a speech and though the titles were okay, nothing really stood out for me. Reading through the Question As I liked Text 1, a speech by Bono at the University of Pennsylvania, I decided to go with Question B from text 3, an introduction to a book about the importance of old people.I found both the Questions A and B that I answered to be very doable. While I haven't written an introduction before in an exam, the topic was not too difficult. I enjoyed Bono's speech, as an exam text it worked well and as a speech it was very inspiring and engaging. I am not as happy about the composing part of the paper. I enjoy writing short stories, while the speech at a UN youth event jumped out at me. I decided to go with the second short story, involving a "gradual reveal of a big secret". Midway through my essay I realised I hadn't been developing the story and it was looking like a personal essay. I tried to rectify this, but ran out of time on my final paragraph. I also found the "gradual" part of this story to be challenging. It would have been much easier to just describe one big reveal in a climactic manner.Overall, I feel okay about Paper 1. It was fair. I most definitely wasn't delighted with it but it was approachable and interesting. Now the panic and cramming can begin for Paper 2, something I think Paper 1 had been shielding. Come on Montague!

Lorraine - Higher Level

Well, That's English Paper 1 down! I have to say I wasn’t nervous at all this morning or to be honest, at all this year! Paper 1 is generally a nice paper to start with because there isn’t an awful lot you can do for it!I got into the school this morning and I was greeted by lots of very nervous students. I went into my exam room and signed the roll book and boom I was ready! When we got the exam I straight away glanced at the Compositions and I couldn't help but smile- I had a story that I could tweak into the first title. Relieved, I went back to the Section A. The theme was Challenges which I was happy with because I was worried it would be equality which can be difficult. The first comprehension was about Bono and the second B part was writing a letter to your principal about him not allowing CLASS of 2015 to have a graduation ceremony. I chose this as my B first because the others looked fairly difficult and B is not my strong point. I started answering A then and it was about a ghost writer. I thought I did a good enough job on these. With the composition, there were two short story questions which was great for me but if you had of done a speech I think it would have been tricky as there was only one option!! I did mine about a main character who has to overcome a challenge and show how's it transformed them! I really hope it went ok! From talking to everyone, everyone seems happy enough! Overall, I think it was a good enough paper and I’m pleased with how it went. I can’t say I’m ecstatic but I never am after Paper 1! Fingers crossed for the role of women in Othello tomorrow and a bitta Montague!! :D

Joanna - Higher Level

Day one - English paper 1You can't open the exam paper until the examiner says you can, but the ink on the inside goes through a little and you can make out the picture before you turn over the page. When I got my paper I thought to myself, that's a weird looking woman. I was anticipating something about human-rights or about equality and guess what, it was Bono and a speech he gave to the UN or something. I was delighted, but rather than jump straight in I decided to check the essay questions. I had a short story in mind going into the exam and two of the composition titles suited it. Grand. Then I checked the part B’s and I was so disappointed when the part B under the Bono comprehension suited me best. That meant I couldn't do that comprehension and had to choose one of the other part A’s. I got a bit thrown because I didn't know which to choose and the hall seemed so loud with rummaging and turning pages... I took a deep breath and looked at the other part A’s. The first of the two were about ghost literature writing (not really an interest of mine) but the questions looked very similar to past examples I had practiced so I decided to give it a go. I ended up really liking it actually, and my letter for the functional writing asking to have the sixth year graduation back went well too. I had an hour left for the composition, which was tight enough, but I managed to mould my essay into the fourth title, an ending in my life that I consider important, and before I knew it, I was just starting my concluding paragraph when the examiner called out that these are the last ten minutes and no one can leave. That's when I realised just how stiff my entire arm was, but I kept going and put down the last full stops just as we were asked to put our pens down. It was over. *sigh*On the side, I must say, deciding to cycle in to the exam in the morning was a great idea. Not only did I avoid having to drink a coffee in the morning, the whole effort of getting changed and then getting on the bike loosened up my arm and the fresh air helped to relax a bit. Now, time to get some early dinner, rest and then get stuck into the selected pile of Othello, Poetry and Comparative notes waiting for me in my room. Best of luck to everyone and congratulations on surviving day one! :)

Isabelle - Higher Level

The theme of this year's English paper one was "Challenges", something pretty universal, that most Leaving Cert students can relate to going into their first exam. The choice of Question B's wasn't my favourite, (I would have liked a nice diary entry!) but I went for the letter to the Principal in the end, which was fairly straightforward!The Question A I went for was one about an article discussing the problems authors face writing Ghost Novels in a time where people don't believe in Ghosts. I actually found the article quite interesting and so it wasn't too difficult to write about. The 20 mark question wasn't about style, but instead about the images that accompanied the text, which I hadn't prepared too much on, but I thought it went quite well overall. Finally the composition -being someone who's quite active in debating and Model United Nations I was praying for a speech and my prayers were answered! There was a lovely question asking you to write a speech to be delivered at the United Nations Youth Conference in which you consider some of the causes and possible solutions to what you see as the defining struggles in our age. This question was right up my street and so the rest of the exam flew by – here’s just hoping paper 2 is kind to us tomorrow!

Asha - Higher Level

English Paper 1I still don't think it quite hit me that I was doing the Leaving Certificate until I opened the paper and started breezing through the reading comprehensions to find the one that I liked best.It didn't take more than a paragraph of the first to realise that I certainly wasn't doing that one. Likewise the question B simply didn't appeal.The next two had me stumped a bit. Once I made the decision to do the question B from text 3 that decided the matter. I quite enjoyed the piece on ghost writing and the challenges of it in a modern society. I quickly made links with other references to this in pop- culture. It was engaging although my performance is another question entirely as the comprehensions have never been my strength.I answered the question B on old people. I thought it interesting but I think I missed out on answering the first part of the question about the influence of older people on younger people. The second part was easy enough. It was a fair question overall, even though book intro's aren't something that we really covered. It was a bit of an article in the end I think or at least that's how I wrote it.As for the composition, there was never any question of my doing something that wasn't a personal essay which narrowed my options down to one. That was slightly disappointing however I digress. It was a workable title on our response to an ending or a number of endings. Fitting given that this was the beginning of the end. I managed to eek out 4 pages which is more than I've ever written for one essay so I was suitably impressed and had five minutes to spare. I regained all feeling in my hand shortly after.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.

#ISSU15 AGM NSE Results Declaration

Declaration of results 2015:There were a number of exceptional candidates who put themselves forward this year, and we are pleased to announce that the following candidates were elected:[table color="blue" name="National Student Executive 2015-2016"]

PRESIDENT	Rob O'Donnell
DEPUTY PRESIDENT	Joanna Siewierska
EDUCATION OFFICER	Jane M. Hayes Nally
WELFARE AND EQUALITY OFFICER	Isabelle Geraghty
INTERNATIONAL OFFICER	Gearóid Dardis
OIFIGEACH NA GAEILGE	Liam Morris
CAMPAIGNS AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER	Art O'Mahony
SECRETARY	Helen Ryan
STUDENT COUNCIL SUPPORT OFFICER	Alex Fogarty
HONORARY PRESIDENT	Craig McHugh

[/table]Craig Mc Hugh was returned as Honorary President in line with the ISSU ConsitutionAll motions to AGM were carried. The newly elected NSE will assume office in May. 

Irish organisations back new second-level education initiative.

PRESS RELEASERepresentatives from Spunout.ie, Schooldays.ie, ISSU and the Digital Youth  Council came together today to launch Student Slingshot Academy, a new  approach to education and careers for transition year students -Student Slingshot Academy was launched today at its future home in Filmbase,  Temple Bar.It is a new initiative developed to change how transition year students approach  education and career prospects. Once a month, beginning on March 15th, some of Ireland’s leading third level students will work alongside industryprofessionals to create immersive and interactive sessions for transition year  students.  It has garnered support from some of the most prominent institutions for Irish  second level students including Spunout.ie, Schooldays.ie, Irish Second-Level  Students' Union and the Digital Youth Council

Oisin McKenna, Staff writer at Spunout.ie, stated:“Work, career and job-seeking are some of the key things that SpunOut.ie's readers search for on a daily basis on our site. It's great to be an information  partner with Student Slingshot Academy in order to support young people's information needs around moving from second level to third level. It's a unique  initiative that offers real life insight for students.”Fiona Farrell, head of Sales and Marketing for Schooldays.ie, stated: “At Schooldays.ie we provide an online resource for parents and teachers, we are delighted to support Student Slingshot Academy, an innovative forum for  Transition Year students aged 15 to 17. It is a wonderful initiative by some of Ireland's undergraduates to provide the next generation with an insight into  future career paths.”Rebecca Dempsey, Student Engagement and Development Officer for the IrishSecond-Level Students' Union, stated:"This is a fantastic and fresh initiative. We love how third level students will be able to share their experiences and knowledge with second-level students in a way that hasn't been seen before. We believe that Transition Year creates an opportunity and space for second-level students to learn and to be creative in their learning ways. The Student Slingshot Academy can add positively to this unique year of study. We encourage TY students nationwide to apply".Harry McCann, founder and director of the Digital Youth Council, stated: “I feel it is so important for students to take their futures into their own hands and not just wait for the education system to take them along. Students need to  become more proactive, they need to go out and look at what is on offer to them and I feel Student Slingshot is the perfect opportunity for any student to start.”Patrick Guiney, founder of Student Slingshot, stated:“Just over 54,000 students sit the Leaving Certificate every single year. Of those 70% of them will be lucky enough to go onto 3rd level. Through a mentoring and support programme, led by some exceptional college students, we want to ensure that students pick the right course, earn a new skill and bring their focus back to what they want to do, not what the CAO dictates.”

The first Student Slingshot Academy takes place on Sunday, March 15th in Filmbase, located in Temple Bar. Transition Year Students will have the opportunity to learn from and meet college students from computerprogramming, medicine, law, journalism, finance, language and art, among further areas yet to be announced. A selection of industry professionals in these fields will support the students to develop new and inspiring sessions.Student Slingshot is a student-run organisation focused on maximising prospects for Ireland’s students. On November 18th, they held the first Student Slingshot event in Dublin Castle where 150 of Ireland’s best students met at Dublin Castle for an evening of networking, panel discussions and keynote speakers. The students from this event are those who will teach at Student Slingshot Academy.Further details can be found at:www.studentslingshot.comApplications for Transition Year Students close at 5pm on March 7th, 2015 Student Slingshot Academy is kindly supported by SAP, Enterprise Ireland and Eventbrite.ENDSContact: Sam Pearson, Tel.: 087 255 1148, sam@studentslingshot.com

Blog: ISSU Oifigeach na Gaelige

Dia duit ann,Tá ISSU ar son na hathruithe atá i ndán don Teastas Shoisearaigh. Tá na leasuithe pléite again go minic le blianta beage anuas. De réir tuairisc ESRI ón mbliain 1997, nil an Teastas Shóisearaigh éifeachtach go leor agus beigh na measúnún leanúnach san JCSA níos fear. Sin é an fáth leis na leasiuthe conspóideach seo agus an fáth go befuilifimid ar aon intinn leis an Rialtas ar an ábhar.Is oth liom a rá, nach bhfuil na múinteoirí sásta leis na leasuithe seo. Níl na lá stailc seo go maith in aon chor, go hAirithe dom agus gach duine eile atá ag ullmhú le haghaidh na triailscrúduithe. Tá go leor brú orm torthai maithe a fháil, gan lá scoile a chaill coicís roimh mo thriailscrúduithe. Tá súil agam nacj leanfaidh na laethanta stailc ar aghaidh, ar mhaithe le me hArdteist agus go bhfillfidh na muinteoirí ar ais go dtí na cainteanna chun réiteach níos sáisiúla a fháil ar an bhfadhb gan lá stailc eile.Is mise le meas,Dáire MurrayOifigeach na Gaelige 

CLOSING OF SCHOOLS MUST STOP

PRESS STATEMENTThe National Student Executive (NSE) of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) regretfully confirms again that second-level schools will be closed today (January 22nd) due to industrial action by the ASTI and TUI. This is the second day of industrial action to be taken in relation to the proposed Junior Certificate Reforms (JCSA) and with mock examinations due to take place shortly nationwide, this action will undoubtedly have an affect on students and their studies.Speaking this morning, Joanna Siewierska ISSU Education Officer, said;“I respect the teacher unions and their concerns in relation to the Junior Certificate reforms. However, as a Leaving Certificate student I am only ten days away from sitting my mock exams. This second day of strike action is disrupting mine and my fellow students’ education at a very crucial and important point in time. It is adding unnecessary confusion to the JCSA discussion and it is equally unfair to all students in second-level school. The closing of secondary schools needs to stop. Again, we respectfully ask teachers to return to talks with the Minister for Education and Skills”.Craig McHugh, ISSU President, added;"I am extremely disappointed that the striking teacher unions have failed to reach consensus on these reforms and that a second day of strike action is taking place. The JCSA reforms are focused on building a more relevant, fair, engaging and progressive second-level education system. Focus needs to return to the Junior Certificate Reform in its entirety and conversations need to happen between the relevant education stakeholders. Our education is being affected by this. This is not fair on students".***ENDS***Notes to editor:The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union has engaged with Junior Cycle reform discussions and consultations since 2011, and our stance on supporting this reform has been mandated by three annual assemblies, our internal advisory panels and nationwide student focus groups.Contact ISSU Main Office 01 443 4461 / communications@issu.ie

Blog: International Continuous Assessment Perspective

Many of the critics of the proposed Junior Certificate reform have stated that its implementation would be somewhat a replicate of the “failing systems” abroad.How about a challenge to this argument, let’s look at this differently. Over the past nine months, I have met hundreds of students from across Europe who loves the idea of continuous assessment. The conversations that have erupted following my statement that some stakeholders in Ireland’s education system don’t support the entirety of these reforms have been somewhat entertaining.Let’s get one thing clear. The TUI and ASTI (the teaching unions who are striking tomorrow) are not against the entire idea of continuous assessment – they are against the internal assessment element and are worried that the JCSA could be a diluted version of our current Junior Certificate programme. Perhaps they think this may damage Ireland’s second-level education system or that the credibility of the Junior Certificate award could be affected. This blog is focused on international situations and is in no way to be directed at the striking teacher unions. This is an opportunity for those watching this debate to see just how continuous assessment works in countries outside of Ireland.Let’s look at England for example. The majority of education stakeholders are in support of continuous assessment. I spoke to a previous student officer of Student Voice, the English equivalent to ISSU, so to understand their views and so to get a clearer perspective on this. I was told that;“The ongoing qualification reforms in England and Wales were started by Secretary of State Michael Gove. This took place between 2010 -2014. In response to so-called 'grade inflation', the Department for Education decided to 'toughen-up' GCSE and A-Level exams resulting in abolishing coursework (continuous assessment) and reintroducing 100% terminal assessment. The new courses are in the process of being introduced, with teaching due to start in September 2015, for assessment in Summer 2017. Gove's reforms were opposed by the majority of the educational community, including teaching unions and academics, but that didn't change his mind. Gove isn't one known to listen. One of the main criticisms advanced was that terminal exams are a poor assessment of learning outcomes, benefiting only a specific kind of learner who can memorise and regurgitate facts, rather than testing true learning. Teachers complained it would cause teaching to the test, curtailing their academic freedom in the classroom and putting extra pressure on them to achieve exam results at the expense of pursuing quality learning and students' development. Some also said that complete focus on terminal assessment demeans education, making qualifications (and exam grades) a commodity to be secured at the end of education, with the learning gained along the way being only an incidental benefit, if achieved at all”.But what about further afield? Students don’t like the idea of standardised tests and terminal assessment without any form of continuous assessment. Last June I travelled to Rome on behalf of ISSU for the event “Education In Crisis” which was built around the fact that education has been hit hard and was ultimately in a dire state following the austerity budgets that Europe had to inflict on its people. Many of the arguments there said that they feared terminal assessment making a comeback so to drive down costs and others couldn’t stop expressing their sheer hatred for the international exam – PISA.The situation is clear further afield – students like continuous assessment as they feel engaged and motivated. It provides them with the education they need and deserve, in an interesting and productive way.We have been engaged in this reform for many years. We have had the conversations internationally and we have taken all points on board for these reforms and we can say that the studies that we’ve been involved with point to a solid conclusion – internationally continuous assessment works so why can’t it work within our Junior Certificate curriculum?