#EnglishP2 - #LC2017 - Maeve Richardson
Maeve Richardson - St. Annes Secondary School Tipperary So like every other student in the country i was very calm going into English paper 2....just kidding I got sick this morning.So I sat into the exam centre and it took every ounce of strength I had not to flick straight to the poetry section as I knew this would make me freak out. So I stuck with Hamlet and my initial reaction was what in the name of the state exams commission would someone say about Laertes and Horatio but anyway I did the first question about Hamlet being a psychological thriller and agreed with it.For comparative I wrote a pile of crap for the theme/issue question. I did part one and wrote about five pages for this. I actually left this question till last because I knew I'd need a lot of time for it.Finally I moved to the poetry section. I found the unseen poem nice but extremely vague? Either way I answered the second question on its theme and tone. So finally the big one, STUDIED POETRY so the favourite Boland did make an appearance but I chose to do Bishop since she is one of my favourite poets. I was slightly disheartened when Plath wasn't there at first but I got over it this.So anyway, that wasn't a paper with too much bite and at least it's over and done with! So for now I'll prepare for geography and maths paper 1. Best luck of everyone!Check out more exam blogs here: http://issu.ie/the-issu-exam-blogs-2017/issu-exam-blogs-leaving-cert-2017/#StateExams2017 
#Irish - #JC2017 - Maria Hayes
#JC2017 #IrishMaria Hayes - Scoil Ruáin KillenaulePaper 1 started off as usual, the tape test. It went really well I was able to clearly understand the speaker! When that was finished I went straight to the essay to put myself in a good mood. I wrote about "when my friend and I saw a car accident when we got lost in Dublin City". I was delighted with how that went. I then did the grammar, it was easy enough too we had to write the passage in the future tense. My favourite tense! I finished off the paper with the comprehensions, they were understandable so I was very happy with them also!2 and a half hours later I got landed with paper 2. The superintendents first pointed out a spelling mistake and then I looked at the themes for Prós and Filíocht, I'll come to them in a second. I began with the Prós comprehension it went well. Then it came to the 'themes' you had to write about different places. I chose "áit scanrúil" which perfectly suited the novel I studied "Imithe" all was good. Then I moved on to the filíocht section. Read the questions and answered 2 from A and 1 from B (with great difficulty). Themes section came and all that was going on in my mind was "should have learned An tÓzón! Should have learned an tÓzón" but I dealt with what I had I chose "tragóid" (which at the time was only guessing it meant tragedy) and I wrote about "Reoiteog Mharfach". After the exam I found out that tragóid meant tragedy, I was so relieved 
?. I then chose letter B in which I had to write to a friend about how I met someone and what I did with them. Not so confident with the letter but my opening and closing paragraphs are perfect!All in all, I'm delighted with how the Irish exams went!Check out more JC BLogs here: http://issu.ie/the-issu-exam-blogs…/issu-exam-blogs-jc-2017/#StateExams2017
English - #JC2017 - Kurt Scott
Kurt Scott - Ratoath CollegeThe theme of Mystery was well suited to the new Junior Cycle English exam, and the uncertainty attached to it. The questions presented were all very fair, and gave students every opportunity to demonstrate their skills, and knowledge of the curriculum, from discussing poetic devices and their affects to contemplating the impact of visual stimuli, such as a magically themed poster.I especially liked the increased focus on analysis and opinion in the paper, as it created an opportunity for students to explore their skills as organic writers.In summation, I would say that the paper was very stimulating, fair and that the time given was just enough, which was surprising after the time challenge that was the Mock English paper. A positive and promising new Junior Cycle English paper.
English - #JC2017 - Diego Brule
Diego Brule - Colaiste Einde Salthill GalwayWant me to be honest? I can say I almost didn't prepare for English, solely because our teachers simply didn't know what would come up(we're the first generation to sit the reformed English JC) but hey, it actually didn't go bad. (And if it did I can always use the excuse that it's not my first language)Exam starts, I open the paper. I immediately read 'fantastic beasts'. My heart jumps and happiness floods me as I'm sure I can answer anything about one of my favourite movies. (Sorry I didn't read the book) But under fantastic beasts were small letters: 'fantastic beasts and the people who love them'.. what? To say the least, I was disappointed. But as I finished this question, I turned the page and an actual Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts question was there, so naturally, I was happy again.You can see that I went through a rollercoaster of emotions in just under 30 minutes, not bad right? Well, there's more.Next was Poetry. I started hating myself. Why did I not go over all those quotes, I ask myself, and the funny thing is, I kind of knew the quotes, but not having them learned off word by word pissed me off. I skipped this section, only to find that next question was drama, and I was even less prepared for that.I say a prayer(not kidding) before skipping and seeing what awaits in the last question and- aha! we had to make up a TV dialogue between a teenager and an adult, confronting, obviously because we teenagers aren't capable of rational thought. (rolling my eyes hard at that one)And so I have a bit of fun making up this dialogue and then I notice there's half an hour left. I panic as I went back to poetry and drama to answer the best I can, and before I know it the time's up. But oh well, a roller coaster isn't fun without the up and downs, I still enjoyed that test, even though it was the one I had fewer hopes for.
English - #JC2017 - Ellen Kenny
Ellen Kenny- Meánscoil Mhuire LongfordSo today was the first of the Junior Cert exams, starting with English. After the mocks, I think a lot of people were dreading the English exam and its restricted time; I definitely was. In the end though, I was actually surprised at the exam. Even though we still had to do the same amount of questions in the same amount of time, it felt shorter overall.The first reading comprehension was simple and quick to read, and the poetry question was particularly good since it didn't ask for any themes shown in a poem, just your own understanding of it. The only strange thing was the absence of any questions about a novel, but after asking several questions about the poems and plays we've studied, the analysis of a novel might've seemed overwhelming.The Shakespearean extract was focused mostly on staging the drama, which can be easy enough, and the final question only needed a generic argument between a teenager and parent.Overall, it definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be, but I suppose you can't really know how you did until September. At least I'll have to worry about the complexity of Shylock's character ever again! #JC2017 #StateExams #ISSU17
CSPE - #JC2017 - Luke Casserly
Luke Casserly - St. Mel's CollegeSo CSPE was nice and handy like I expected! The short questions were very simple. The first buildings question was linked with the pillars of CSPE which I think threw a few people off. The rest were grand, except for a fill in the blank question asking for the second name of the new UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, I was happy to get it after seeing him on the news a few days ago, but Ban Ki-Moon lovers were heartbroken.The next section involved answering questions on various documents, which again were handy.For my long question, I chose question one which was based around Age Action Ireland. I felt this was the easiest one to choose and worked out really well because it was very like ones we practiced in class.Overall I'm really happy with CSPE and hoping for the A!