Leaving Cert English Paper One:Students were happy but the higher and ordinary papers weren't without challenges
PAPER ONE lived up to its reputation as the kinder and gentler of the higher level English papers, providing students with a relatively pleasant opener to their final exams yesterday morning.
Memory was a recurring theme, and higher level students should have reasonably good memories of an “upbeat and positive” exam, said Anne Gormley, English teacher in Laurel Hill Coláiste, Limerick.
Students were happy coming out of the hall but the paper wasn’t without its challenges, according to Michael Doherty, Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland representative and teacher in Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana. “Some of the comprehension passages were a bit weighty,” he said. “They needed to be read a few times in order to get the true meaning.”
Paper one dealt with comprehension and composition. Three comprehension extracts – a speech by Mary Robinson to a conference on hunger; a quirky article from Paul Theroux about his travels; and a nostalgic memoir from Canadian writer Margaret Laurence – were “well written exemplars of speech, travel and personal writing”, said Teachers’ Union of Ireland representative Alan Thompson, who teaches in Abbey Vocational School in Donegal town.
The exercises with the pieces were “easy and accessible”, Ms Gormley said. “They ranged from identifying features of different styles of writing to commenting on the use of certain visual texts.”
The minor composition options gave students a choice between a personal letter, an article for a school website or a proposal to a local authority. “I think students might have shied away from the proposal,” said Mr Thompson. “It wasn’t difficult but they may not have been familiar with the idea of a proposal. Most opted for the letter or the website article.”
Students should have been happy enough with a diverse range of themes for the main composition, including an essay on the marvels of today’s world; an article for a newspaper or magazine on the role of memory, and a short story inspired by the phrase “. . . an inferior rock band howling for fame”.
Ms Gormley said: “The wide choice and scope of subject matter here enabled the students to select a topic that they could tackle effectively.” Mr Thompson’s view was that the essay options were wide-ranging but “not that inspiring”.
In recent years there has been a trend away from general questions and essay titles in a bid to stop the practice of learning standard essays in the hope of regurgitating one when a vague title appears on the paper. “The more specific titles require students to think more – and writing a short story in an hour is a challenge – but that’s the task,” Mr Doherty said.
Leaving Cert English is the most popular exam, with more than 5,000 students sitting the paper. Of these, almost 35,000 take the higher level paper.
Almost 17,000 ordinary level students sat down to a paper on the theme of leadership. Brian O’Driscoll, Mary McAleese and Google all featured in the comprehension texts, which were “perfectly pitched”, Mr Thompson said.
The questions were clear, giving students ample opportunity to display their skills, he added.
The composition choices, including a short story on celebrity in the 21st century and one featuring modern technology, were manageable. “Again, even at ordinary level, the titles have become a bit more specific in an effort to discourage the rote learning of essays,” Mr Doherty said.
Overall, student reaction was positive at both levels. “It has given students a good kick-start for quite a challenging few days,” said Ms Gormley.