Leaving Cert English paper two: ‘Dense' questions posed a challenge amid relief over appearance of much-predicted poets

Irish Times

05-06-2025

Students were relieved that several predicted poets appeared on this year's higher-level English paper, but many of the questions were very specific in scope, teachers have said.
Kate Barry, a teacher at Loreto Secondary School in Cork and ASTI subject representative for English, said that both Eavan Boland and Tracy K Smith – a new poet on the course – both featured.
'But the question on Boland, which asked about the complex nature of powerlessness, was quite specific,' Ms Barry said.
'The question on Smith, which focused on the nature of their lives, was perhaps more candidate-friendly.'
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Clodagh Havel, an English teacher at the Institute of Education, said that it was a testing paper.
'It was not necessarily an arduous one but nevertheless students will feel a lot more pushed to react and grapple with the exam than they did yesterday,' she said.
'Between densely phrased questions and some peculiar vocabulary, some students will be worried that they weren't on the right path.
'Each question was precise in its scope – they had a wide selection, but a narrow focus.'
Gillian Chute, head of English at
TheTuitionCentre.ie
, said that students answering a question on the poet Derek Mahon may have been disappointed with the question.
'It was unconventional in nature,' she said.
'It asked them to what extent they think that an audience's appreciation of both Mahon's language and thematic concerns would be enhanced if his poetry was read out loud, and this may have presented considerable difficulty for some candidates.'
Ms Havel said that candidates reading the first King Lear question may have paused and caught their breath on the mention of 'duality' – or two-ness – within the text's characters.
'For those who gave themselves a moment to fully read the question they will have found lots of choice in who to discuss: Lear, Gloucester, Edmund are all very comfortable candidates for discussions and only two were required.'
Both Ms Barry and Ms Havel said that the second King Lear question were more accessible.
'The second question was gorgeous in its exploration of justice, order, chaos and cruelty but again the way the question was phrased was dense,' said Ms Havel.
'In the cauldron of the exam hall, composure and a level head are easier said than done. Everyone would have material to bring to fulfil these prompts, they just might not glide through it.'
In the comparative texts, Ms Havel said that students aiming for the top marks will need to pick up on the nuances of texts in order to truly incorporate the elements of the 'subtle', 'contradictory' or 'paradoxical' elements mentioned.
Both Ms Barry and Ms Havel praised the unseen poem.
'It covered familiar ground about a lost relationship, which is a common theme,' said Ms Barry.'
At ordinary level, Ms Barry said that there was a lot of reading and wordiness on the paper, which may have thrown some students, although the questions themselves were not too difficult.
'On higher-level English paper one, students were asked to prepare a podcast, and podcasts also appeared on ordinary level paper two,' she said.
'This is probably because podcasts are such a popular medium these days.
'The other questions, including a debate around the ending of the text, were really nice.'
Studyclix subject expert Sue O'Sullivan Casey, a teacher at Pobalscoil Inbhear Scèine, Kenmare, Co. Kerry, said that the ordinary level single text questions were accessible and many students would have managed well with the demands put to them.
'Other questions on Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' and Colson Whitehead's 'The Underground Railroad' were challenging but not unfamiliar,' she said.
'The paper was fair and straightforward. A student who had prepared consistently over two years would have been ready to handle the questions well.'