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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Leaving Cert English Paper 2 tests depth of knowledge with 'trickier' but fair questions
English Paper 2 was a 'trickier' exam than Paper 1, but students who knew their texts inside out will be rewarded, according to teachers reviewing the 2025 papers. The second day of the 2025 Leaving Cert continued on Thursday with English Paper 2, which tests students' knowledge of poetry, plays, and studied texts. 'They were two very good papers, particularly I thought the higher-level paper was really well pitched,' said Kate Barry, ASTI English spokesperson and teacher at Loreto, Fermoy, Co Cork. 'It was quite challenging, but that's what we want at higher level.' "It wasn't a paper that you could have gone in and had your pre-prepared essays learned off", she added. 'You had to really know your texts inside out and then be able to select what you knew and shaped it in response.' 'It wasn't offputtingly difficult for anybody but at the same time, there was plenty there for the able candidate to demonstrate their knowledge of the texts.' This year's King Lear question, which allowed students to discuss two characters, was likely very welcome, she noted. 'But it also would have been a good discriminator, as the characters they chose to write about would tell a lot about how familiar they were with the text.' Ordinary level Ms Barry said the Ordinary Level Paper 2 included a significant amount of reading. 'I really liked the last question, which was about a class having a debate,' she said. 'That's something that actually might have been done in class, and that would be good practice to do in class, so that would have been really welcome for a lot of the students.' "It would have been something that really engaged them, and gave them a chance to think critically about their texts.' Students tackling the Higher-Level Paper 2 likely needed a deep breath or two, said David Loughrey, English teacher and incoming principal at Bruce College, Cork. Carefully reading — and re-reading — the questions was essential to ensure students stayed on track with their written responses, he added. 'But for those who were able to navigate the tricky phrasing, unusual vocabulary, and heady themes such as duality, chaos, and inclusion throughout the paper, there was plenty of choice as well as scope for thoughtful responses and exploration.' He noted that while the comparative section required a creative approach, the prescribed poetry questions provided more comfort. 'Familiar names like Boland and Eliot gave students a footing, even if Boland's 'powerlessness' focus may have required some consideration on how to approach.' 'Overall, a more challenging and deeper paper than yesterday, but the rewards were there for those who could maintain composure and who could practice a creative, flexible approach to answering some tough questions.' Junior Cycle exams also continued on Thursday afternoon, with students sitting Geography.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Junior Cycle English exam: ‘Balanced and fair'
The first of this year's Junior Cycle exams, English, was a balanced and fair paper, but with some surprises, teachers have said. Aoife O'Driscoll, junior cycle English teacher at the , said that the paper focused on the theme of perception. 'Overall, it struck a good balance between familiarity and challenge,' she said. 'The poetry question asked students to reflect on how two poems gave them a broader understanding of the world. This is a task that many will have practiced, though it's worth noting that the expectation to discuss more than one poem is becoming more common.' READ MORE Kate Barry, a teacher at Loreto Secondary School in Cork and ASTI subject representative for English, said that students and teachers alike were happy with the paper. However, she said that a question on the moral or lesson an audience may draw from a Shakespearian play may have been tricky for some candidates. 'I would have preferred a more thematic approach, perhaps asking how the playwright ties it all up at the end, as people and life are complicated, and it isn't always easy to draw simple moral lessons from Shakespeare,' Ms Barry said. Studyclix subject expert Sue O'Sullivan Casey from Pobalscoil Inbhear Scèine, Kenmare, Co. Kerry, agreed that this may have been tricky for some candidates. 'They may have had some difficulty with this terminology,' she said. 'Another curveball was the question asking candidates to write about a short story in class. This is a new style of question for JC English and candidates may not have prepared for this going into the exam.' Ms Barry said that the ordinary level paper was 'really lovely, and it gave good opportunities to write.' There was a lot of content that students would have felt comfortable with, said Ms O'Driscoll, including an unseen piece based on Kensuke's Kingdom, a novel by the author Michael Morpurgo, whose books would be familiar to many students.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert English paper one: challenging but plenty of choice
The first of this year's Leaving Cert exams contained challenging elements, but provided enough choice for students to engage with it meaningfully, teachers have said. 'The higher level paper, which was based on the theme of 'perspectives', featured a nice balance between creative tasks and reflective or discursive tasks,' said Kate Barry, a teacher at Loreto Secondary School in Cork and ASTI subject representative for English. 'This played to the strengths of different candidates.' [ Classroom to College: our expert newsletter on the Leaving Cert for parents, guardian and students ] Gillian Chute, head of English at , an online grinds company, said that the three section B questions tend to be consistently unpredictable. 'This seemed to be the case this year, where students were asked to assume the persona of a hotel manager and write an online response on the hotel website 'in response to a disgruntled guest's highly critical review,' Ms Chute said. READ MORE Sue O'Sullivan Casey, subject expert and a teacher at Pobalscoil Inbhear Scèine, Kenmare, said that, overall, students would have been happy with the accessibility of English paper one. 'The three reading comprehensions centred on how perspectives can change either on a personal or societal level,' Ms O'Sullivan Casey said. 'Candidates would have been pleased with the variety of text types, which included an article on 'underdogs', a speech by novelist Margaret Atwood and a narrative extract from the Booker-prize winning novel, Orbital by Samantha Harvey.' In the personal essay question, one of the more challenging options asked students to 'write a personal essay in which you reflect on some of the factors that would influence your voting intentions in future elections.' Ms Barry said that she hoped the State Examinations Commission would give clear instructions to examiners that students should be assessed here on their writing, and not on their political opinions, which any individual examiner may or may not agree with. She said, however, that any of the other six essays offered a good choice. Ms Chute said that the essay genres were predictable. 'There was one discursive essay, one speech, one article, two personal essays and two short stories,' she said. Ms O'Sullivan Casey said that students would have favoured the essay on disappointments which allowed for scope to demonstrate their reflective writing skills. 'Both short stories on offer allowed students to explore character in their narrative writing and gave candidates freedom to develop plots in a number of directions,' she said. Meanwhile, Ms Chute said that the speech titled 'Truth has become a valueless currency in today's world' would have provided students with ample material to explore such as AI, social media and fake news. Ordinary level At ordinary level, Ms O'Sullivan Casey said that the paper was clear and straightforward, asking students to demonstrate their understanding of language and their writing skills. 'Candidates sitting the Ordinary Level paper would have been pleased with the accessibility of the three texts to choose from,' she said. 'An article, narrative extract and a series of quotes, lyrics and images were all on offer and the Question As were easy to navigate and manage. 'The Question B writing tasks were familiar to those candidates who had diligently prepared. A pamphlet, letter and interview were available to choose from and the tasks were clear in their requirements. 'The composition titles that appeared featured a good selection of choice for these candidates,' Ms O'Sullivan Casey concluded. Try this one: Leaving Cert English (higher level), section one, Q3 (b) You are a contributor to a podcast entitled, Eyes Wide Open, where you reflect on how your perspective on a significant issue changed as a result of an experience or an encounter. Write your reflection for the podcast in which you: identify the issue and explain your previous attitude towards it, describe the experience or encounter that changed your perspective, and consider some of the life lessons that you and others can learn from this reflection.
