Fair, accessible and no trick questions

ENGLISH wrapped up nicely for Leaving Certificate ordinary-level candidates with a second paper that teachers described as fair and accessible.

Alan Thompson, of the TUI and Abbey Vocational School, Donegal, said students should expect to do quite well, and also feel that they had a fair test.

In the first question, candidates had to pick one from a list of nine prescribed texts on which to answer questions.

The nine included a novel, play, short story, autobiography, biography, travel writing, and film, such as Brian Friel's 'Dancing at Lughnasa' and Shakespeare's 'King Lear'.

'The questions were all very clear and accessible and the students could respond in a number of different ways, so catering for different aptitudes,' said Mr Thompson.

In the comparative section, questions were broad enough and the language used was easy to understand, he said.

He felt the unseen poetry could be read at a few different levels, from simple to challenging, and would allow candidates to express themselves creatively.

Mr Thompson added that the prescribed poetry facilitated a personal response and allowed for a nice combination of emotional and analytical thinking.

Sheila Parsons, of the ASTI and Holy Faith/De La Salle, Skerries, Co Dublin, agreed that there was 'no trick' in the comprehension questions on the prescribed text.

The comparative study was based on the same nine texts and Ms Parsons said the question on heroes and villains was very doable, but thought the theme option was a little bit more difficult.

Her overall view of the paper was that it was 'quite nice and accessible'.

- Katherine Donnelly

Irish Independent