Students faced with some 'fairly robust challenges'
Leaving Cert English
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LEAVING Certificate English higher level candidates faced a different focus in some questions on the comprehension and composition paper and overall the paper presented fairly robust challenges, said teacher Alan Thompson, writes Katherine Donnelly.
One such shift was where candidates were asked to write a cartoon dialogue between animals and another was where they had to select four features of argumentative and/or persuasive writing from a text which "pinned it down a lot more", he said.
Mr Thompson, a TUI representative of Abbey Vocational School, Donegal, said, however, students were on solid ground with the essays.
Sheila Parsons, of the ASTI and Holy Faith/De La Salle, Skerries, Dublin, described it as student friendly though testing. Jim Lusby of the Institute of Education said it offered an intelligent, stimulating reading of material and visuals, and a wide range of challenging and interesting writing tasks.
Conceptual
Ordinary level candidates were treated to up-to-the-minute topics such YouTube (with a passage based on an article in the Irish Independent) and were provided with an opportunity to blog.
Ms Parsons said that some essays at ordinary level were a little difficult, including one about being in the right place at the right time, which she thought too conceptual at this level.
Mr Thompson said while some students might not yet be comfortable with blogging, they did have the alternative of a diary entry. Overall the paper was very fair and accessible, and all three texts were pitched at the appropriate level, he said.
