Away we go! Well done everyone on getting through the first day of Leaving Cert 2022.
Once again, RTÉ Learn have linked up with the Irish Secondary-Level Students' Union (ISSU) to bring you first-hand how things are going for young people each day.
To start our Leaving Cert Diary series we have some video entries from:
- Eleanor McCahill on English Paper 1 - St Anne's Secondary School, Tipperary
- Greta Thornton on Home Economics - Loreto Letterkenny, Donegal
The written blogs are from:
- Stella Butler on English Paper 1 - St Raphaela's Secondary School in Dublin
- Eoin Connolly on English Paper 1 - Villiers School, Limerick
- Chloe Anderson on English Paper 1 - Grennan College, Kilkenny
- Grace McGorisk on Home Economics - Our Lady's Bower, Athone, Westmeath
- Rachel Dennehy on Home Economics - Ursuline Secondary School, Cork
Stella writes...
The nerve racking first exam is finished and I think there was a collective sigh of relief from students all over the country. An overall very topical paper with quite accessible questions. I was dying to know what the theme of the paper would be and was not surprised to see that it was Powerful Voices. The adjustment this year of only having to answer a Question A OR B was a lifesaver. I had my heart set on answering Question B but was ultimately torn when seeing Text 1 about Amanda Gorman.
There was an amazing range of topics discussed, I eventually stuck with my gut and answered Question B, the text for a podcast on the importance of music. I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw this question, not only because it was a topic I had experience writing about and one which I am passionate about, but also because this was the first time a question was asked about the text of a podcast.
The daunting 100 mark (36%!) essay came next. I liked the idea of articles, discursive essays, speeches and so not confined to one genre, I was PRAYING for a nice question. The speech where you are running for president was far too intimidating. The topics didn't quite suit me for the feature article. And so I answered the personal essay on the value of engaging in all kinds of learning.
I tend to go off topic and so spend 20 minutes meticulously planning my answer. Once I got into the swing of things I realised just how nice a question it was!
I loved flipping the paper open and seeing what had finally come up after the months of preparation. I found the other questions, such as the short story, lovely and broad. They gave the choice of one with setting and plot decided and an one open to candidates, which I found quite nice! These choices combined with the topical content made for a really enjoyable paper overall.
Hopefully now with a nice Paper 2 we can round off Leaving Cert English on a positive note!
Tús maith leath na oibre - A good start is half the work!
Eoin writes...
Hi! My name is Eoin Connolly and today I took the Leaving Cert English Paper 1 at Higher Level. I was very happy with the paper and how I did on it. When I got the paper, I saw that the theme was "powerful voices", which made me optimistic for the questions because I do best on speech questions, and the theme could mean there were questions related to politics. I was right.
I answered Question A on the first comprehension which was about Amanda Gorman, the poet who performed at Joe Biden's inauguration. The questions were straightforward, I had a hit of trouble with the third part which was a stylistic question, but I think I did well enough on it. Before this I had read the composition questions, Question 2 had me delighted. It read:
"You are a candidate in the next election for the presidency of Ireland. Write a speech to be delivered during the election campaign, in which you outline the social and cultural values you would promote if elected and explain the perception of Ireland you would cultivate abroad, given the opportunity to do so."
I had hoped for a politics-related speech, and this was possibly the best question I could get. I planned out the topics I'd cover and just got to it, time went by in a flash, and I was finished. I think it went well, but enough thinking about it, I've got Paper 2 to focus on.
Chloe writes...
One and done!
Well actually more like 10 and done but still. First one is out of the way! Overall I found the texts on the English paper 1 to be really nice. The one on Amanda Gorman in particular was really well written, I was kind of heartbroken when I didn't end up choosing. The only thing that I found to be super weird was the lack of a question on the prescribed coursework in Part A, but I found it alright nonetheless.
I ended up choosing the Text 2 Part B and it was really nice to go into the big scary state exams and just get to write about a few albums for a while. Although I realised afterwards that I misspelt one of the musician’s names, so I hope my marker isn't familiar with Don McLean.
What I found so confusing though is how on Earth everyone usually gets all of this done in a regular year? Towards the end of the essay it felt like my hand was going to fall off, and I had only done two questions.
I thought that all of the essay topics were quite good. I was torn between the short story featuring a song and the presidential speech, but in the end I went for the speech to switch it up from Question B. What was really welcome was the fact that I was choosing what topic I wanted to do, rather than choosing what I thought was the least worst. It was really fun to sit and imagine what I wanted to do as president, and tell all to an imaginary crowd. Made me think about actually running. Chloe Anderson for president in two decades time? Unlikely to be honest.
Overall I am really glad that that was the first exam. There was a decent mix of stuff to do and definitely made me feel better about the rest of the exams. Let’s hope Paper 2 goes just as well!
Rachel writes...
Day 1 is officially over and out. I won't lie and say that I didn't leave out a sigh of relief upon opening the paper. I have to admit that home economics was the exam I was fearing the most, however the wide variety of choices allowed it to be quite manageable and enjoyable.
I jumped right into the exams by answering Section A : the short questions to ease me into it. These are worth 30 marks this year allowing us to only have to answer 5 out of the 14. Which was more than doable. Personally, the questions were quite manageable easing us into the dreaded exam. I found myself able to answer the vast majority of the questions.
In Section B, we had to answer as always the compulsory Question 1 along with one other question. Question One was well accessible and overall I found it to be a very nice question to answer. The remaining questions I feel varied in difficulty, in my opinion, they appeared quite difficult in comparison to other years. I chose question four which was heavily focused on housing which allowed me to play to my strengths. Overall, I found it quite manageable.
The final section of the paper, which usually consists of three electives, saw this year with an additional question revolving around the three core chapters on the course. I found question four to be quite complex and honestly, I don't think it suited me all that much. Question A was focused on vegetables and was quite accessible. I then answered question C on household appliances, entailing us to give an in depth analysis of an appliance with a heating element, followed by depicting the factors that influence the purchase of an appliance.
Overall, I think this was a quite doable paper thanks to the wide variety of choice which helped relieve our worries. I feel it touched bases with a wide range of the course, allowing us to play to the best of our abilities.
Grace writes...
Well, the first day is never the easiest especially when you have two exams.
I think everyone was shocked when they opened the paper to see no carbohydrates meat or lipids despite everyone in the country predicting them. Just goes to show you can't rely on the predictions!
The short questions weren’t too difficult and there was a wide variety of choice, although it was important to read carefully: I had written about cold and hot smoking only realising near the end it asked about moist cooking method, luckily with only having to answer five out of fourteen there was plenty of choice.
Section 1 seemed to be a lot of "waffle" questions with the only definite factual Q being vitamin D.
I was grateful to have studied core Section 2 (consumers, finance etc) well as this question was very accessible and factual.
I knew the manufacture of TVP very well but I didn't learn the additives so I couldn’t answer it but I knew Q4 anyway.
The one thing that did annoy me was most of the questions were waffling answers. It didn’t allow us to display our wide knowledge on home ec. However, I think it is important to bring them in yourself so for broad questions like factors affecting individuals with certain health conditions I brought in osteoporosis, CHD, HDL, LDLS, etc may as well use the information I have!
I answered all three parts of the Elective Q4, I was glad there was a nutrient Q on vegetables, and I think there was a good option here, but you would’ve been caught out if you didn’t know your specifics like irradiation.
I think overall it went well, it paid off to know your consumer, technology and finance section and I’m happy I got on. Anyways on to English Paper 2.
Tomorrow we have English Paper 2 and Engineering. Make sure to rest up and get a good night's sleep!!
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