Junior Cert: ordinary level English:The ordinary level paper was broadly welcomed by teachers yesterday. There were no shocks and the paper was described as being "very standard". TUI subject representative Bill Ryan described the exam as a "nice introduction into the Junior Cert".
Four out of the eight essay titles required the student to draw on personal experience with topics such as "Things that make me happy" and "Life without my mobile phone."
The suitability of some exam questions for newcomer students needs to be addressed according to ASTI subject representative Christina Henehan.
One of the comprehension questions asked students to explain certain phrases in the text. "I thought that some of those would have been difficult enough for newcomer students," Ms Henehan said.
Rhythm and rhyme were central to the poetry which could also have caused problems for newcomer or weaker students. Ms Henehan found that these students tended to avoid that question, "and they were right to do so".
The paper scored well with its mixture of knowledge and opportunity for self expression according to ASTI representative Sheila Parsons. The functional writing was "appropriate to the students' experience and age", Ms Parsons said.
