Continuous assessment is supposed to take the pressure off, but you don’t get a break.
Day two of the exams is over, but I’m still going. I’m just out of English paper two and, as soon as I write this article, it’s into study hub. I’d stay there till 10pm if I could, but it closes at 8pm, so I will pack up the books and study at home for another two hours.
It’s a stressful set of exams, particularly for people like me, who are hoping to get into a high-points course. Last year, engineering in UCD required 568 points, which is really high. But I am working as hard as I can, and doing the very best I can.
Engineering wasn’t initially on the cards for me. But I signed up to a subject called “technology”, thinking it was about computers. I didn’t initially love it, but when Mr Joyce became my engineering teacher that all changed for me and now I love it.
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I’m looking at a career in engineering because there are so many different avenues you can go down with it, including chemical, civil, mechanical and so on. There’s also lots of job opportunities, as the world will always need the skills of engineers and their problem-solving skills.
The engineering paper itself was, I thought, quite fair. The questions were similar to previous years, and I didn’t feel that the examiners were trying to catch us off guard.
One of the questions focused on the special topic of hydrogen. We all knew it was guaranteed to appear on the paper but, nonetheless, I swerved it because the special topic is not one that past papers can ever cover.
Engineering students have already completed a project and a practical which account for 50 per cent of the marks. This continuous assessment approach is good for some students, if they’re particularly practical. I’d prefer just the one terminal exam: continuous assessment is supposed to take the pressure off, but you still do just as much study as other subjects for the engineering exam, and you’re so busy with projects throughout the year that you don’t get a break.
There’s a surprising amount of writing on the engineering paper, because you have to explain the processes. But I finished before the recommended time, so I left and immediately started studying for English paper two.
I had hoped that Patrick Kavanagh would appear on the paper, so I was glad when he did. But I wasn’t happy with the questions themselves: they were very specific. The question on the poetry of Derek Mahon asked about how “an audience’s appreciation of both Mahon’s language and thematic concerns would be enhanced if his poetry was read out loud”. I was very glad that I wasn’t relying on Mahon, as I would not have been ready for this.
Although this was a busy day, it’s far from my toughest. Geography and maths paper one are on the same day, and this will be a big challenge. What I’m really dreading, however, is maths paper two, as it’s a tough paper with big time pressure.
For now, I’m running on adrenaline, and the prospect of earning money during the summer for that all-important Leaving Cert holiday. Albufeira, we’re coming for you!
