Reasonable, broad-ranging and fair were among the adjectives used by teachers to describe yesterday's Junior Cert materials technology (wood) exams, sat by more than 16,000 students. The questions were all very doable at both levels and students should have been pleased, said Mr Colm Hannon, the ASTI subject convenor.

Mr Donal O hEanaigh of the Association of Materials Technology and Graphics Teachers praised the quality of the graphics, particularly on the higher-level paper. However, there was still room for improvement, he said. The language and the way in which technical terms were used on both papers, was straightforward and unambiguous, he added.

Section A on the higher level paper highlighted the breadth of the subject. Mr O hEanaigh particularly appreciated the short questions, which ranged from naming parts of common tools through the stages in the manufacturing process to the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of timber conversion.

Mr O hEanaigh welcomed the higher-level paper's emphasis in section B on allowing students to tap into the work they had done for their projects earlier in the year. "Question 3, for example, on manufactured boards and the rainforests, shows how the subject can connect teenagers with world issues in a simple but real way," he explained.

At ordinary level, the paper was wide-ranging, he said. "The question demanded only simple, clear answers, which is appropriate."

Nonetheless the ordinary-level paper was not without its difficulties. The drawing in Section B question 1 was a little difficult for this level, he said. Question 2 allowed students to draw on the design experience gained in their practical projects.

"Question 5 was a bit off-putting for anyone who had not worked with plastics but, nonetheless, it was not an unfair question," he said.