The essay topics - "a catastrophe" and "a joke that went badly wrong" might have prompted some students to take a wry look at the not-so-easy year they've had, but overall the Junior Cert higher-level paper 1 was well received. "One comment I got from a student was 'not as bad as I thought'. Really it was a very straightforward paper," said Tom Carroll, a teacher in the Cistercian College, Roscrea, Co Tipperary. The final essay choice, which asked students to write a composition ending with the words, "... and with that I threw away my mobile phone forever", was probably a concept beyond the pale for many, but it was a popular choice for his students, Carroll said. He said question 1 of the media-studies section "really spoke to the kids in their language", dealing as it did with designer labels and advertising, and he commended the high quality of visuals used. Another teacher, Joseph Byrne of St Joseph of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin, also said this was an interesting question, but he added that some students might have been confused by the absence of a graphics and text page on the visual section. "The Nike ad was very subtle and this might have caused difficulties for some, but it would have led to creative answers." Media-studies question 2, which dealt with local radio, was less popular. The ordinary-level paper got a positive response from students in the Cistercian College, Carroll said. "The article in section 1 was a scream. It was very much geared towards the students." TUI president John MacGabhann also reckoned this question was "quite well pitched", demonstrating an appealing and subtle use of language. The other sections of the ordinary-level paper were all reasonable; however, he said, "in terms of length the ordinary is demanding and a good proportion of the student time is spent reading the paper". MacGabhann said the summer holidays piece in section 1 of the foundation level paper was rather dull. "I would have preferred to see a narrative passage, but the questions were not unfair." The rest of the paper was topical, he said, though the media studies piece was a bit indirect. The morning papers, he said, were all well judged. "The Department have managed to pitch at three different levels and have got it more or less right." The afternoon exam, higher-level paper 2, was fair and manageable, Carroll said. However, some students were thrown by the unseen poem, Rainbow by John Agard. "They found the poem off-putting and the subject matter uninspiring," he said. John MacGabhann thought the poem was more accessible to students than adults might realise - "rhythmically it had a lot in common with the music kids listen to", he said. Teachers agreed that the paper provided a and welcome link to the new Leaving Cert syllabus. "Throughout the paper students were asked for a personal response, promoting originality and moving towards a Leaving Cert style of question," Byrne said.