Some felt the higher level English paper was student-friendly while the ordinary level paper was ‘satisfactory’

LEAVING CERT students were asked to look to the future yesterday in a higher-level English paper that divided opinion among teachers.

Some commentators regarded it as student-friendly while others saw challenges lurking in the comprehension and essay sections.

A broad selection of “vague” essay titles left the field wide open for students who had prepared material in advance.

However, one teacher expressed the concern that this might lead students to write bland essays that might not garner high marks.

“The essay title that asked students to write a graduation speech to classmates will probably have inspired a lot of pious platitudes about “doing your best” and “never giving up”.

“You’d need something more original than that to get a good mark,” warned Sheila Parsons of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).

Jim Lusby of the Institute of Education agreed that there was not much in the essay section for people to get their teeth into.

“This was a candidate-friendly, if not particularly challenging paper,” he said.

A departure from recent years was the inclusion of a full-length informative composition, “A Guide for Young People Containing Information for Life after School” instead of the usual formal debate topic.

“How many candidates took this as their choice, how well they coped and how accomplished and colourful the essays were will be concerns,” said Mr Lusby.

“It could be argued that this change supports those with the view that the English exam is being dumbed down. This is a development that I think will narrow the types of written expression that candidates may prepare for.”

More than three-quarters of higher-level English students got an honour on the paper last year, with 10 per cent awarded an A grade.

Another teacher remarked that the theme of the future was overplayed, resulting in some repetition, especially in question B of the comprehension sections.

Essay titles on yesterday’s paper included an invitation to write a personal essay about a performance or a short story inspired by the quote: “Isn’t that funny, and sad too?” Students also had the option of writing a newspaper article about being a good neighbour or a speech encouraging classmates to be hopeful about the future.

Yesterday's higher-level comprehensions were generally well-received by students, featuring a memoir-style interview with poet Seamus Heaney and the extract of a Nobel Prize speech by former US vice-president and environmental activist Al Gore. There was also a passage from Ray Bradbury's 1951 dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, which envisions a dark future where all books are burned in an effort to repress critical thought and encourage happiness.

The ordinary-level paper took the theme of challenges overcome, with comprehensions on dangerous sporting challenges such as long-distance swimming, and another on the Brendan Voyage.

The essay titles extended the theme, with topics such as “The toughest event in the world” and a personal account of the challenges of making friends. Students were also asked to write a short story about camping or a talk about a person whose achievements they admire.

“This was a satisfactory paper overall, although there was some ambiguity in the question about what motivates sportspeople to undertake challenges,” said Sheila Parsons. “Some students will have wondered if they were meant to answer from the comprehension passage or from their own experience.”

About 33 per cent of students took yesterday’s English exam at ordinary level.