essay titles leaving cert english

• Leaving Cert. English (Higher) 2022: Paper 1 Section II Composing
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Preparation

Throughout your Leaving Certificate studies, be curious in all of your subjects. Read widely and write regularly. General knowledge, regular reading and regular writing will make you an interesting, articulate and quick-thinking student — three attributes that are necessary in responding to Leaving Certificate English papers.

Do not adhere to one style or one particular genre. Write in a variety of language categories:

• Information

Take care with your penmanship. Your writing must be legible, and good handwriting will create a good first impression.

If you have built up a number of good pieces, keep them for reference. You may well be able to utilise some of your ideas and techniques in the actual examination.

Read carefully what your English teacher writes about your written work. Re-write your work to improve it and learn from your mistakes.

This essay is worth a quarter of your entire marks for this examination. Its importance cannot be overestimated!

In the examination you should spend approximately one hour and twenty minutes on this section.

Remember you will be marked under the following criteria:

• Clarity of purpose (30%)
• Coherence of delivery (30%)
• Efficiency of language use (30%)
• Mechanics (10%).

1. Write a personal essay in which you identify some of the items or objects that have become “faithful companions” in your life and reflect on the importance of these items or objects to you.

• This title gives you the opportunity to take a number of different approaches but remember it must be a personal account. Your ideas should be at the heart of the essay.
• A personal essay should have a degree of personal reflection. You should not just tell a story or present a number of anecdotes. You must personally reflect.
• Think about the items and/or objects that are important to you. Why are they so important? This must be the focus of your essay.

2. You are a candidate in the next election for the presidency of Ireland. Write a speech to be delivered during the election campaign, in which you outline the social and cultural values you would promote if elected and explain the perception of Ireland you would cultivate abroad, given the opportunity to do so.

• This is a speech to be delivered during an election campaign. Your aim is to inspire people to vote for you. There should be plenty of language of persuasion in this speech.
• What social and cultural values do you wish to promote in your speech?
• What perception of Ireland do you wish to cultivate abroad? This speech is your chance to set out what you would do as president of Ireland if you were elected.
• Use all the rhetorical devices at your disposal. Some techniques include:
• Creating a sense of unity
• Emotive language
• Rhetorical questions
• Emphatic tone
• Use of contrast, triadic structures and flattery.

3. Write a short story in which the student featured in Text 3, Dieter Knecht, has a life changing experience as he attempts to rescue Joseph Roth’s denounced novel, 'Rebellion', from the Nazi supporters who wish to see it destroyed.

• You must write a short story. You can take a variety of approaches but generally, all short stories have a beginning, middle and end, have at least one character, and have some sense of tension, climax and resolution.
• Ask yourself questions to create ideas:
• Beware of creating an over-long time-line. You have limited space and time. It would be impossible to cover a character’s entire life in 3-4 A4 pages.
• Try to have only 1-3 main characters.
• You have a long time to write this essay. Re-read what you have written to check it for mistakes.
• Create atmosphere and images for the reader — it will improve your writing.

4. Write a feature article, for the magazine section of a weekend newspaper, in which you reflect on our fascination with all things fashionable and explore the stories we tell about ourselves, intentionally or unintentionally, through our fashion choices.

• You are writing a feature article for the magazine section of a weekend paper. You need to have a headline and possibly sub-headings. You should also get the tone right. If in doubt, read weekend magazine supplements.
• If you are a follower of fashion, this could be an ideal choice for you.
• You need to reflect on our fascination with all things fashionable and explore the stories we tell ourselves through our fashion choices.

5. Write a discursive essay in which you identify some of the powerful voices in modern life and discuss their influence on society.

• This is a discursive essay. You need to discuss voices in modern life and their influence on society.
• You may wish to consider some of the following:
• Social activists, e.g., Greta Thunberg
• Reality TV stars
• Cancel culture
• Politicians
• Sporting stars
• Social influencers.

6. Write a personal essay in which you reflect on the value of engaging in all kinds of learning and the pleasure, satisfaction and personal growth that can be derived from doing so.

• Consider the value of engaging in all kinds of learning, and consider the pleasure, satisfaction and personal growth that can be derived from doing so.
• You might consider some of the following ideas:
• Benefits of learning a language
• Learning individually or as a group
• Meeting others
• Broadening your mind.

7. Write a short story in which a piece of music or the lyrics of a song (or songs) play(s) an important part of the narrative.

• See notes on writing a short story above.
• The short story must have a piece of music and/or song lyrics as an important part of the narrative.
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Descriptive essay: the beauty of the natural world for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post author: Martina
• Post published: June 22, 2023
• Post category: #625Lab / Descriptive Essay / English

Write a descriptive essay in which you capture the beauty of the natural world (Mock exam 2023) Feedback: It is excellent, H1, very good length and interesting structure. I think…

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• Post category: Descriptive Essay / English

Write a descriptive essay which captures a sense of the difference between dawn and dusk and celebrates both the beginning and the end of the day (2019) Ever wonder what…

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Write a descriptive essay in which you capture how the landscape reflects the transition of the seasons. You may choose to include some or all of the seasons in your essay. (2018)…

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Write a descriptive essay in which you take your readers on a journey through a barren landscape (urban or rural) that you have experienced. #625Lab. An excellent way to write…

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‘An ice storm blew in from nowhere.’ Write a descriptive essay entitled ‘After the Storm’. #625Lab. Below is beautifully descriptive essay that is also personal, relatable - and very cozy! What makes it…

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• Post published: February 4, 2018
• Post category: #625Lab / Descriptive Essay / English / Short Story

This is one of the finest examples of descriptive language I have seen in a long time. Spectacular use of symbolism. (Well done L.!) This was sent into #625Lab as a…

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Write a descriptive essay entitled Night Scene. (2017) #625Lab  You may also like: Complete Guide to Leaving Cert English (€) Essay 1 Essay 2 Essay 3 Essay 4 Essay 1 The…

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1 Composition (Personal Writing)

 This site aims to give students comprehensive resources and actionable tips to improve their English grades in their Leaving Certificate.

Build confidence and take the guesswork out of essay writing ✍️

Find resources for all sections on both Paper One & Two 📝

Gain practical tips for making noticeable improvements in your grade 📈

Understand how to get the most marks for each question 🤔

Learn HOW to write essays instead of rote learning them 🤌

This website is guided by the framework rolled out by the NCCA.

Improve your grade now!

About the author .

My name is Stephen, and I've been an English teacher for the past seven years. 

I believe that students are too quick to search for as many 'notes' as possible full of content that will either overwhelm or confuse them. My approach is to offer students practical methods to tackle every section on Papers One & Two in their Leaving Certificate using strategies and insights that I've implemented in my classes over the years. I try to take much of the guesswork out of English so that students can improve their confidence, comprehension and execution when it comes to their exams in June. 

Teaching English is something I am passionate about, and I hope this website is a reflection of my keen interest in this subject. Feel free to browse, listen to the podcast episodes, find helpful resources and more. You can also contact me with any specific queries you might have at the bottom of the page.

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Question B - FIVE H1 Colour-Coded Examples

Speech Overview / THREE H1 Examples

Personal Essay Overview / THREE H1 examples

W.B Yeats / Prescribed Poet (50-marks/12.5%)

Sylvia Plath / Prescribed Poet (50-marks/12.5%)

Seamus Heaney / Prescribed Poet (50-marks/12.5%)

Prescribed Poetry & Unseen Poetry (50-marks/20-marks)

Question B / 50-Marks

Question A / 50-Mark

Composing / 100-Marks

Single Text Overview / Shakespeare / 60-Mark

Unseen Poetry Overview / 20-mark

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"I found the online resources to be really helpful. English became a lot more straightforward, as it had always been a subject that didn't quite click with me"

"I liked the way the resources weren't all pure notes, like they show you HOW to write the essays. I was only ever given notes by my teacher and told to learn them."

"The resources have the marking scheme on them which definitely helped. The colour coding was probably the best part because I could actually see how to hit on the specific parts of the marking scheme"

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• mdramimsarker
• Nov 19, 2022

Tips and Tricks for Leaving Cert English Composition

Updated: Feb 17

Most students stress about Paper 2 – Shakespeare , poetry and a range of texts is a lot of learning in fairness! – but did you realise that the Composition section on Paper 1 is actually the most important question you will do for your Leaving Cert English? Worth 100 marks, this is 25% of your overall grade! The breakdown is simple – if you ace this section, you’ve set yourself up really well to get the grades you want.

So what is this section on the course all about? The paper 1 composition – a fancy name for what most would call an essay – and is something you write on the day of the exam and is worth half of the total marks of this paper. Both Higher and Ordinary level English will have seven titles to choose from, and these will be a mix of personal essays, short stories, discursive essays, articles, descriptive essays and speeches, to name some of the more common options, each tending to follow a certain format. The titles will cover a variety of language genres (informative, persuasive, argumentative, narrative and aesthetic) so as well as getting the topic of the essay right, you need to make sure you’re getting the tone correct too. Those are the specifications the LC marking scheme will be focusing on.

Each year has a new theme for paper 1 – it will be written on the front of the paper – and every essay ties back to a reading comprehension about that theme. Does this mean your essay has to be about the theme? Not necessarily. But it does mean if you are stuck for inspiration you have a general concept to work from which can be a great help on the day.

Length-wise, for HL you’re aiming for around 4 or 5 pages which may sound like a lot, but when you realise it’s roughly 20 marks per page, it makes sense. Plus, by the time you have a decent introduction and conclusion done, you’ll have most of a page filled. Ideally, you’ll have picked a title whose writing style suits you, and ties into your interests and knowledge, so those extra few pages should fill themselves pretty quickly!

When choosing a title, stick to your strengths – if you’re amazing at factual writing and aren’t terribly creative, then a discursive essay is for you; if you have a great imagination and know how to tell a good tale, then the short story is right up your street. Pro tip: personal essays and short stories come up at least once (if not twice!) every year so are good ones to work on when doing essay writing!

On that note, you may not think it, but English is 100% a subject where practice makes perfect. The more you get used to choosing titles, planning what you are going to write that ties back into the title you chose , then writing while keeping the correct pacing in mind (75-80 mins), the better you will get at producing decent essays in exam timing and conditions. Reviewing your vocabulary and grammar as you write are key to helping you push up your language and mechanics marks.

Are you going to be able to write an H1/O1 essay in 80 minutes the first time you try? Unlikely, but putting in the work on your essay writing between now and your exams is a solid way to help yourself get there.

• Leaving Cert

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Really Useful Links for Writers: Leaving Cert Essay Writing

Paul FitzSimons

• 29 May 2014

I have good news – the weather will be beautiful next Wednesday. The sun will shine, the skies will be clear, the temperature will be in the twenties. How do I know that? Because it’s the first day of the Leaving Cert Exams.

Besides being the unofficial start of summer, Day 1 of the Leaving is also English Paper 1, the culmination of two years’ work for around fifty thousand English language students.

The Leaving Cert English exam is divided into two papers – Paper 1, which is all about comprehension and composition and Paper 2, which covers The Single Text , The Comparative Study and Poetry. Like the other two-part exams Maths and Irish, English 1 and 2 happen on two different days – the first Wednesday and Thursday mornings of the schedule. Maybe this is to give brains and hands a chance to recover from a hectic morning of essay-writing.

Besides having the aptitude to tell a good story, writing essays at Leaving Cert level requires certain acquired skills, most of which we learn over the years of study prior to the exam. However, there are some aspects of writing the perfect essay that we don’t necessarily pick up or, with the deluge of knowledge that we’re trying to take in, have slipped from our memories. Thankfully, there are plenty of online resources that will fill in those gaps and also offer some additional advice on writing, organisational and time-saving that will prove invaluable on the day.

On the ever useful website LeavingCertEnglish.net – seriously, I wish this had been around in my day – we are given an invaluable guide to preparing for and then sitting down to English Paper 1. Their pages include advice on approaching each essay, what needs to be covered to achieve a passing mark and what flourishes will help to get that all-important A.

After sitting his Leaving Cert in 2011, student and blogger Aidan Curran decided to take the lessons he learned during that traumatic year and share them on his website. His post How To Get An A In English Essay Writing takes us through everything we need to remember coming up to and during the exam. He reminds us that, as essay-writing is not something we can memorize, it makes it both the easiest and most difficult part of the exam.

Most of the above applies to Paper 1 of the exam. Of course, there are also some essays to be written for Paper 2, which deals with curriculum’s prescribed texts, such as the play, novels and poetry. The Clevernotes website offers us some invaluable advice on tackling the second English paper compositions, suggesting that, in order to form a cogent and coherent response to the question asked, an essay must always contain an introduction, a number of well-focused body paragraphs and a conclusion.

For some slightly more tongue-in-cheek advice on essay writing, we can watch video blogger Clisare’s video on Entertainment.ie. She takes us through her unique thoughts on writing both English and Irish essays. She does offer some interesting insight but the fact that she advises us to remind the teacher that ‘Irish is a dead language’ suggests that we should probably take most of her tips with a grán salainn.

If you feel an online tutor will be able to help, check out TutorHunt .

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris

A Whole Website Dedicated To It.

LeavingCertEnglish.net has all the advice, information and sample exams we need to tackle the Paper 1 essay.

“”Stick to the topic. Have plenty of ideas. Identify problems but also offer solutions.”

http://leavingcertenglish.net/2012/03/inspiration/ .

Them’s The Rules.

LeavingCertEnglish.net takes us through six important rules for writing the perfect essay.

“It’s really important to grab the reader’s attention. Use a quote, or a series of rhetorical questions, a list, or a vivid description.”

http://leavingcertenglish.net/2011/05/six-rules-of-essay-writing/

From The Horse’s Mouth.

Recent Leaving Cert student Aidan Curran takes us his advice on Essay-writing, based on his own experience.

“Obviously, when you get the essay titles first you say “That’s it, I’m screwed, we’ll call it a day”. But if you just look at them, you’ll realise that they can be changed to your strengths.”

http://aidancurran.com/how-to-get-an-a1-in-english-essay-writing-aidan-curran/

It’s Not All About Paper 1, You Know.

English Paper 2, which deals with the subject’s prescribed texts and poetry, also involves some essay writing. Clevernotes tells us how to tackle it.

“The most basic principal of essay writing is that it should be structured. Your essay must form a cogent and coherent response to the question asked.”

https://www.clevernotes.ie/english/hl/leaving-cert/how-to-write-a-paper-two-essay/

And Lastly, Some Proper Serious Advice (Or Maybe Not)

Vlogger Clisare gives us her unique take on Essay Writing.

“Always end English Language essays with ‘…and then I woke up.’ Teachers love that.”

http://entertainment.ie/wtf/WATCH-How-to-write-a-leaving-cert-essay/191520.htm

(c) Paul FitzSimons

About the author

Paul FitzSimons is a screenwriter and novelist and has written the novel ‘Burning Matches’ and a number of scripts for film and TV. He has worked as a storyline writer on RTE’s ‘Fair City’. His short stories are published in ‘Who Brought The Biscuits’ by The Naas Harbour Writers. Paul likes crime thrillers, good coffee and Cadbury’s chocolate. He doesn’t like country-and-western music or people who don’t indicate on roundabouts.

Paul also runs the  Script Editing service Paul | The | Editor .  paulfitzsimons.com

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The secrets of my success: how to crack Leaving Cert English

Cillian fahy , who got straight as in his leaving cert, made headlines when he sold his exam notes on ebay for €3,000.

CILLIAN FAHY , who got straight As in his Leaving Cert, made headlines when he sold his exam notes on eBay for €3,000. In this continuing series he shares his study experience with readers (for free), today offering advice to fifth- and sixth-year students on Leaving Cert English

Essay and comprehension

Comprehension: can’t understand it?

Little or no preparation required, just sit back and watch the marks accumulate. Wrong! Don’t forget this question counts for a quarter of your entire English mark! Of all questions, don’t let this attitude take hold here. Do plenty of practice comprehensions over the course of the year, starting now.

Here’s how:

1) Remember you need to do question A and question B from different comprehensions. Which one you choose will depend on your choices on the day and which question you are best at. The best way to find this out, like everything else, is practice!

2) Read the questions before you read the comprehensions. This will give you direction when reading.

3) Highlight the areas you think are worth attention and are relevant to the questions you are asked. If you read the comprehension and find nothing to highlight then maybe you need to look again at the questions or at a different comprehension.

4) Keep an eye on your watch. If you keep within the time it should ensure that you focus rather than daydream.

5) Unlike other questions, when you are practising comprehensions keep strictly to the time allocated for this question.

Composition: a matter of choice!

The composition is a question that seems straightforward. It appears as if the examiner is simply allowing you to express yourself for a quarter of your grade. But the key to this question is choice. You need to ensure you make the right choice for your composition.

1) Read first. In the exam it's important that you read the composition questions before you do anything else on the paper. In this way ideas can be fermenting in the back of your mind while you're tackling comprehensions. It's also a good idea to spend a few minutes when you read the titles writing down a brief idea of those that you think may work. You can return to them later and develop them.

2) Decide on your genre as many of the compositions will require a specific style of writing. One of the key factors in making your choice is identifying which style will suit you best. The main options are a debating piece, a personal essay, a short story or a magazine article. The differences are subtle but important. One of the questions you need to ask yourself is: who is my audience? For example, if you are writing an article, you should probably not refer to yourself as your audience is the magazine's readership, who are looking for objectivity. However, if you go for the personal essay you are invited to give your own perspective, so the tone is different. You should be able to write effectively in two of the different types of composition, thus allowing yourself more choice.

3) Plan ahead. You need to be able to plan the composition before you begin, so your creation has a definite direction and sticks to the point. If you cannot plan an answer properly then you shouldn’t attempt it.

4) Think back. Every essay you write this year (and in fifth year) is practice for the big day. You can make that practice more profitable by approaching compositions in a systematic way. I do not mean learning essays off by heart, which is difficult, time-consuming and stifling of creativity. Here’s what I suggest: after each essay write out a brief summary of that particular composition. These summaries can be categorised in your notes under different headings, such as “personal essays on politics” or “magazine articles on modern living”. One of the compositions on the day might be similar to one that you have written previously. You can then use that summary as a basis for your new composition.

Comparative and drama

Comparative: magic moments

The comparative is an important question on paper two. It’s the one with the most marks on offer and one in which you can really do well.

1) Key moments unlock your full potential here. As you study your comparative texts you should mark everywhere and anywhere that could be a key moment in the text. You should compare the effect of a key moment on the cultural context/general vision and viewpoint/themes and issues of the text with that of other key moments in other texts.

Examples of key moments are: when Fr Jack returns to Donegal in Brian Friel’s play, Dancing at Lughnasa; when Michael is murdered in London in Lies of Silence by Brian Moore; and Rory’s death in Inside I’m Dancing, directed by Damien O’Donnell.

2) Quotes can also be used effectively . They are not always necessary but at the same time it's good to have a few to demonstrate your knowledge of the text.

3) Don't summarise. You should never summarise the plot or story in any way. The examiner is interested in more than that. It can often be difficult to resist this, particularly with key moments. But just keep asking yourself, "am I summarising?" and you'll avoid the biggest pitfall in the English exam.

4) Comparisons need to be clear . Use definite contrasting words that spell it out to the examiner that this is a comparison. This is what they are looking for and you need to make it obvious for them. If in doubt about whether you are being clear enough, then try to make it clearer. Leave nothing to doubt here.

Single text: so it's Shakespeare, so what? The single-text question or, for most people, "the Shakespeare question" is one that candidates lose sleep over. But when you break it down it's not as tough as you think.

1) Rewrite the question. English is all about purpose, so you need to answer the question asked – and only that question. This requires you to understand fully what you are being asked. The best way to do this is to rewrite the question in your own English. This is particularly useful for a Shakespeare question.

Examples of rewriting a question:

(i) In your opinion, what is the appeal of the play Hamlet for a 21st-century audience? Support the points you make by reference to the text. (Leaving Certificate 2005)

Rewrite: Do I think that Hamlet is attractive to people today? What subjects are attractive to today’s audience? What parts of the play talk about those subjects?

(ii) “We admire Hamlet as much for his weaknesses as for his strengths.” Write a response to this view of the character of Hamlet, supporting your points by reference to the text. (Leaving Certificate 2005)

Rewrite: Do I like Hamlet because of his weak points as well as his strong points? Do I like him as much because of both? Where in the play is he weak? Where is he strong?

2) Be clear about the plot. A test to see how well you understand your Shakespeare is to write out the sequence of the text. This will ensure that events are clear in your mind and you can start looking at Hamlet like any other play. If you can't do this, you need to revisit it.

3) Learn "multi-quotes". It's all in the quotes in the Shakespeare question. You will need to learn a large chunk of them. However, rather than learning the entire play word for word, focus on learning quotes which could work in many answers. These "multi-quotes" should be all you need to construct a quality answer.

Examples of Hamlet multi-quotes:

(i) “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” This can be used to describe: Hamlet’s mindset; Hamlet’s relationship with Claudius; Claudius himself; and family as a theme.

(ii) “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.”

This quote can be used to describe: whether or not the play is positive/negative overall; Hamlet’s outlook on life; any negative characters/events in the play; and whether or not the play is entertaining.

4) Develop your style. Right now you shouldn't be able to write a great Shakespeare answer. Why? Because you are still perfecting a style. This is something you will develop over time, and by June you should feel comfortable with it. One of the key elements of your style is presenting an answer. Ask yourself now if you are presenting your answer in the best way and using quotes to their best effect. The only way to know which is best is to practise exam questions!

5) Use no added extras. Here, more than in any other question, you need to write only what is relevant to the answer. Purpose is a key part of the marking scheme. Your answers needs to have answered the questions you were asked. Although you might think throwing in extra information, relevant or otherwise, will get you extra marks, it won't. You're more likely to lose marks because you are not answering the question exactly. Don't write a different answer to a different question, no matter how good your answer.

6) Use originality wisely . In English you are allowed to write what you like as long as you are willing to back it up with quotes and logic. Your own interpretation of a text is just as relevant as any other interpretation. You should be brave enough to offer your own viewpoint, but you shouldn't always look for an original outlook when the agreed view is best. If you are looking for resources that may offer a different interpretation the internet is a good start. Also, Trinity College Dublin runs a weekly evening lecture series on selected Leaving Certificate texts. See if your local university has something similar on offer. But don't take your textbooks for granted as sometimes the best answer is there.

The personal touch

For a lot of people the poetry question can be tough. Students believe that poetry is some form of mishmash of complicated words and poetic terms. But it shouldn’t be. With the right strategy the poetry question can be manageable.

1) Be personal. Show the examiner how you have interacted with the work of a poet. Mention personal things about your life and how it has made you think about these. For example, a parent-child theme might make you reflect on the relationship between your own parents and how that is changing as you grow older. There's no need to go into too much detail but personal examples will show that you have engaged with the poetry on a meaningful level and not just learned it off. Despite all the talk about the Leaving Cert and rote learning, examiners do look for a personal response, in the right context, on the English paper. It will set you apart if you take on the challenge.

2) Know whether to write your paragraphs poem by poem or theme by theme . Focusing on themes generally leads to better-rounded answers because they demonstrate your ability to think about the work as a whole, but sometimes you may be required to answer poem by poem. Look closely at the question you're asked in the exam to ensure that the question doesn't imply that you should write in a certain way.

3) Resist "Eavan Boland syndrome" . The strategy of large numbers of students who put their eggs in one basket and only learn one poet has failed over and over again. There are no patterns and no surefire predictions. You need to know the work of five poets to ensure that one of them is on the paper. Learning about fewer than that is not a good plan. Even if the predicted poet comes up on the paper, the question you are asked might be extremely difficult.

4) Don't forget the unseen poetry . Although it is worth a small amount of marks in relative terms, this section of the paper can still make that difference. At first you will find answering these questions difficult. Practice is the key. You should regularly practise writing about poetry you haven't seen before. That way, even if you feel stuck on the day you will know how to look at the poem and break it down.

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3 thoughts on “English”

no english marking schemes?

Excellent help and support for our country’s certificate exams which we are considering a review for. Thank you.

Would request a print out of the 2009 or 2010 exam paper please, for professional work at the Ministry of Secondary Education, Yaounde Cameroon. Thanks.

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leaving cert english essays titles

By AlexNear , March 22 in General Discussion

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Topic of the Week: Inspiration!

The exam hall is probably the least condusive environment for inspiration known to humankind. It is a weird pressure cooker of silence and ticking clocks, all tinged with the internal panic of knowing that 37% of your grade in English relies on you finding something to say and saying it well for QB and The Essay. You have no control over the topics that will appear, nor can you predict whether or not you will be paralyzed by indecision or writer’s block. And they say the Leaving Cert is ‘fair’? ‘Brutal’ and ‘cruel’ are the words that spring sooner to my mind! (But then I am prone to hyperbole…)

So what can you do? Well some people ‘prepare’ essays/short stories and hope one of them will sort of, kind of, ‘fit’ on the day. I have seen this work, but only when the student is (a) the writer of these essays/stories – because they have learned how to become a good writer through practice and (b) clever/calm enough to change it significantly to tie in exactly with the essay title that appears on the day.

More often than not I have seen this fail. Spectacularly.

I recall two examples vividly. One was where a student of mine had written a really beautiful essay entitled “Childhood Memories”. I had given him 100% for the essay – it was witty, funny, moving and poetic. When he went into the exam one of the titles asked students to write a personal essay on “The Idealism and Passions of Youth”. He didn’t like any of the other titles. So he panicked and just re-wrote his wonderful essay on childhood memories. But it had very very little relevance to the title. I remember him being disappointed when the results came out, and going in to view the paper, and my heart sinking when I started to read the all too familiar – and brilliant – essay from a couple of months before. Because no matter how great the essay is outside of the exam hall (and this applies to all of your essays on Hamlet and poetry and the comparative too) if it does not completely and consistently engage directly with the essay title then you are in trouble.

The second example was even more troubling. This student got hold of a short story that someone else had written and assured herself that because the original writer had gotten an A1 in Leaving Cert. English, then all she had to do was learn off and write the same short story in the exam and she too would get a really good grade in this section of the paper. She got 43 out of 100. The short story title was highly specific – “Write a short story in which two unusual or eccentric characters meet for the first time”. She changed nothing of the story she had learned off. The central characters were neither unusual nor eccentric. They weren’t meeting for the first time. I think the term my students would use to describe her decision to stick with her ‘brilliant’ plan despite all evidence that it was a really bad idea would be ‘epic fail’! I won’t even get into my moral qualms about the fact that this was blatant plagiarism, passing off someone else’s work as her own (if you want to know how I feel about plagiarism, click HERE ).

I’m not judging here so please don’t think I’m ‘giving out’ in typical teacher style. I can completely understand the profound discomfort of walking into an exam completely unarmed, as it were. Having something ‘prepared’ feels safer, less of a risk and you convince yourself that you’ll do better if you have something ready in advance – like they do in all of the best cookery programs. As the examples above prove, this isn’t necessarily the case.

So what should you do instead???

Choose a wide range of  topics  and then collect ideas around these topics.

Specifically you should collect:

• Inspirational quotes – collect them from those little calendars, or find them online , use song lyrics and even quotes from Shakespeare and your studied poets. Avoid well known sayings that have become cliches – you want to surprise the reader with a quote they haven’t heard before, not bore them with an idea they’ve heard a hundred times before. These quotes can be used in speeches, in newspaper/magazine articles and in personal essays.
• Anecdotes – write a couple of 200 word paragraphs which draw on funny or difficult or memorable experiences from your life. These should use the techniques of descriptive writing to draw the reader into the experience. Again, they can be used in personal essays and in speeches and newspaper/magazine articles as long as they are relevant to the title you choose on the day.
• Facts and statistics – see if you can find some interesting facts, statistics or research that relate to the topics you’ve chosen to ‘prepare’ in advance. This is easier than you might think – I just googled ‘facts’ and landed on this site  OMG facts. I’m sure there are many more similar sites on the web.
• Lists – one of the most effective and underutilized techniques known to man. Or woman. Or in this case teenagers. Actually teenage writers doing their leaving cert. You get the idea. And look, I’ve just used it! A list! Going in with a list of ideas on a wide variety of topics is the single greatest gift you can give yourself. It means you walk into the exam with lots of ideas swirling around in your head and all you have to do is select those which are relevant on the day.

If you have no idea where to look for ideas on a given range of topics start here: but be warned – if you are interested in the world around you, once you enter Ted, you may get lost and find yourself several hours later wondering where the time went.

If you don’t have a lot of time start here – inspiring talks in 3 minutes:  http://www.ted.com/themes/ted_in_3_minutes.html

Otherwise, here are endless discussions of fascinating topics by some of the most talented, knowledgable and funny individuals in the world:

• education:  http://www.ted.com/themes/how_we_learn.html
• the future :  http://www.ted.com/themes/bold_predictions_stern_warnings.html   and   http://www.ted.com/themes/a_greener_future.html  and   http://www.ted.com/themes/what_s_next_in_tech.html
• consumerism: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
• technology :  http://www.ted.com/themes/technology_history_and_destiny.html
• science:   http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science.html
• innovation:   http://www.ted.com/themes/presentation_innovation.html
• music:   http://www.ted.com/themes/live_music.html
• media & storytelling:   http://www.ted.com/themes/media_that_matters.html
• happiness:   http://www.ted.com/themes/what_makes_us_happy.html

2 responses to “ Topic of the Week: Inspiration! ”

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