English paper one composition

Steve01

So whats your plan with regards the very first Leaving cert paper? Are you relying on your own natural flair with English or are you taking some story and, come hell or high water, applying it to one of the 100 mark options?
I'm going for option A. Don't see much point in learning a short story word for word when I managed a B1 in the pre without it

ninebeanrows

The morning of the Leaving, Your first exam, you're going to have the runs at best!

Have an essay prepared, if theres a question on a picture for example they couldn't throw a mark away from ya. I'm doing one i have already done, i have only got it to 600 words though so i'm going to have to add some to it on the day.

Enemy Of Fate

Steve01 wrote:

So whats your plan with regards the very first Leaving cert paper? Are you relying on your own natural flair with English or are you taking some story and, come hell or high water, applying it to one of the 100 mark options?
I'm going for option A. Don't see much point in learning a short story word for word when I managed a B1 in the pre without it

I always write the same 2 stories (alternate between them), and they've never failed me before.My first story involves an accident, and everyone around me is dying, chaos everywhere etc, etc.Anyways long story short whenever I try to help out it turns out i'm dead, and then I just kinda go mad and fade away.......Yup.

My 2nd strory is basically Day Break's storyline, where the day keeps repeating and i'm on the run from the law.I like this one slightly more, although it always seems to get less marks, so I may just use the other one.Or I may come up with something entirely new on the day, we shall see.

SamHamilton

I have a nice story that got 98% but the only thing is it's only two and a half pages long. I heard loads of people going on about how you have to write 5 pages or be condemned to hell but what's the story? I'm doing honours by the way.

blondie07

i have a short story that will be written but if i get really stuck, which im praying to jesus i wont, i have 3 personal essays i sort of know. i can do a great story if i have 3 to 4 hours but wouldn't be able to come up with an A1 answer off the cuff.

SamHamilton wrote:

I have a nice story that got 98% but the only thing is it's only two and a half pages long. I heard loads of people going on about how you have to write 5 pages or be condemned to hell but what's the story? I'm doing honours by the way.

to answer your question, you're supposed to write anywhere between 750-1000 words. mine for the pre was only about 900 words and i got 96%. Think it was about 3 pages. but i noticed that i was the only one in my class who did a short story but everyone who did a personal essay (think it was something to do with food) had to write at least 5 pages to get an A. just interesting to note

adamcp

I never prepare them, just see on the day whats up, never do the story right enough, too afraid I'll not get enough characters and background and plot across to make it a story and end up getting zero. I Just do the discussion or personal essay

JC 2K3

I don't feel comfortable doing anything other than the short story, and while I've written killer stories on the spot in the past, I've written some horribly average ones too. I reckon I'll learn one generally for the real thing. I planned a really "epic" abstract kinda one today which I'll write tomorrow and most likely do in the exam.

ninebeanrows

I usually do personal essays and i aim to write 3 3/4 - 4 pages.

If your essay is well written and succinct, there is no need for you too write 4 and half - 5 pages just for the sake of it.

Obviously you need to portray your points and conclude them in an effective way but that does not necessarily require a 5/6 page thesis.

Jayne

im planning on doing a short story, for the mocks i just made one up on the day but only got 50/100 so now im a lil scared n thinkin bout using one iv prepared!! :eek:

óbriain1988

it helps if you've strong opinions on everything... you can just make it up on the day and outline how wrong every other position is compared to your own. works a treat and lets your natural rightness shine through. :cool:

Naikon

I got 84 or so out of 100 for an off the head essay in the mocks.
I find under pressure I take something in my life, or a plot from a movie or something and just mould the question around the story.
I think I will just do the discussion essay on the day.

Haven't a Clue

JC 2K3 wrote:

I don't feel comfortable doing anything other than the short story, and while I've written killer stories on the spot in the past, I've written some horribly average ones too. I reckon I'll learn one generally for the real thing. I planned a really "epic" abstract kinda one today which I'll write tomorrow and most likely do in the exam.

Likewise. The key to my short stories is good descriptions of the area which the characters're in and good dialogue. I've averaged about 85% from all the short stories I've done.

Choco

If a debate comes up, I always do that - and if not, the one that is to do with current affairs and all the interesting things in life.

justbringit89

not having a short story prepared is bringing a sword to a gun fight IMO

justbringit89

not having a short story prepared is bringing a sword to a gun fight IMO

sunflowerz

I dunno what i'll do...i have one that i got and a1 in-i wouldnt learn it word for word just a few of the nice sentances

but then again i made it up in the pre and i got a b1 and i wrote it really fast....i always end up re-writting essays or question B's in the exams though.......so ya in other words i dunno

Sauron

I never was one to learn off essays... I find the discursive option fairly easy to handle...

I just follow the advice of a friend and write about what I know.

They don't need to be masterpieces; just some simple, well argued points within the appropriate register...

Regarding the pre-prepared stories though, am I right in thinking that people have very little difficulty creating a 'tenous' link (as required by the marking scheme) between one of the images and their plot?

We've always been told not to learn off essays that may well be completely inappropriate for the required task, but it seems people are using them quite effectively...

SamHamilton

Regarding the pre-prepared stories though, am I right in thinking that people have very little difficulty creating a 'tenous' link (as required by the marking scheme) between one of the images and their plot?

For my pre there was a picture of Tony Blair, Wayne Rooney and...I can't remember. While I dodn't memorize a short story I used a story I had written a while ago that I liked. It was about a boy who couldn't catch a fish. I did a mind map type thing to show where I was coming from. Basically I said:

Tony Blair: Father figure - and then put a father figure in the story.
Wayne Rooney getting a red card: The wide range of emotions. Anger, guilt, sadness etc. and had a range of emotions in the story! Talk about tenuous!

I got something like 72% which I was disappointed with though my teacher said I didn't lose any marks because it was out there.

SamHamilton

While I dodn't memorize

I was going to edit this but it has a ring to it. I like it!:)

Sauron

wow, nice...

I should have invested in this whole pre-prepared malarky... :P

Alas... let's hope we get some ridiculously vague "write a persuasive essay on how things are nice" -esque option...

Steve01

I'm surprised so many of you are going for the short story option. Hopefully I'll be taking the light-hearted article question. Year after year the question is fairly approachable and once you use the appropriate register there shouldn't be any major difficulties in writing 3-4 A4 pages

Enemy Of Fate

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DeatScra.shtml

Hey what does everyone think of this short story?I really like it, its something very different to what most people would have, but I'm just worried I'll be marked down because of the way its written (ie the amount of paragraph breaks, and perhaps the profane language too).But if I remember correctly they only give 10 marks for mechanics, so if I wrote that in that way , I'd still only get marked down by a MAX of 10 marks wouldn't I?

PS: I know thats assuming full marks for the essay, and that maybe quite adventurous, but I'm just using it as an example.

colm-ccfc84

Personal essay on the malevolence etc of religion.

lilmizzme

You're not planning on re-writing it are you, and claiming it as your own?

Enemy Of Fate

lilmizzme wrote:

You're not planning on re-writing it are you, and claiming it as your own?

Oh of course not, just the basic layout and premise.It'll still actually be completely written from scratch by me, but i'll base it around that basic idea (which I really, really like)

lilmizzme

I don't know, it didnt really apopeal to me. I liked the start, seemed interesting, but to be honest it just got silly when the words start doing what they spelt out. I'm not a big fan of fantasy, I lost interest when it all start coming tue, seemed a bit clichéd..like ending a story with "and then I woke up, it had all been a dream" But apart from that, it was well written, in an interesting style...if you think you could do the same then go for it!

analyse this

Oh not the 'I woke up...it had been all a dream' crap!! Very amateur !;) The key to a fantasy piece is to sell it to the reader in a way that actually makes the piece believable. My advise is if you are going for a fanstasy piece, (I tend to stay as far away as possible), is to stay true to the fantastical element of the story and not do some half-ass attempt where you wake up and it turns out to all be a dream.

cocoa

yeah, the dream thing is good but over used. Comas are the new big thing!

qz

Light hearted discussion. I'd been toying with the idea of the short story but it's overdone, and I'm average at it at best. A discussion has better chances of higher grades apparently.

cocoa

qz wrote:

A discussion has better chances of higher grades apparently.

technically yes but it's important to understand that this only means that more people are good at discussion than people are good at short stories. For an individual, you probably know best yourself your own strengths.

qz

cocoa wrote:

technically yes but it's important to understand that this only means that more people are good at discussion than people are good at short stories. For an individual, you probably know best yourself your own strengths.

I hear you. I'd always prefer to do a short story but for the purpose of the exams, safer bet with the discussion.