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English Paper 2 Tips

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    #32
    dee_mc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭dee_mc


    pizzamad wrote: »
    Does anyone know what you need to know from a novel and a drama like what will they ask? We didnt get exam papers this year so I'm not that sure :)

    Have a look at the past papers on www.examinations.ie to see the types of questions that come up; they don't change much from year to year :)


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    #33
    VG31
    Registered Users Posts: 3,434 ✭✭✭VG31


    dee_mc wrote: »
    If you can write a concise answer which fully answers the question, then yes, yes you will.

    The danger of thinking 'I must write 2 pages / 4 pages / 17 pages for a 30 mark answer' is that you will lose sight of the point, write multiple conclusions, and generally ramble, which at the end of the day will lose you marks.

    A good structure is important, so you will generally gain more marks for taking your time and concentrating on having well structured, concise answers, than you would for frantically writing x number of pages because of some crazy 'formula' as suggested by the teacher (and even from this thread, we can see how much that 'formula' differs between teachers).

    Nobody is saying 'write as little as possible', but... know when to stop.

    As an example, in my Leaving Cert English exam, I wrote fewer pages than any other student in my exam hall (average sized writing), and finished early enough to reread each answer and make small changes where necessary. And i got my A1.
    In the Junior Cert, I also wrote relatively short answers, and i got either an A or a B.

    Best of luck to all with the English papers, I look forward to the post-mortem :)

    I agree with you, you've got good advice there, but it's very difficult for a short story to be 1 page and not finish it abruptly.

    Still, quality over quantity.


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    #34
    dee_mc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭dee_mc


    VG31 wrote: »
    I agree with you, you've got good advice there, but it's very difficult for a short story to be 1 page and not finish it abruptly.

    Still, quality over quantity.

    Right, but as I mentioned, nobody is saying 'only write one page'!
    What I'm saying is, write your answer, have a strong introduction, main body with well developed points, and a strong conclusion that links to the introduction, and it genuinely doesn't matter how much you write.
    Just try to focus on the strength rather than the length of the answer, and refer back to the question often to ensure you're remaining on topic, and you'll be grand :)


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    #35
    Missyelliot2
    Registered Users Posts: 1,472 ✭✭✭Missyelliot2


    Hi, I'm doing the junior cert in 3 days and I was wondering, is it a certainty that a debate speech will come up for (HL) english? I was looking over the past personal writing questions over the years and a debate speech has come up 12 out of the 14 years in our exam papers. The last time it hasn't come up was in 2004. Is it a definite question?


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    #36
    Manutd_4life
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭Manutd_4life


    dee_mc wrote: »
    Right, but as i mentioned, nobody is saying 'only write one page'!
    What I'm saying is, write your answer, have a strong introduction, main body with well developed points, and a strong conclusion that links to the introduction, and it genuinely doesn't matter how much you write.
    Just try to focus on the strength rather than the length of the answer, and refer back to the question often to ensure you're remaining on topic, and you'll be grand :)

    So does that mean examiners wont mark you down for having your length. my teacher who is also an examiner seems to think the length is very important and told us that for 10m = 1/2 page
    15m = 3/4 page
    20m = 1 page
    30m = 2 pages

    She also gave us this guide to the amount of points you should write for a certain questions. Can someone clarify and tell me this is right or wrong.

    10m = 2 points
    15m = 3 points
    20m = 3/4 points
    30m = 3-5 well developed points

    Is this accurate and is this what examiners mark you on


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    #37
    dee_mc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭dee_mc


    Manutd_4life wrote: »
    So does that mean examiners wont mark you down for having your length. my teacher who is also an examiner seems to think the length is very important and told us that for 10m = 1/2 page
    15m = 3/4 page
    20m = 1 page
    30m = 2 pages

    She also gave us this guide to the amount of points you should write for a certain questions. Can someone clarify and tell me this is right or wrong.

    10m = 2 points
    15m = 3 points
    20m = 3/4 points
    30m = 3-5 well developed points

    Is this accurate and is this what examiners mark you on

    Have a look at the marking schemes, you won't find any guidelines re length of answer.
    Teachers like to give students as much guidance as possible, and it's simpler to guide with specifics, for example 'write half a page for that many marks'.
    But don't think that this means you will be penalised for writing more OR less than the 'suggested length' - as said before, as long as you've answered the question fully, it genuinely doesn't matter how much you've written.


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    #38
    Manutd_4life
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭Manutd_4life


    dee_mc wrote: »
    Have a look at the marking schemes, you won't find any guidelines re length of answer.
    Teachers like to give students as much guidance as possible, and it's simpler to guide with specifics, for example 'write half a page for that many marks'.
    But don't think that this means you will be penalised for writing more OR less than the 'suggested length' - as said before, as long as you've answered the question fully, it genuinely doesn't matter how much you've written.

    Yeah i was practicing a few reading comprehensions the other day and found it really difficult to write the amount my teacher recommended (my last post) in the time suggested. Its usually a one 10m question and then 2 20m questions. To write 2 pages and a half and read the reading comprehension all in 30 minutes i found extremely difficult. Any suggestions/advice


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    #39
    i am awsome
    Registered Users Posts: 646 ✭✭✭i am awsome


    IrishLassie26 wrote: »
    English paper 2 is the only paper in the Junior Cert which I am dreading! I got 80% in the Mocks and my teacher said I should be well able to get an A in the Junior Cert. However, the only thing that is against me and probably everyone else is time!

    Does anyone have any tips for English paper 2 on how to approach the questions, speed up and how to keep to the timings?
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated

    I use a little technique that I call "brain dumping"this works every time, basically, you write down everything you know about your story, poem & drama on a rough page in short bullet points, then quikly read through all the question and circle the ones you prefer. I do this so later in the exam it's easier to come up with points for your answer , because your pen can't keep up with the speed of your brain. Another thing is , DO NOT GO OVERTIME on questions, if you didn't finish and you should be moving on to the next question, do it but leave a page in between so you can come back to it later, after all you don't have to pay for those booklets and you can ask for as many as you want! My final tip is that you should always ALWAYS spend more time on the seen section, because you can answer alot better on it , since you have been studying that particular stuff for three years now!

    Thanks and hope this helps you all, usually this does the trick! Good luck on Wednesday!


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    #40
    hf98kk
    Registered Users Posts: 56 ✭✭hf98kk


    I plan to spend 45 mins on the reading comprehension. Then about 55 on the personal writing and 25 each on media studies and functional writing.


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    #41
    hf98kk
    Registered Users Posts: 56 ✭✭hf98kk


    Also my plan would have been to save time on the seen section and spend more time on the unseen stuff!


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    #42
    dee_mc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭dee_mc


    Manutd_4life wrote: »
    Yeah i was practicing a few reading comprehensions the other day and found it really difficult to write the amount my teacher recommended (my last post) in the time suggested. Its usually a one 10m question and then 2 20m questions. To write 2 pages and a half and read the reading comprehension all in 30 minutes i found extremely difficult. Any suggestions/advice

    Reading comprehensions can be tricky. I'd recommend reading the questions first, highlighting or underlining the main points of the question, and highlighting or underlining the relevant bits of the text before approaching the answer.
    Use short quotes from the text to back up your answer (never quote big chunks of text, only the bits that are actually relevant).
    Be bold: don't 'water down' your points, just state them confidently and back them up with evidence from the text.
    If the question asks for your opinion (for example, you're sometimes asked things like 'do you like the writing style?'), give your actual opinion - don't write what you think the examiner will want to hear! A sincere, honest answer is always better than an insincere, 'lickarsey' one :)


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    #43
    Xgracie
    Registered Users Posts: 506 ✭✭✭Xgracie


    Does anyone know the timing for paper 2?


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    #44
    smiles_1998
    Registered Users Posts: 336 ✭✭smiles_1998


    Xgracie wrote: »
    Does anyone know the timing for paper 2?
    Unseen drama- 20mins
    Studied drama- 25mins
    Unseen poem- 20mins
    Studied poem- 25mins
    Unseen fiction- 20mins
    Studied fiction- 25mins


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    #45
    Xgracie
    Registered Users Posts: 506 ✭✭✭Xgracie


    smiles_1998 wrote: »
    Unseen drama- 20mins
    Studied drama- 25mins
    Unseen poem- 20mins
    Studied poem- 25mins
    Unseen fiction- 20mins
    Studied fiction- 25mins

    Thank you so much! How I'm gonna get it all done is beyond me!


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    #46
    VG31
    Registered Users Posts: 3,434 ✭✭✭VG31


    smiles_1998 wrote: »
    Unseen drama- 20mins
    Studied drama- 25mins
    Unseen poem- 20mins
    Studied poem- 25mins
    Unseen fiction- 20mins
    Studied fiction- 25mins

    Would it not make more sense for the studied to be 20 mins and the unseen 25 mins, as you will know your studied so you should be quicker at it then the unseen. :)


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    #47
    smiles_1998
    Registered Users Posts: 336 ✭✭smiles_1998


    VG31 wrote: »
    Would it not make more sense for the studied to be 20 mins and the unseen 25 mins, as you will know your studied so you should be quicker at it then the unseen. :)
    I tend to write better answers on the studied than the unseen but everyone's different :)
    @xgracie- I actually don't know HOW I'm going to get it done! I nearly burst a vein trying to get it done in the mocks...English paper 2 is the exam I am the most nervous for...


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    #48
    VG31
    Registered Users Posts: 3,434 ✭✭✭VG31


    How far did people get in English Paper 2 in the mocks? I only managed to just start the studied fiction (the last part I did).


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    #49
    Manutd_4life
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭Manutd_4life


    VG31 wrote: »
    How far did people get in English Paper 2 in the mocks? I only managed to just start the studied fiction (the last part I did).

    I finished with literally 30 seconds to go. Was pretty proud of myself but dont know if ill be able to cope with the timing pressure again in the real things. Gonna have to work out my hand in these next two days so it doesn't die out in the exam like it nearly did in the mocks :D


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    #50
    ElmW13
    Registered Users Posts: 188 ✭✭ElmW13


    VG31 wrote: »
    How far did people get in English Paper 2 in the mocks? I only managed to just start the studied fiction (the last part I did).

    I managed to get the whole paper done with a minute or two left. I had a digital clock in front of me so as the 25 minutes was ending, I was making sure I was finishing the question. I wrote really quickly. If you look through the paper, my writing got worse and worse as I went through the papers.


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    #51
    smiles_1998
    Registered Users Posts: 336 ✭✭smiles_1998


    ElmW13 wrote: »
    I managed to get the whole paper done with a minute or two left. I had a digital clock in front of me so as the 25 minutes was ending, I was making sure I was finishing the question. I wrote really quickly. If you look through the paper, my writing got worse and worse as I went through the papers.
    Haha that happened to my writing as well...I got it done with two minutes left so I'm hoping that will happen again on Wednesday! :)


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    #52
    dee_mc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭dee_mc


    smiles_1998 wrote: »
    Haha that happened to my writing as well...I got it done with two minutes left so I'm hoping that will happen again on Wednesday! :)

    Gentle reminder: don't aim to be still writing when the paper is dragged off your desk, aim to have at least 5-10 minutes to read over your work and complete any questions you might not have had time to finish.....


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    #53
    smiles_1998
    Registered Users Posts: 336 ✭✭smiles_1998


    dee_mc wrote: »
    Gentle reminder: don't aim to be still writing when the paper is dragged off your desk, aim to have at least 5-10 minutes to read over your work and complete any questions you might not have had time to finish.....
    Oh okay :) thanks :) that happened to some people in my year during the mocks! :-D


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    #54
    Xgracie
    Registered Users Posts: 506 ✭✭✭Xgracie


    VG31 wrote: »
    How far did people get in English Paper 2 in the mocks? I only managed to just start the studied fiction (the last part I did).

    I didn't even get to start the studied fiction! My timing was so bad and I can't write fast enough :( to say I'm dreading it is an understatement!


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