Tag Archives: leaving cert

Literary Genre Questions

Posted on December 3, 2011 by | 3 comments

Sample 70 mark questions:

  • “The unexpected is essential to the craft of story-telling.”Compare how the authors of the comparative texts you have studied used the unexpected in their texts. You may confine your answer to key moments in the texts.
  • “The creation of memorable characters is part of the art of good story-telling.” Write an essay comparing the ways in which memorable characters were created and contributed to your enjoyment of the stories in the texts you have studied for your comparative course. It will be sufficient to refer to the creation of one character from each of your chosen texts.    (70)
  • Write a talk to be given to Leaving Certificate students in which you explain the term Literary Genre and show them how to compare the telling of stories in at least two texts from the comparative course.    (70)
  • “Literary Genre is the way in which a story is told.” Choose at least two of the texts you have studied as part of your comparative course and, in the light of your understanding of the term Literary Genre, write a comparative essay about the ways in which their stories are told. Support the comparisons you make by reference to the texts.    (70)
  • Write an essay on one or more of the aspects of literary genre (the way texts tell their stories) which you found most interesting in the texts you studied in your comparative course. Your essay should make clear comparisons between the texts you choose to write about.

Sample 30/40 mark questions

“Aspects of narrative contribute to your response to a text.”
(a)With reference to one of your chosen texts, identify at least two aspects ofnarrative and discuss how those aspects contributed to your response to that text.    (30)
(b)With reference to two other texts compare how aspects of narrative contributed to your response to these texts.
In answer to question (b) you may use the aspects of narrative discussed in (a) above or any other aspects of narrative.    (40)

—

“A good text will have moments of great emotional power.”
(a)With reference to a key moment in one of your texts show how this emotional power was created.    (30)
(b)Take key moments from the other two texts from your comparative course and compare the way in which the emotional power of these scenes was created. (40)

—

“Powerful images and incidents are features of all good story-telling.”
(a)Show how this statement applies to one of the texts on your comparative course.    (30)
(b)Compare the way in which powerful images and incidents are features of the story-telling in two other texts on your comparative course. Support the comparisons you make by reference to the texts. (40)

—

“No two texts are exactly the same in the manner in which they tell their stories.”
(a)Compare two of the texts you have studied in your comparative course in the light of the above statement. Support the comparisons you make by reference to the texts.    (40)
(b)Write a short comparative commentary on a third text from your comparative study in the light of your discussion in part (a) above.    (30)

—

“Texts tell their stories differently.”

(a)Compare two of the texts you have studied in your comparative course in the light of the above statement.    (40)
(b)Write a short comparative commentary on a third text from your comparative study in the light of your answer to question (a) above.    (30)

3 Comments

Posted in Comparative

Tagged , , , ,

Studied poetry made easy!

Posted on November 29, 2011 by | Comments Off on Studied poetry made easy!

I came up with the idea for these study guides about six months ago and I’ve been working on them ever since. I’ve always had a rule that I don’t give grinds but – particularly since I started this site – I’ve been under some pressure to change my mind! Between corrections for three exam classes and my adorable but demanding 3yr old the only months I’d have the time (or energy) to give grinds is during the summer – when no-one wants them!

So instead I came up with the idea of “teaching” people the poets on the course using mp3’s. Each study guide is about an hour long and is divided into seven tracks. The first is a short biography of the poet, then a discussion of six (or occasionally seven) of the prescribed poems by this poet and each guide is approximately an hour long. We recorded them in a studio so the sound quality is very good and they’re carefully edited to get rid of any ‘ah’ ‘um’ or occasional cursing when I made a mistake! All you need to do is download them, then stick them on your phone or iPod or whatever mp3 player you’re having yourself. And don’t forget your headphones 😉

I think the beauty of them as an idea is that you can listen to them wherever and whenever you like – on a bus, in a car, when you’re out for a walk or a jog. They fall into the new category of “on-demand” media that’s so popular at the moment. You can pause, rewind, repeat if there’s something you don’t understand and listen to them as often as you like. Hopefully, learning the poetry will be a lot easier this way and at €2.49, a hell of a lot cheaper than €30 an hour grinds!

Click here to get to download the audio study guides.

Comments Off on Studied poetry made easy!

Posted in Studied poetry

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Openings & Endings

Posted on November 26, 2011 by | Comments Off on Openings & Endings

“Oh wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?”

It’s happened to us all. You cosy up on the couch to watch a movie but despite the massive bowl of popcorn, industrial size bag of malteesers, pint glass of coke and a surround sound system that could shake the dead in their shrouds, after twenty minutes you’re squirming, fidgeting and generally feeling vaguely frustrated. You channel surf in the hope of finding something better – or you stick it out to the bitter end but wander off to bed lamenting the fact that you’ll never get those wasted two hours of your life back again. So what is it that draws you into a story and then leaves you feeling deeply satisfied at the end???

I’ve recently been looking at how writers begin and end their stories. One question that frequently appears on the Junior Cert asks you to examine whether the opening and/or closing scene of the novel/play/short story you have studied impressed you. For the Leaving Cert you need a firm grasp of how your single and comparative texts begin and end.  Regardless of genre – film, novel, play or short story – as a reader/viewer you have certain expectations & if these are not fulfilled you may just walk out of the theatre or throw aside the book! However you may find it difficult to verbalise exactly what it is that left you feeling frustrated & disappointed so here’s a list:

The opening chapter or scene should do most or all of the following:

  1. Introduce the setting – where and when the story takes place.
  2. Grab your attention – make the reader curious by holding back info. & creating some unanswered questions in our minds.
  3. Introduce main characters AND make sure they are in some way likable/sympathetic.
  4. Something should happen – the plot should begin.
  5. You might want to introduce the central theme(s).
  6. Style of writing or mise en scene must be descriptive/cinematic.

What you do NOT want:

  1. Too much background info which slows down the pace of the action & can make it boring.
  2. Too many characters introduced all at once which can be confusing.
  3. If you find the language or plot too difficult it can be off-putting – but this might be ‘your’ problem so be wary of writing off a novel or film for this reason.

However a novel/play or film can have a perfectly decent opening scene but still leave you with a sour taste in your mouth. We’ve all had the experience of coming out of the cinema feeling vaguely harassed and bewildered because the end just didn’t make sense. Or it was totally predictable and cliched. Or it was cheap – some kind of deus ex machina because the writer couldn’t think of any other way to end things. So here’s a list of elegant endings…

The end of a film/play/novel should do most or all of the following:

  1. Writer must give us closure – an air of finality. We need the writer to tie up most loose ends (generally speaking to be left thinking is good, to be left wondering is annoying).
  2. You want a twist – an ending which is unexpected makes us feel shocked & energised. A predictable ending (one which is clichéd & expected) is boring & disappointing for the audience.
  3. The end must make the audience FEEL something – it doesn’t matter whether it’s happy or sad or frightening or a mixture of loads of conflicting emotions. The important thing is that you made the audience care about the characters & the ending produced an emotional response in them.
  4. The end should leave you feeling that you’ve learnt something, it should leave you thinking about the themes & characters and should somehow capture a profound truth about life. The best stories change you as a person and offer you a new way of looking at the world.

What you do NOT want:

  1. Sudden ending – we’re left with no film idea of what happened to the main characters.
  2. Predictable ending – no twist, nothing unexpected. A story-by-numbers which follows genre rules so closely that we know exactly what to expect.
  3. Lots of loose ends left dangling. Challenging us to decide for ourselves what the ending means is fine but don’t just ‘forget’ to resolve things.
  4. Tacked on / far-fetched / sudden ending – one that doesn’t ‘fit’ in with the rest of the plot or one that isn’t credible.
  5. An ending which kills someone off for no good reason – or worse a story with such lacklustre characters that you don’t care if they live or die!

My students also suggested that you don’t want an ending where good is punished and evil rewarded. I don’t really agree with this. Of course bad things happening to good people is upsetting but it’s also true to life. Sadly.

Comments Off on Openings & Endings

Posted in Comparative, Junior Cert

Tagged , , , , ,

Macbeth Questions

Posted on November 26, 2011 by | 9 comments

The kind of questions that come up fall into three broad categories:

  • Character questions
  • Theme questions
  • Style questions

1. Characters:

The main aspects of Macbeth’s character you need to know are:

  • External factors that lead to his downfall -LadyMacbeth&Witches.
  • Internal factors that lead to his downfall – ambition & self-interest.
  • Macbeth’s soliloquies
  • The audience‘s reaction to and levels of sympathy for Macbeth.
  • His relationship with his wife Lady Macbeth.
  • His behaviour as King / tyrant!

You must also be able to discuss the following characters:

  • Lady Macbeth – as a person in her own right, her relationship with her husband & our reaction to & levels of sympathy for her.
  • Duncan – as a King & as one of the “good” characters in the play.
  • Banquo – as a person in his own right and as a “foil” to Macbeth.
  • The Witches – their role in the play & influence over Macbeth.
  • Minor characters – Macduff, Malcolm, Edward (Kings/good guys!)

You can be asked a general question in which you’d discuss several characters. For example: “The play presents a dark and pessimistic view of humanity”.

2. Themes:

  • Kingship & power
  • Good vs. Evil
  • Justice vs Injustice
  • Appearance vs. Reality
  • Supernatural

3. Style:

  • Imagery – blood, animal & clothing imagery
  • Relevance to a modern audience
  • Compelling drama

Here are some specific exam questions but remember that you won’t know the exact question until you open up the exam paper. You are being asked to respond to the statement – discuss to what extent you agree and/or disagree with it. Don’t just bluntly begin by saying “I agree 100% with this statement” – this is predictable and shows an inability to offer a nuanced analysis of the play/statement. You must support all points you make by quotation from and reference to the play.

CHARACTERS:

“Ambition and self-interest are the qualities that destroy Macbeth”

“Shakespeare’s Macbeth invites us to look into the world of a man driven on by ruthless ambition and tortured by regret”

“Macbeth’s murder of Duncan has horrible consequences both for Macbeth himself and for Scotland”

“Macbeth’s soliloquies are essential in order to retain audience sympathy for the central character”

“The variety of significant insights that we gain into Macbeth’s mind proves critical in shaping our understanding of his complex character.”

“The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergoes significant change during the course of the play”

“The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is ultimately a destructive one”

“Their partnership in guilt, which at the beginning of the play is a strong bond between them, gradually drives Macbeth and his wife apart, until they go down to their seperate dooms, isolated and alone”

“We feel little pity for the central characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play”

“While there are some redeeming features in the character of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a ruthless opportunist, whose ambition for her husband supercedes all moral considerations”

“Lady Macbeth is responsible for the fall of her husband”

“Lady Macbeth is no monster, she is a loyal though misguided wife, not without tenderness and not without conscience”

“The witches in Macbeth are malevolent creatures, who originate deeds of blood and have power over the soul”

“The witches add little to the play Macbeth”

“Banquo is a good and loyal man, but even he is not above temptation”

“Shakespeare is more interested in dramatic effects than in presenting characters who are psychologically consistent”

“The play presents a dark and pessimistic view of humanity”

“The ‘good’ characters in Macbeth are drab and uninspiring, whilst the flawed characters are absolutely fascinating”

THEMES:

“Essentially the play Macbeth is about power, it’s use and abuse”

“Kingship, with all its potential for good and evil, is a major theme in the play Macbeth”

“In the play Macbeth, evil is depicted in a far more interesting way than virtue”

“In Macbeth, Shakespeare presents us with a powerful vision of evil”

“The eternal struggle between good and evil – a struggle in which evil comes close to victory – is the central theme in the play”

“From the opening moments, the play is dominated by the themes of corruption and death”

“The theme of the supernatural adds a malevolent air of mystery to the play Macbeth”

“In the play Macbeth, appearances often mask a disturbing reality”

STYLE:

“Macbeth has all the ingredients of compelling drama”

“Centuries after it was written, the play Macbeth remains highly relevant for a modern audience”

“Choose a scene which you consider to be the most dramatic in the play and justify your choice”

“The imagery in Macbeth adds greatly to our experience of the play”

9 Comments

Posted in Macbeth

Tagged , , ,

Hamlet lecture

Posted on October 3, 2011 by | Comments Off on Hamlet lecture

Here’s a link to a lecture delivered by Professor Hubert McDermott of NUIG on Hamlet.

http://katiemolloy.podomatic.com/entry/2011-10-03T13_49_48-07_00

I also came across this website recently – you can do quizzes in most subjects and for every question you get right medicine is donated to families in the developing world! It’s a lovely idea and makes you more inclined to do the quizzes.

Here’s the link – http://www.thebigtest.org/about.php there’s a quiz on Hamlet up there already.

Just to bombard you with Hamlet related info, here’s an article from the Guardian questioning Shakespeare’s authorship…http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/14/shakespeare-playwright-trevor-nunn-mark-rylance?CMP=twt_gu

That’s all for now folks 😉

Comments Off on Hamlet lecture

Posted in Hamlet

Tagged , , , , , ,