Tag Archives: leaving

Poetic techniques & terminology

Posted on April 17, 2011 by | 175 comments

WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW THEY WORK:

Rather than alphabetical, the following list is organised from simple basic terms & techniques that you must be able to identify and discuss, to more complex ones of which a passing knowledge is sufficient.

  • THEME= the message of the poem; the point the author wishes to make.

eg. In “September 1913”, Yeats points out that Ireland has become a greedy, soulless country & laments that the sacrifices our ancestors made in pursuit of Irish freedom have been forgotten.

  • TOPIC= what the poem is about (the ‘subject matter’).

eg. The topic/subject matter of “I wake and feel the fell of dark” by Hopkins is depression. Sometimes the subject matter of a poem is revealed in the title (“Child”, “Spring”) or alluded to (“Mirror” deals with the topic of vanity & identity).

  • TONE = the attitude of the writer towards his subject matter.

eg. Yeats’ tone is bitter and resentful in “September 1913”; Hopkins tone is awestruck and accusatory in “God’s Grandeur”; Plath’s is both celebratory and cautious in “Morning Song”. The tone can vary; many tones can be contained within a single poem.

  • MOOD = feelings expressed. Includes what the writer/speaker feels AND how the reader feels when they read the poem. May also be related to the atmosphere created..

 eg. In “Felix Randal” the mood varies from relief, to sympathy, to impatience, to acceptance, to comfort, to admiration, and ends with a triumphant and fiercely energetic mood in the space of 14 lines!

NOTE: Tone & mood are closely related. The tone of voice used will often influence the mood/atmosphere. Yeats’ uses a sarcastic tone to reveal his anger and frustration when he says “For men were born to pray and save” in “September 1913”.

HOW DOES A WRITER CREATE A MOOD?

Largely through their choice of words:

  • Colour – white suggests purity & cleanliness; red – passion & sometimes blood/violence; black – darkness & despair; green can suggest envy or nature/new growth; yellow – sunshine or sickness (jaundice); purple – royalty or bruises; grey – depression or poverty; brown – dirt & decay; orange – glow & happiness.

 Obviously, the context in which the colours appear will influence your interpretation of their meaning. “Her yellow face moaned & writhed” suggests illness, pain. “Yellow rays played upon her face” suggests sunshine, energy.  

  •  Positive or negative adjectives – tremendous, delirious, fabulous, heavenly V’s heavy, ugly, rusty, terrible, horrific.
  •  Positive or negative verbs – to shine, to gather, to spring, to capture, to sooth, to comfort, to light, to brood, to bloom, to fill, to meditate, to sing, to skip, to brighten, to build V’s  to flicker, to seep, to swarm, to wring, to fumble, to shiver, to weigh, to scatter, to thread, to fight, to moan, to cry, to ooze, to mock, to break.
  • Rhythm & sound effects – a fast rhythm can suggest excitement, danger or anger (depending on the poem). A poet creates a fast rhythm by (a) using lots of short words (monosyllabic = single syllable), (b) using words which contain the narrow vowel sounds ‘e’ & ‘i’ and (c) repeating guttural ( g ‘guh’ / greed, r ‘ruh’ / riot), harsh ( h ‘hah’ / hate,  c/k ‘kuh’ / cry) or explosive consonants ( b ‘buh’ / bite, p ‘puh’ / pinch) eg. “There’s a dance in Billy Brennan’s Barn tonight” eg. “Why do men then now not reck his rod?

A slow rhythm can suggest relaxation, sadness or disappointment (depending on the poem). A poet creates a slow rhythm by (a) using lots of long words, (b) using words which contain the broad vowel sounds ‘o’, ‘a’ & ‘ee’ and (c) repeating soft consonants ( s ‘ss’ / soft, l ‘el’ / lovely). eg. “When weeds in wheels shoot long and lovely and lush” eg. “I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore” .

  • IMAGERY = the picture the writer creates using words. eg “In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman / Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish” (Plath, “Mirror”). “And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; / And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell” (Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”). “Coming with vivid faces / From counter or desk among grey / Eighteenth-century houses” (Yeats’ “Easter 1916”)

 HOW DO YOU WRITE ABOUT IMAGERY:

In order to discuss imagery, you must be willing to comment on the writers choice of words (what does a word suggest to you?) and to describe the picture that is created in your mind by the phrase/image. (In other words, your imagination must be active and at work as you are reading!)        

eg. Plath creates a clear picture of childhood when she says“I want to fill it with colour and ducks / The zoo of the new” Immediately the reader is reminded of bright primary colours, rubber duckies from bath-time, and thrilling trips to the zoo to see exotic animals for the first time.

You may also want to comment on the feelings that this image creates in you. From the example above, my answer might continue…

The emphasis on innocence (everything is “new”) and abundance (when Plath uses the verb “fill”) creates a very optimistic and joyous mood. The use of the word “colour” completes our sense that this is a bright and carefree celebration of the child’s potential to experience everything positive the world has to offer. Finally, the poet’s desire to provide this for her child comes across when she says very simply “I want.

Notice that of the 14 words in the quote, I have commented on 7 of them. I describe the picture the image created in my mind. I comment on the atmosphere (innocence & abundance) and the mood (optimistic, joyous) the words create. I identify both verbs in the sentence (‘fill’ & ‘want’) and the feelings they suggest. Finally, I link this image to the theme of the poem (the overall point Plath makes – that she wants her child to ‘experience everything positive the world has to offer’). 

 Imagery & the senses…

We experience the world through the five senses – taste, touch, sight, smell and sound. If a writer wishes us to feel that we are there beside him, in the experience, he must give us details of smells, sounds, and textures as well as describing what he can see. Look at the following example:

“The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard /And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood”

We can hear the sound of the saw because the poet uses the onomatopoeic words ‘buzz’ ‘snarl’ & ‘rattle’. We can see the exact size of the logs they are cutting because the poet includes the detail ‘stove-length sticks’. We can almost taste and smell the dust in the air.     

Images can be VISUAL – we can see them

Images can be AUDITORY – we can hear them

Images can be TACTILE– we can touch them 

Images can be OLFACTORY – we can smell them

Images can be SENSUOUS – we can feel/taste their texture

Handy phrases:

The image is particularly striking / unusual / eye-catching because……

The writer offers a vivid image of ………….

The poets choice of verbs (‘rush’ & ‘charge’) adds energy & movement.

The description is particularly remarkable because ………….

The poem is full of bright, colourful imagery. The poet uses the words….

The poem is full of dark, haunting images of death and destruction…..

The auditory images in the poem are particularly loud, due to the poets use of onomatopoeia in the line “the buzz saw snarled and rattled”

The image is very sensuous, in its description of “silken velvet thighs”.

The imagery of spring creates a sense of possibility, of new beginnings.

The imagery of winter suggests that the end is nigh / that life is difficult.

The image of the scarecrow suggests poverty & frailty; a pitiful creature.

The image of the Holy Ghost as a mother hen protecting her nest is extremely comforting. It also offers us an interesting perspective on how small and insignificant man is when compared to God.

 TRICKS WITH LANGUAGE:

  • REPETITION = repeating a word or phrase to emphasise its importance/ create a regular rhythm.

eg. “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone /It’s with O’Leary in the grave.”

The poet repeats the most important point over and over. The line remains lodged in our brains long after we have finished reading (like the chorus of a song). The repetition of this line at the end of every verse makes the poem resemble a ballad, and creates a strong rhythm. This repetition also emphasises the poets certainty.

Effect? Emphasis. Certainty. Rhythm. Idea becomes memorable, lodges in the brain.

  •  PERSONIFICATION = describing an object/idea as though it were alive. Giving it human qualities.

eg. “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions / Whatever I see I swallow immediately” 

Plath uses personification in the poem “Mirror”. What is the effect? The relationship between the poet and the object comes to life. The sense that one can be devoured by vanity is contained in the word “swallow” and the mirror is likened to a bottomless pit.

Effect? Object/place/idea which is personified becomes a ‘character’, and the poet’s relationship with this object/place/idea takes centre stage. 

Object can appear in a positive (friendly, bright, comforting) or a negative (destructive, cruel, ferocious) light, depending on the description. Idea of objects coming to life can be frightening. Personification can help us to look at an object/place/idea in a new light (see Roddy Doyle’s brilliant use of personification in the short story ‘Brilliant’)

  •  CONTRAST = placing 2 very different things side by side

eg. “Like a trapped bird she hid behind her hair / Confident buxom girls crowded the corridors”

The girl’s isolation seems emphasised when it is contrasted with the friendship these crowds of girls enjoy. Her shyness contrasts with their confidence. Thus, the poet uses contrast to emphasise that this girl is an outsider and doesn’t fit in.

eg. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God / ……Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil…”

Much of Hopkins’ poetry makes use of contrast. The beauty of God’s creation and  man’s destructive disregard for nature are placed side by side. The effect of using this technique is that man’s sins seem even more heinous, and nature’s power to renew itself seems even more admirable.         

 Effect? (a) allows writer to emphasise differences between two things        

           &    (b) highlight the unique characteristics of each. 

  • SYMBOLISM = a word becomes a sign of something other than simply itself.

 e.g. The heart is an organ that pumps blood around the body but it is also a symbol of love. The scorpion is an insect but it can also be a symbol of poisonous evil. A mirror is an object that reflects peoples appearances but it can also be a symbol of vanity. A lion is a dangerous animal but it can also be a symbol of courage.

 e.g. In “September 1913” John O’Leary is a real person who Yeats was friendly with, and who fought for Irish freedom, but he also becomes a symbol of bravery, self-sacrifice and devotion to your country.

Effect? This is a powerful device because it encourages the reader to read deeper layers of meaning into the poem. It also allows the poet to evoke an idea (vanity) without naming it directly. Writers consider this important because they don’t like stating the obvious, or saying things in an overly direct and childlike way.

  •  SIMILE = where the writer compares 2 things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

 eg. Plath says of her bees “It is the noise that appals me most of all, / The unintelligible syllables. / It is like a Roman mob”

Often, the writer will compare two things that on the surface are very different – at first we think that a box full of bees is nothing like a mob of poor people from ancientRome. However, both are dangerous when upset, both find strength in numbers, both can create a buzz of anger and unease, and both feel mistreated by those with power over them.          

 When discussing a simile, first state which two things are being compared; next explain the link/similarities between them. A good simile helps us to understand something more clearly (eg. the bees) by comparing it to something else (the mob). Writers try to avoid similes that are used in everyday speech, however, as they lack originality and have become clichéd – for example “as black as coal”, “sweet like chocolate”, “run like the wind”, “as strong as an ox”.

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

  • METAPHOR = where two things are said to be the same.

eg. Seamus Heaney in “Bogland” declares “The ground itself is kind, black butter”. Obviously, the bog is not made of butter, but by saying that that the ground IS butter, instead of saying the ground is LIKE butter, the comparison becomes more direct, forceful, and certain. In other words, many writers prefer metaphors to similes, because they think they are more powerful!   

Other examples which should help you to clarify the difference between metaphors and similes e.g. “a blanket of mist” instead of “mist like a blanket” e.g. “the eyes are the mirror of the soul” instead of “the eyes are like a mirror” e.g. “the yellow smoke…licked it’s tongue into the corners of the evening” instead of “the yellow smoke was like a  tongue”.    

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

NOTE: Similes/metaphors make a poet’s imagery more vivid / effective.

  •  ALLUSION = where the writer makes reference to ‘well-known’ figures or events from literature, history or mythology.

 eg. In “Easter 1916” Yeats makes reference to Padraic Pearse: “This man had kept a school / And rode our winged horse”. In “Spring”Hopkinsrefers to the biblical story of Adam & Eve’s fall from grace, and the subsequent infection of the world with sin: “A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning /In Eden garden…”

Effect? The writer gives the impression that he is very educated and knowledgeable, and as a result the reader is more likely to respect his opinion and believe that he has something important to say. By connecting his work to previous important events and famous works of literature, the writer indirectly suggests that his work belongs on a par with them. The meaning of the poem also gains a greater depth and significance through reference to similar historical/literary events/figures. If the reader is unfamiliar with the reference, this can rouse his/her curiosity. However, if a writer uses allusion too often, or refers to obscure or difficult sources, the reader can become confused & frustrated, and begin to feel stupid, because they don’t ‘get’ it.

NOTE: Lots of television programmes now make extensive use of allusion. “The Simpsons” frequently makes reference to well-known celebrities, historical figures & historical events. “Killnaskully” recently based an entire episode on the story of the John B. Keane play “The Field”. If you ‘get’ the reference, the episode (or poem) becomes funnier or more meaningful. If you don’t, it can be hard to make sense of it and thus excessive use of allusion can be frustrating for the reader – but you can always find out what it means and then the poem has another layer mof meaning for you to access.

  •  HYPERBOLE = the deliberate use of exaggeration.

eg. Wordsworth, in the poem “The Daffodils” says “ten thousand saw I at a glance” in order to emphasise their sheer number and create drama for the reader. Hyperbole can also add humour – “he had an arse like an elephant and a personality to match” or emphasise the strength of a person’s feelings  – “football isn’t just a matter of life and death; it’s more important than that”. However, if used too often, it loses its effect.

Effect? Adds drama, humour and/or emphasis.

  • AMBIGUITY = where words/sentences have more than one meaning/ are open to numerous interpretations.

 eg. Kavanagh, in the poem “Inniskeen Rd…” says “A road, a mile of kingdom I am king / Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.” 

In this example the word “blooming” creates the ambiguity because the word can mean ‘to grow’ – so he is king of every growing thing in nature OR the word “blooming” can be a curse – so he is king of every bloody thing! This makes it difficult for the reader to decide if he is happy or upset.

Poets often make their poetry ambiguous (open to various interpretations) deliberately. In this example, Kavanagh was happy to be left alone on the road because it inspired him – what ‘bloomed’ or grew from the experience was this poem. Yet he was also sad that he didn’t fit in, that he was always alone – and that is why he curses. Thus, the writer uses ambiguity to explain to us that he felt TWO WAYSabout this experience – both happy and sad.

Effect? Poems can mean different things to different people. Writers use ambiguity to point out that our feelings, our experiences, and our words are not always simple and straightforward – sometimes they mean more than one thing to us! Writers can express the complexity of their feelings or ideas by deliberately creating an ambiguous statement. For example, Yeats’ attitude towards the 1916 Rising: “a terrible beauty is born”. The violence & bloodshed is terrible, but the rebels’ devotion to Irish freedom and their willingness to fight for what they believe in is beautiful.        

  • RHETORICAL Q = a Q that doesn’t require a response (a statement disguised as a question). 

eg. Yeats asks “Was it for this the wild geese spread… /For this that all that blood was shed?” but the unspoken, implied answer is emphatically NO.

Usually, the tone of rhetorical questions is one of outrage and disbelief “Are we barbaric enough to bring back capital punishment?”

 Effect? By asking a rhetorical question, (and suggesting that the answer is so obvious that no-one need even answer), the writer implies that anyone who disagrees with him is a fool.

 SOUND EFFECTS

  • ALLITERATION = the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of a series of words. Eg. “Billy Brennan’s Barn”

Effect? Depends on the letter – see above.  Our eye is drawn to the repetition of the same letter, and our ear perks up when we hear the same sound repeated. Used for emphasis, and for the musical effect it creates.

  • ONOMATOPOEIA = words whose sound imitates their meaning. eg. “buzz, tinkle, rattle, stutter, whisper, bang”

Effect? The reader can hear what is being described. Auditory images (those which appeal to our sense of hearing) bring a description to life.

  • ASSONANCE  = the repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Effect? Alters speed/rhythm of the line. See above (fast/slow rhythm).

175 Comments

Posted in Poetry, Studied poetry, Unseen poetry

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Trust Your Voice

Posted on April 15, 2011 by | 1 comment

Lots of you are afraid of Paper 1. You fear the moment that you open the exam and discover that you have to have an opinion. Your opinion. Not your teachers or the revision course booklet’s or your parent’s. Your own. It’s just you, a blank page, a biro and the light of your imagination. So I ask myself what are you so afraid of?

And to be fair I remember this fear myself, the desire to do well balanced against the uncertainty of not knowing what I would face on the day. But I don’t recall the same level of anxiety that I see on a daily basis in my classroom. I don’t recall complaining about how unfair it all was (maybe that’s just because I was lucky enough to love English) Or asking ‘How could the examiners expect us to make it up on the spot?’ as though thinking on your feet were somehow a ludicrous proposition. I do remember being infuriatingly opinionated about pretty much everything – I still am – but I also thought it was part and parcel of being a teenager. Stick it to the man. Tell it like it really is. Perhaps I was just naive.

So let’s try to get to the bottom of it. What has happened in our education system to make you so afraid?

Well first of all, education is increasingly a business with you as the client and us as the provider. Because of the demands students and parents make on teachers and because teachers make those demands of themselves – let’s face it, we all want you to get good results – you are being spoon fed. You are being told what to learn but all too often you are not being taught how to learn. And you are not innocent in this process so don’t fool yourself – you tell the teacher, I want notes. I need notes. At home you condition your parents to think that the more notes you get the better the teacher is. Even the teachers start to believe this. When you get a corrected test or a piece of homework back all too often (and of course there are plenty of exceptions) your message to us is ‘I don’t care what I did wrong. I don’t need to think about that. I just need you to fix it so that when I’m rote learning it off for the exam I’m not learning something with mistakes in it’.

But the mistakes inevitably appear in the exam because you have to demonstrate that you understand what you’re talking about.

Or maybe not. Maybe few mistakes appear because this is, after all, the  Leaving Cert & it caters all too well to rote learning.

Maybe it’s only when you go to college that the wheels fall off the wagon because now you are expected to think for yourself, to figure it out, to have an opinion. To go to the library and wade through reams of information because no-one around here is going to hand you a neatly photocopied summary of the topic, you have to come up with that yourself. But nobody’s ever asked that of you before and you don’t know how. You HATE having to have an opinion of your own, because there are no guarantees that it’s RIGHT. And you want guarantees. And notes. And predictable exams. And good grades. And a good job afterwards, thank you very much. You can always ask someone in the year ahead for their notes. For a price of course. Education is still a business after all.

But then the wagon falls apart completely when you start working because suddenly someone else is the client and YOU are the provider. Your boss wants you to write a memo, make a presentation, compile a report. Hell, even before you get to that stage you need to write a letter of application to get the job. You vaguely remember your teacher trying to get you to do this when you were at the peak of your teenage hormonal obsession with that boy with the nice skin and the broad shoulders who smelled like a Lynx ad. You were probably in 2nd yr. But then exams kicked in and then more exams kicked in and eventually you decided it was easier to give your voice away to someone else. You became a kind of talking puppet for other people’s notes and opinions – all of which you were able to learn off verbatim because you’re good at that – but you lost yourself. You lost your own voice.

Not every student feels like this. Lots of you have a wonderful voice on paper that you trust, that you feel confident in unleashing on the world. But even you are still filled with doubt, with uncertainty because there is no predicting what will come up on the day. You have to prove that you know what you’re doing. Pick the right words, use the right techniques, choose the right format. And for some of you, for many of you, this is terrifying. It’s like entering a burning building with no insurance.

I want none of you to feel like this. I’d like you to trust your voice. Have an opinion. If there are all sorts of topics out there that you don’t have an opinion on, there’s plenty of time to read more about them, to form an opinion. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. I will not ridicule you – when have I ever done that? I might make suggestions about how to edit your work, how to make it better. And that isn’t a threat to your voice. That is professional help to clarify your thoughts and words and ideas. But your voice is still your own and you need to own it. Because one day you will be asked for your opinion – at work, or when you are raising your children, or when you are caring for your elderly parents. And I don’t want you to feel the same panic then that you feel now when I ask you to write a speech or an article or a personal essay or a short story. I know you feel uncertainty. But you always have your voice. And no-one can take that away from you.

Except if, like me, you’ re suffering from chronic laryngitis.

ps

Let me repeat – the system stinks. That’s not your fault.

It’s natural to feel anxiety about Paper 1 – especially if English isn’t one of your better subjects and you have no aspirations to be a writer. Ever. It’s the equivalent of asking me to be enthusiastic about maths -wasn’t my strongest subject at school and you’ll never make me enthusiastic about it.

So it’s ok to be nervous. And it’s not your fault the system is so flawed. But we’ve got plenty of time between now and then for you to gain some of the confidence you need for Paper 1. Can we do it? Yes we can.

1 Comment

Posted in Composing

Tagged , , , , , ,

Hello leaving certs…

Posted on April 14, 2011 by | Comments Off on Hello leaving certs…

If you are browsing the site because it’s more appealing than sitting down and figuring out what 6 paragraphs you’ll write for each of the Hamlet questions I gave you, that’s OK. Being here is better than being on facebook (from an educational perspective anyway). It’s ok, you don’t have to close the facebook tab.

Anyway, I just want to draw your attention to the links section which is on the left hand side of the screen. Almost every year you are given the opportunity to discuss some aspect of our education system/your experiences of education in Paper 1 so if you get a chance click on the links and soak up some ideas from some brilliant writers. See the education blog and www.nataliemonroe.com

Another excellent link is to www.joe.ie but you should specifically search for articles by William Nestor. His style of writing is exactly what you’re going for if asked to write a magazine article and he deals with a lot of topics relevant to young people like yourselves (piggytails or no piggytails, I don’t think I fit into that category anymore). I also really like Eoin Butler’s style of writing, a childhood arch-enemy of mine who now writes for the Irish Times magazine – check out his website www.eoinbutler.com

Some general news sites to make use of are www.guardian.co.uk ; www.huffingtonpost.com ; www.irishtimes.com ; www.bbc.co.uk ; www.rte.ie and today I found an interesting article on why teenagers are such rebels – to read it click on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7511842/Fourteen-the-most-dangerous-age.html

Finally, the most amazing English department website in the country (which makes my whole effort look pretty pathetic – sob!) is this one from St. Columba’s College in Dublin.

That’s all for now but check back occasionally, I may send you looking elsewhere for inspiration. Now close the facebook tab and get back to work!

Evelyn.

p.s. Here’s a really funny blogger talking about the LC – this is the style of writing you want to aim for in Paper 1. Full of self-mockery, lighthearted yet true to life – click LC blog.

p.p.s. Here’s a more ‘serious’ look at strategies for doing well in LC English, most of which I’ve said to you already. Don’t be put off by his tone – it sounds like he never did anything BUT study for the entire year! Click here to read it.

Comments Off on Hello leaving certs…

Posted in Composing, Leaving Cert Paper 1

Tagged , , , ,

Advice on answering comprehensions

Posted on April 12, 2011 by | 3 comments

Comprehensions – General Guidelines

 

Your ability to read & understand texts is being tested.

Above all else remember this:  answer the question, the whole question and nothing but the question! Well actually, not quite – you do need some depth in your answer. This involves choosing relevant info, supporting with quotes, interpreting what is implied/suggested and evaluating it (Questions such as ‘has the writer succeeded in convincing you?’…. ‘what impact do these images make on you?’…’would you like to have shared this journey with character X?’…).

You must prove to the examiner that you can:

Write well – your answer needs to showcase an impressive vocabulary, to flow naturally from point to point and to offer an in-depth analysis of the text.

Pick out relevant information

Rephrase it in your own words (this shows you understand the info)

Use quotes (keep them relatively short) to support the points you make. Never begin with a quote – this is the writing equivalent of putting the cart before the horse and it will lose you marks. Make your point/statement FIRST, then support it with a quote.

Interpret texts – understand not just the specific points they make but also the view of the world being offered. This means you can see the pieces of the puzzle AND how they join together into a bigger picture or view of the world. Ask yourself if the writer is biased in any way.

Depending on the question you may be asked to:

Figure out the message of the text & the point(s) the writer wishes to make.

Offer your own opinion – if asked – but stick closely to discussing what’s in the text.

Comment on the style of writing – informative, persuasive, argumentative, descriptive. You must be able to identify techniques but MORE IMPORTANTLY you must comment on their effectiveness. Ask yourself ‘why did the writer use this style? what effect does she want this technique to have on me, the reader?’

Discuss the visual element of the text – photo(s), book cover(s), an ad or painting.

ADVICE: Time is tight – you have only 45 minutes so you must focus.

  1. Read the questions first, slowly and carefully. Underline important words.
  2. Rewrite the Q in simpler language if you’re not sure what you’re being asked.
  3. Read the passage. Underline/highlight anything you think you might use in your answers and number it (Q1 / Q2 / Q3).
  4. Pay attention to how many marks each Q is worth – 10 marks = ½ to ¾ pg / 15 marks = ¾ to 1pg / 20 marks = 1 to 1¼pgs
  5. Don’t get stuck making 1 point over and over – make 1 point for every 5 marks available, then add one! So 10 marks = 3 points 15 marks = 4-5points and 20 marks = 5-6 points
  6. Stick closely to answering the question asked. Some questions have two parts – don’t leave out half of the Q in your answer through carelessness. Avoid including material which is irrelevant to this question.
  7. Don’t simply summarise the text (unless specifically asked to) – try to figure out the overall message. You may be asked if you agree/disagree with the views expressed.
  8. When quoting directly from the text USE QUOTATION MARKS. Keep quotes relatively short and only use relevant ones.
  9. Be organised in your approach – make a point (in your own words), back it up with evidence from the text, then move on. Make a new point, back it up, then move on etc… However, make sure your answer flows by using phrases such as ‘also’ ‘furthermore’ ‘nonetheless’ ‘on the other hand’ ‘clearly’. Don’t use the same phrase twice.
  10. Don’t wander off on a tangent, waffling on about something that happened to you in your life. This is generally completely irrelevant to proving that you can read, interpret and offer an opinion on a piece of writing.
  11. Don’t spend too long on this section – you can leave space and come back to it at the end if you have time.

One very common error made my students is that they move on to Q2 but keep answering Q1. This happens a lot because students are so focused on getting the comprehension done on time. The info from Q1 is still fresh in their minds so they end up repeating themselves in the next Q. One way to avoid this is to write out the Q at the top of the page to force your brain to move on. Remember the questions are completely different so your answers should be too.

If you find yourself repeating info from a previous question

  • STOP.
  • Read the Q again.
  • Refocus.

It’s unlikely that you are answering the Q properly if you find yourself repeating the same points in different answers.

3 Comments

Posted in Comprehensions

Tagged , , , , , ,

Sample Personal Essay

Posted on April 11, 2011 by | 6 comments

This is a personal essay (I found it in an old foolscap a few years ago) from when I was in Leaving Cert. It’s not terribly original and the ending just kind of tails off pathetically but rather than fix it up I decided to leave it as I had written it at 17. It should give you a strong sense that there is a real difference between personal essays and short stories.

A Farewell to Adolescence

One of the scariest things about being in Leaving Cert. is realising that you are the oldest pupils in the school. In the first couple of days it gently hits you that the people who once intimidated you so much are all gone. Any intimidation that goes on now is probably your esteemed self complaining (loudly) in the presence of first years about how cheeky and wild they are. At this stage you usually find yourself commenting on the fact that your own year were NEVER that rude and boisterous, and you begin to despair for the youth of today. Where, oh where, did they ever go wrong?

It is about now you realise that you’re beginning to grow up. Talking about the ‘youth of today’ sets off alarm bells in your head because you’ve started to distance yourself from this section of society. You no longer include yourself in the category of ‘teenager’ or ‘adolescent’. Technically, you’ll be a teenager until the end of your nineteenth year, but being as mature and responsible as you are, you handily disregard this fact!

After the first couple of days in Leaving Cert, it not-so-gently whacks you full-in-the-face that other people have also started to regard you as a young adult. Teachers, parents, and adults in general expect you to think and act more responsibly, as befits your new position in society. THAT’s when you discover the role of young adult has as many drawbacks as advantages.

The first problem encountered is that of choosing a career! Of course, you’d always realised that EVENTUALLY you’d have to decide what to do with the rest of your life. But never in your wildest dreams or worst nightmares did you imagine just how difficult it would really be. The careers teacher bombards you with information about points, open days, college prospectus’, CAO-CAS forms, subject choices, apprentices and requirements. It vaguely registers somewhere in the back of your mind that you’ve heard all this before (perhaps in last years careers class???) but you weren’t really listening (at the time) because it was just kind of boring and irrelevant. Right now it’s about as far away from irrelevant as it can possibly be, and your head is in a whirl. Oh, to be back in first year when everything was simple and all anyone seemed to talk about was how wild and cheeky you were!

Added to this burden of deciding what to do with the rest of your life, is the workload of the average Leaving Certificate pupil. You seem to spend at least three hours every night doing homework alone. Wondering when you’ll get around to revising fourth year work is useless – you simply DON’T HAVE THE TIME! Every teacher seems to have some comment to make about how little work you’ve done, and how much you’ve left to cover. Being fulfilled, happy individuals, however, you don’t despair and it never even enters your head how hopeless everything is…

The last (and in my opinion the worst) part of saying farewell to adolescence is that of being responsible for your own destiny. Every teacher and parent in the country seems to adopt the policy of constantly telling you that how you do in the Leaving Certificate Examinations in June is entirely up to you! Teachers remind you daily that they’re not afraid of work and they’re doing the best they can for you. If you don’t pull up your socks and get down to work there’s nothing they can do about it. Their most commonly used phrase abound this time is “I can’t do the work for you!” You almost begin to believe the unspoken, follow-on-statement “I would if I could but I can’t”. Thus the weight of the world merrily thuds down onto your shoulders and this ‘growing-up’ process, this ‘farewell to adolescence’ seems less and less attractive every minute.

All is not doom and gloom however, and whilst the negative side of growing up is alive and well, there is also another, more desirable side blossoming satisfactorily, if you look at the other side of the coin. You begin to notice the extent to which your family life changes. Apart from a few sensitive areas, you’re pretty much a free agent. Your parents no longer freak out if you leave the house for more than half an hour. You don’t ask them any more if you can go out, they ask you if you are! It’s not childish teenage disco’s you’re going to either – it’s pubs and nightclubs. For the lucky minority who are already 18, it’s not even illegal! The smoker who started smoking in national school suddenly realises that he’s no longer breaking the law. You can even legally have sex!

A whole new world of possibility opens out before you, and somehow, life doesn’t seem so bleak anymore. You don’t get asked what age you are going into the cinema! Your mother doesn’t wait until you’ve gone to bed to watch the video she’s hired out – unless of course it’s an “adult” movie of the coloured kind that you don’t really want to watch anyway. And definitely not with your parents! Another advantage is the summer job which provides money, but more importantly, independence. I personally HATE having to ask my parents for money, and if I do, I have to tell them what it’s for. When you’ve got your own money, you can do what you like with it and are answerable to no-one.

All in all, growing up has both advantages and disadvantages. The process is both rewarding and painful, joyous and sad. Luckily this transition must only be experienced once in every lifetime because being “stuck in the middle” is quite an awkward confusing time. Overall my ‘farewell to adolescence’ will be a thankful one. I’ll be saying my goodbyes happily enough!

6 Comments

Posted in Composing

Tagged , , , ,