Just to say first of all I can’t believe how fast it went, 2hrs 50 BAM over first exam finished!!!
I went to get a bottle of water in the local shop and the cashier girl was all “Oh do you have your Junior Cert today?” I shit you not. I was raging…
Went into school, sussed out where I was sitting (in the canteen – yay, desk that doesn’t wobble – super yay) and tested for the general feeling amongst my peers. Everyone seemed nervously confident. I mean all you have to do is write, right? No learning off stuff, right? Nothing can go wrong, right? Right…
It wasn’t so bad.
The concensus was that the paper itself was rather lovely. All three of the comprehensions were tackle-able, the B’s were pretty ok, and the essays suited most people. Thank you exam-setter-people.
The first thing I did was flip to the essays, saw the first one (Write a personal essay about your experience as a performer…;)) and instantly I was all smiles. I did the third comprehension, the Farenheight 451 excerpt, and found that adequate. The first question was annoying (I hate “Why are her qualities appealing?” questions) but (ii) and (iii) were both straightforward enough. It helped with the second one that I was an Art student and so could draw from my wonderful skills in bullshitting about paintings and whatnot. I did the question B of Text 2 – Write a letter intended to be read by future generations where you go on about your hopes yadda yadda. This was my weakest question I think, I hate B’s with a passion. They’re always so finicky. I wrote about terrorism and the Third World and global warming and I managed to make it not awful, but still not wonderful.
Finally, the essay. I started without planning. I have a problem with doing that sometimes. Thankfully, it was a personal essay so it wasn’t like there was no plan to it anyway, I mean I know what went on in my own life (or do I…) It was pleasant and enjoyable to write, and I hope it’s the same to read. It felt good at the time, so I’m going to take that as a good sign.
So, everyone. Discuss your view with reference to the above extract. 🙂
Our supervisors are nice, except the lady one snapped at me for asking her about some roll we had to sign. “I can only do two things at once!” is what she said. I don’t understand adults sometimes.
How is everyone fixed for paipear a do? I have three poets prepared: Boland, Longley and Yeats. Everyone keeps harping on about Yeats so I’m going to focus on him tonight. Two weeks ago I was working on essays for Rich and Kavanagh too, but they got left by the wayside with all the chaos and panic so I’m just dropping them completely. For the comparatives I’m doing Literary Genre and General Vision and Viewpoint and then Lear…oh Lear. I’ll just try my best with him, since there’s no telling. Might look over stuff about Unseen Poetry too, which in my opinion is like an annoying little fly you can’t swat away.
I made up my own little poem about Paper 2 there: ew ew Paper 2.
It reminds me of that one in the front of my Poetry book that goes “The turtle goes movey, movey.” That child was a genius.
Good luck tomorrow!
Valerie
Didn’t like it, being honest! I spent at least 20 minutes at the start just reading everything, trying to find something I liked. Nothing stuck out for me! Ended up doing the A’s from Al Gore, and the B question from the Fahrenheit one (radio speech on books). I didn’t get to start the essay until about 11.40 :/ Somehow, the grad speech essay jumped at me by now, while it somehow hid itself at 9.30. Went off on a big rant about how we can fix environmental problems and technology is advancing and stuff…
In retrospect, not something you’d say at a grad speech! Oh well 🙂
I did ok, I’m just worried that it was all forced. Got no personality into the writing, didn’t like any question!
Yeah I spent a good while at the start trying to get my head together and sort out my questions too. I didn’t like the B’s much at all and I would have preferred to do the B on the books but I wanted to do the Farenheight A.
Ah I’m really sorry to hear that though! Hope everything goes better for you tomorrow. 🙂
Heh, Paper 1 was meant to be my strong point 🙂
Hey! I try and follow this blog, because I think you guys are great, but I’m too busy studying. lol jk!, etc… Too lazy. :]
I agree with you pretty much completely; pretty good paper, I’d say. Not that I did a particularly good job on it, but there you go!
Just wanted to say about comparing the book covers: I know, right?! Aha, it was wonderful, really like art appreciation! Aka: total bullshit. :]
Fair play to ye for blogging away.
grace.
When I saw the first option on the essays It made me think of you straight away,eerily prophetic I say! = P
Yay! The exam got off to a good start for me! If this keeps up for the rest of the two weeks, I will be one happy duckling (watch it now the Paper 2 will be a bitch…)
As for your choice of poets, they’re the same ones I’m doing too! 🙂
Fingers crossed x
Btw, I love this blog. Found it just around the time of the orals. Been reading since 🙂
Good luck tomorrow!
Best of luck tomorrow everyone! Cram cram cram cram cram 🙂
I did the Heaney interview on Question A, the letter on Question B and the short story with the funny/sad theme.
Bit indifferent about it all really. Could have gone better, but meh.
Pessimism 4 lyf 🙂
Best of luck tomorrow, guys, girls and hermaphrodites!
“The wheel has come full circle, I am here”
Suitable quote, non? 🙂
I’m starting to worry a tiny bit about my poets now, I really only have those 3 learned spectacularly…and I mean spectacularly. I can recite all 3 essays by heart.
As the man on the radio said tonight, the English Poetry section is a bunch of calculated risks, and according to his scale by doing 3 Irish poets I am taking a “moderate risk”. Oops. What can I do now sure?
Hm Orla my quote for this evening is: “Oh, let me not be mad! Not mad, sweet heaven!”
Or something like that =/
Good luck to all, and thanks for reading!