Throughout your leaving certificate studies, be curious in all of your subjects. General knowledge, regular reading and regular writing will make you an interesting, articulate and quick thinking student – three attributes that are necessary in responding to leaving certificate english papers. Your writing must be legible and good handwriting will create a good first impression.

You may well be able to utilise some of your ideas and techniques in the actual examination. Its importance cannot be overestimated! in the examination you should spend approximately one hour and twenty minutes on this section. Remember you will be marked under the following criteria: clarity of purpose 30%.

Write a personal essay on what you consider to be the marvels of today’s world. this title gives you the opportunity to take a number of different approaches but remember it must be a personal account. If you are passionate about the subject, you are more likely to write a good essay. You can employ language of persuasion and/or argument in this essay as you could argue or persuade the reader of your personal view on the matter.

Why do you feel this way? you may use the texts in the paper to give you ideas for your essay. Write a feature article for a newspaper or magazine on the role played by memory and the past in our lives. you will be rewarded for employing some of the conventions of a magazine or newspaper layout, e.g. Shape your response in a manner appropriate to the register of a magazine or newspaper. Some ideas could include how we are shaped by our childhood, the importance of history to a nation, the negative or positive effects of holding onto the past, etc. Provide a ‘hook’ at the start of the article to make your reader want to read your piece. Never forget your purpose, your audience and your language register appropriate style, vocabulary and tone.

Write a short story inspired by the phrase, … an inferior rock band howling for fame. You can take a variety of approaches but generally, all short stories have a beginning, middle and end, have at least one character, have some sense of tension, climax and resolution. Ask yourself questions to create ideas – where, what, who, why, when and how? plan your answer carefully and methodically. It is interesting when the character is saying one thing and thinking something else. The tension could be within the character or it could arise from a situation or challenge.

Some ideas could include immersing oneself in another world, allowing people to explore ideas and concepts safely, a means of escape, a way to enjoy language, as a way to create empathy, etc. Write a light hearted and entertaining article, intended for publication in a magazine aimed at young people, in response to the phrase. Identify purpose, audience, language, style, register and tone to give you a clear idea what is needed. Try and draw the reader into the piece through anecdotes or amusing observations. Remember, your answer should be light hearted and entertaining, not serious, but it can also be reflective. Try and make links between your paragraphs in terms of ideas so that your essay flows. Write the text of an address you could deliver to an international gathering of young people outlining what you believe helps to define ireland’s distinctive national identity.

You must tell the audience what you believe helps to define ireland’s distinctive national identity. Some ideas could include the fact that we are an island, our troubled history, an obsession with the weather, emigration, etc. It would be wise to greet the audience initially, give them your name and tell them why you are speaking.