Leaving Cert Diary 2025: English Paper 1 is the exam for writers
The Leaving Cert Diary series, with thanks to our friends at the Irish Second-Level Students' Union, is back for another year. Here, Waterford student Lidiia gives us her take on English Paper 1.
And keep scrolling as Kerry student Maeve tells us what was cooking in Home Economics...
But, before you go any further remember to look after yourselves during exam time - here are some tips to help you eat, sleep and manage stress.
Lidiia's Exam Blog
The paper that 'you cannot study for' is also, I believe, the one that writers love the most. It is where you can play with your imagination - becoming, for example, a hotel manager and writing a response to a bad review. It is the Paper where practice is more important than knowledge.
This year's general theme for Paper One was 'Perspectives', which I was very happy with, as it can be interpreted and explored in many ways. I was also happy with all three comprehension texts, and I found all three Question A prompts manageable. Personally, I chose to answer Question A on the first text, 'The Underdog Effect', where in Part Two I managed to intertwine Shakespeare's King Lea r and The Secret History by Donna Tartt into my answer. I then answered Question B on the second text, The Perspective of a 'Wise Old Counsellor.
The part of the exam I was most thrilled about was composing. I had decided at the beginning of 6th year that I would answer the short story question, and it was lovely to see two options. I chose to write a story in 'which a plucky chancer challenges a more privileged or established opponent'. However, I believe my choice was unusual, as most of my classmates opted to write a personal essay.
Overall, I ended up writing a full sixteen pages in my script and was happy with how Paper One turned out. Nevertheless, I must confess that due to the stressful nature of the exam, I unknowingly skipped Part 3 of Question A.
In moments like these, it's important to remind ourselves that not answering one question is absolutely not the end of the world. Mistakes happen; human error is normal and should not be shamed. Student to student, it's okay to feel disappointed in the moment, but you must remind yourself to keep calm and carry on! Paper Two is tomorrow, and I'd like to wish the best of luck to everyone.
I'll sign off with a quote from Epictetus: "We cannot control the external events around us, but we can control our reaction to them."
Maeve's blog
Second exam finished today with Home Ec! Honestly after the highs of English Paper 1, this paper brought me back down to earth fairly fast. Home Ec is such a content heavy subject and it's really difficult to prepare for what will appear on the exam, as not one aspect of the course can be left behind and the paper is incredibly difficult to predict.
To start the paper, I found that the short questions in Section A were challenging at first glance but most were doable when the gears began turning.
Lipids coming up as the main macronutrient in Section B was a welcome relief and Section B question 1(a) was a really nice table to analyse. The choices for the rest of Section B were broad so they would have suited a lot of people.
Section C part 4 is where things got a little rocky, with an extensive analysis of meat required, and I found option (b) and (c) to both be difficult options to choose between. Overall a challenging paper I hope that the marking scheme will be kind to us!
Founded in 2008, the ISSU is the national representative body for school students in the Republic of Ireland. The ISSU is led by students, for students.
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