Junior Cycle English
English in junior cycle aims to develop students’ knowledge of language and literature, to consolidate and deepen their literacy skills and make them more self-aware as learners.
More specifically it encourages all students:
- to be creative through language and to gain enjoyment and continuing personal growth from English in all its forms
- to develop control over English using it and responding to it with purpose and effect through the interconnected literacy skills of oral language, reading and writing
- to engage personally with and think critically about an increasingly broad range of spoken, written and multimodal texts
- to develop an informed appreciation of literature through personal encounters with a variety of literary texts
- to use their literacy skills to manage information needs, and find, use, synthesise, evaluate and communicate information using a variety of media
- to gain an understanding of the grammar and conventions of English and how they might be used to promote clear and effective communication
First Year
A studied novel, with on-going, sustained reading of novels throughout the year
A variety of drama extracts to suit appropriate learning outcomes
A variety of non-literary texts including texts in oral format
A number of short stories
At least 10 poems
Second and Third Year
Two novels
Two drama texts
Students intending to take the Final Assessment at Higher Level must
study the full text of a prescribed Shakespearean drama during second and/or
third year.
A film chosen from the prescribed list of films
A variety of non-literary texts including texts in oral format
A selection of poetry (a minimum of 16 poems over the two years)
A number of short stories
CBA in second year - oral presentation
CBA in third year - collection of student’s work
Senior Cycle English
Students sit 2 papers in the final exam
No project work
Paper 1 Focus on Composing and Comprehending
We look at how language is used to inform, to persuade, to argue, to narrate and how language is used aesthetically.
Reading tasks based on a wide variety of sources: novel extracts, story extracts, memoir extracts, articles, essays, speeches, blogs, etc.
Writing tasks based on the study of how language is used: pieces for radio, talks and speeches, travel writing, opinion piece writing, letters, blogs, etc
Composing students will write an essay in one of the language styles above: short story, personal essay, descriptive essay, discursive essay, speech, magazine article, etc.
Paper 2 Focus on Literature
Poetry: Prescribed Poetry of 6 poets at Higher Level.
At Ordinary Level students have a separate list of prescribed poems
Unseen poetry
Main text: for focused study and detailed exploration of characters, themes, etc.
Comparative Study: three texts compared under three modes
These can include novels, memoir, plays, and films chosen from a prescribed list
At Higher Level students must study a Shakespearean text