JCE Exam 2022 Sample Answer
JCE Exam 2022 Sample Answer
Study the quotation below. It is a quotation by Dr. Seuss that is commonly used by speakers in
school graduation ceremonies.
(10 marks)
Do you think the Dr. Seuss quotation above is a suitable choice for graduation ceremonies? Explain
your answer.
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Note: This is a language task. A successful answer will address aspects of the writer’s style which
make the quote ‘suitable for a graduation ceremony.’ Always remember, the question is your friend
and guide. Identify the key words and direct everything you say towards responding to those key
words. For 10 marks, you are expected to write 1-2 paragraphs which follow the RICE rules:
Explained take the time to explain why the point being made and the evidence being
So, what would we expect from a speech / talk delivered at a graduation ceremony?
We would expect:
Analysis
ü This short quote directly addresses the audience. The word ‘you’, in different forms, is used
7 times. This word is a good choice because it speaks directly to both the individual and the
group.
ü The writer uses buzz words and repetition to create an inspirational tone. The words ‘high’
and ‘great’ are used twice, and they combine to convey a sense of optimism about the
future. The writer also chooses the verb ‘soar’ to communicate a sense of hope and deliver
a message that the future will be exciting and filled with promise.
ü A sense of urgency is created by the use of the exclamation mark, and the phrase ‘Today is
your day!’ is designed to inspire the audience to think about the significance of their
graduation.
ü The writer makes use of figurative language when he says, ‘Your mountain is waiting.’ The
image here is clear and easy to understand. It suggests that the graduation is not the end of
something, but the beginning of a new, potentially difficult challenge, but a challenge for
which the graduates are now prepared.
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Sample Responses
#1 Poor Quality
The quote is suitable for a grad ceremony because it is good and if you were listening to it it
would make you feel good. The best bit is when it says your off to grate places because if you
were graduating you would be going on a holiday cos you need a break after all of the work so
it is suitable and makes you think about where you are going on holiday.
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#2 Better Quality
This quote is perfect for a graduation ceremony. The writer, Dr. Suess, has produced a piece of
writing that is both clever and inspirational. The language is simple, and he addresses his
audience directly by using the word ‘you’ (‘you’ll, you’re, your’) seven times. This word works
in both the singular and plural form, making the audience members feel as if they are
specifically aimed at them on their special night.
A graduation ceremony is a celebration and Dr. Suess’ use of buzz words and repetition mean
this quote has a suitably celebratory tone. He uses the word’s ‘high’ and ‘great’ twice, and also
tells the graduates they are going to ‘soar’ in the future. This use of language creates a sense of
optimism and positivity that sets the perfect tone for such an event.
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PMC JCE
You are writing your diary at the end of a very eventful day.
‘23rd January.
Dear Diary,
You won’t believe what has happened! Today has been a day that filled me with hope...’
Note:
This is a creative writing task. It is worth 25 marks, so you have approx. 15 minutes to write the
answer. There is an expectation that the work will be
1. Imaginative
2. Descriptive – narrate events – involving – stimulating the imagination
3. Structured BME – beginning – middle – end / conclusion – circular structure
4. Personal and confessional – reflection & insights / lessons learned
5. Bereft of basic error in spelling and punctuation
Sample Response
23rd January
Dear Diary,
You won’t believe what has happened! Today has been a day that has filled me with hope and I
really think things will be better from now on. I have written so often about how much I hate
my school. The teachers are just not friendly and helpful. I miss my old primary school so much.
The teachers there were kind and supportive, but here, all they seem to care about is exam results.
They have no interest in who we are or what our lives are like. You know how many tears I have
shed about wanting to leave this school, and you know how mean so many of the kids are. The
fact that I don’t spend my life in Insta or TikTok makes me a weirdo and a freak. The fact that
I like books and camogie and talking about the world makes me boring and I have felt so
lonely...but I think that might all be about to change.
Ms Meehan (Ms MEAN) has gone on maternity leave and her replacement, Ms Leonard, is so
different! She is our class tutor and announced today that she is setting up a lunchtime club
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for any students who want to have a discussion group. She’s opening it to the whole school, and
the only rule is that the topic for discussion has to be picked by a student. I couldn’t believe how
many kids were there for the first meeting today. There were kids from every year group and
one of the 5th years, Brian McIvor, picked the topic. We talked about sport in the school and what
we can do to promote it and encourage more kids to participate. I was able to talk about how our
Camogie coaches make training fun and inclusive, and I didn’t end up feeling like a fool!
People listened, and we had a great debate, as well as a great laugh.
I can’t believe how much I loved it! Thank God for Ms Leonard...I can’t believe I am actually
looking forward to going to school tomorrow...but now I have to go and study for the big Science
test...
1. Relevant
2. Structure is lacking and in need of improvement
3. Confessional
4. Expression – precise / clear / accurate
5. Imaginative details – essential to creative writing – attention to detail is key - authenticity
Grade outcomes
Circle the grade band you think this response merits.
Distinction: 22+ / 25
Higher Merit: 18-21 / 25
Merit: 14-17 / 25
Achieved: 10-13 / 25
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PMC JCE
Question 3 (5 marks)
Rewrite each one of the sentences in the space below it, correcting one error in each case.
(e) There is some people who always look on the bright side of things.
There are some people who always look on the bright side of things.
Read the following poem by Ada Limón and answer the questions that follow.
Simile
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Notes: There are two distinct questions here, but no indication is given as to the division of the
marks. For me, part (a) is a simple opinion task, and I would expect a student to write 1-2
paragraphs in response for allocation of 10 marks.
Part (b) is a more difficult question. It requires the candidate to make a distinction between the
poet’s thematic concerns and style of writing. It also requires candidates to analyse the quality of
the poem, and I would certainly expect a 2-3 paragraph response.
(a) ‘it’s the greening of the trees that really gets to me.’ Do you think that this is a positive or a negative
statement by the poet? Explain your answer with reference to the poem.
(b) Would you recommend this poem for inclusion in a poetry book for Junior Cycle English? In your
answer you should refer to both what the poem says and how it uses language.
Clear Topic sentence
Response to Part (a) exp-
“It’s the greening of the trees that really gets to me” is an obviously positive statement. This
poem is a celebration of nature. The poet is amazed by the beauty of nature. The poem contains
many images of this, including “the fuchsia funnels breaking out of the crab-apple tree”,
and the “cotton-candy coloured” cherry blossoms. the “slate sky of Spring rains”. She lists
these images because she wants to convey the wonder of nature, but also because she wants to
compare them to the “greening of the trees”, which she considers the most beautiful element of
all. Integrate quotation into your sentences
This positivity is explained when the author writes that seeing the trees return to green after
the winter is “a return to the strange idea of continuous living despite the mess of us, the hurt,
the empty.” She is clearly inspired by nature. She knows that life can be hard, and uses the
image of winter to convey these challenges. The reason the greening of the trees “gets to” her is
because it gives her hope that the bad times do end and the good times will come again.
Therefore, the line ‘It’s the greening of the trees that always gets to me” is an obviously positive
statement. You can see this when it / she /he says...
The author conveys this idea in the line...
The writer communicates this thought in the image of...
This is evident when...
This is clear when...
This is apparent when...
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1. Relevant
2. Structure - BME
3. Displays control over language – variety of synonyms
4. Clarity – content & style
5. Too long – 2nd paragraph is superfluous – unneeded / unnecessary / adds little to the overall
impact – 6 minutes
Grade outcomes
Distinction: 9-10 / 10
Higher Merit: 7-8 / 10
Merit: 5-6 / 10
Achieved: 4 / 10
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________
Yes, I absolutely would recommend that this poem be included in a poetry book for Junior Cert
English. It is a thoughtful and thought-provoking poem. The poet, Ada Limón, takes the time
to appreciate the beauty of the world around her. She feels inspired by this beauty, as is clear in
the powerful simile “a new slick leaf unfurling like a fist to an open palm.” The message here
is important, and definitely relevant to young people. The poet is aware of the fact that life can
be tough. However, she is also aware of the fact that tough times pass, and, with resilience, it is
possible to survive. This message, about accepting the challenges of life, about appreciating the
good things, and about the important of resilience, is powerfully relevant to the lives of young
people and certainly means this poems merits inclusion in a Junior Cycle poetry book.
Poetry is not just about the message in a poem. It is also about the art and craft of writing, and
this poem is a great example of good writing for young people to study. There are lots of examples
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of good writing here besides the brilliant simile which so clearly captures the image of a leaf
and a fist opening. For example, the poet employs sibilance in the line the “slate sky of Spring
rains” and this creates both rhythm and atmosphere. The addition of the adjective ‘slate’ to the
noun ‘sky’, creates a vivid photographic image and illustrates some of the skills descriptive
writers use to create imagery. This again means that this poem would be of value to any Junior
Cycle English student.
Finally, this poem represents a super example of figurative language. This is a difficult concept
to grasp, but this poem would help students to understand the idea. The literal meaning of the
poem is obvious, but it is interesting to see the way the poet is actually using the tree and nature
as a metaphor for something else – the challenges and rewards of life. This is not immediately
obvious and would certainly provoke discussion in a class group. It is for these reasons that I
believe this poem to be suitable for inclusion in a Junior Cycle poetry book.
1. Relevant
2. Informed
3. Clear
4. Explained
5. The RICE Rules
Grade outcomes
Distinction: 14-15 / 15
Higher Merit: 12-13 / 15
Merit: 8-11 / 15
Achieved: 6 / 15
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PMC JCE
Note:
This was an interesting question. It proves how important it is to study examples of the poet’s style when
preparing for this exam.
It is a personal response question, which is trickier than it looks.
The key to successfully answering this question is to clearly explain WHY the example is MEMORABLE.
Unfortunately, most students will merely SAY it is, but will fail to explain WHY. One paragraph required here.
Candidates had approx. 6 minutes to compose their answer.
I was fascinated by Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est.’ This poem contains powerful,
often disturbing imagery and Own makes particularly good use of simile to convey the horror
of war. The most striking simile in the poem comes after the soldiers are exposed to a poison gas
attack and, in a panic, had fumbled for their “clumsy helmets just in time.” Owen describes
the moment he realised that ‘someone still was yelling out and stumbling / and flound’ring
like a man in fire or lime.’ This image is horrific. The simile creates an immediate sense of the
pain the soldier experienced. By comparing his pain to a person who was put on fire or who was
burned by acid, Owen allows the reader to understand the extent of suffering experience by
soldiers who were gassed. This is the most memorable example of simile I encountered in the
poems I have studied.
Comments on the quality of this response:
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________
Grade outcomes
Distinction: 9-10 / 10
Higher Merit: 7-8 / 10
Merit: 5-6 / 10
Achieved: 4 / 10
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PMC JCE
Do you think that poets offer readers hope through their poetry? Explain your views with
reference to at least three poems you have studied. Refer to both the ideas and the use of
language in the poems you discuss. You may not use the poem printed on this paper but you may
use the poem you referred to in question 5.
Note:
This was a really tough task. It is the first time that students were asked to write about 3 different poems since
the Junior Cert was introduced in 1992.
It was definitely included to make it easier for the examiner to identify the Distinction quality students.
Very few students would have had 3 poems prepared, and even fewer would be able to discuss both the
thematic and language aspects of these poems.
The examiner also weighted overall outcomes heavily by allocating 35 of the available 180 marks to this
question. That equates to 20% of the available marks.
However, that is not to say it was an unfair task. Candidates are expected to study a number of poems in detail.
The approach here was to try to write 3-4 good evidence-based RICE paragraphs in approx. 20 minutes...
Obviously, some poems offer hope and optimism, while others, which look at the kind of
challenges that life poses, are more pessimistic. One of the most famous poems I have read, ‘The
Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth, offers both hope and despair. It starts off with “I wandered
lonely as a cloud”, and the simile immediately conveys a sense of struggle and isolation.
However, when the poet sees a “crowd, a host of golden daffodils”, his mood is transformed and
there is definitely hope. In this poem, Wordsworth looks at the idea that life can be really tough,
but that it can also be filled with thrilling beauty. This is certainly a hopeful message.
Other poems, like ‘Back in the Playground Blues’, by Adrian Mitchell, can make the reader feel
hopeless. This is a poem about bullying, and the poet effectively uses hyperbole to communicate
the fear and isolation felt by a bullied child in the 1st stanza. He says, “The playground was
three miles long and the playground was five miles high.” This deliberate exaggeration is an
example of figurative language. It is disturbing, but, unlike ‘The Daffodils’, there is little hope
that things will get better. The poem ends with the words “I have never found any place in my
life worse than the Killing Ground.” The message seems to be that the world can be very cruel,
and people can be permanently damaged by suffering. This is a very bleak message and does
not offer much hope.
Then there are poems like ‘Sonnet 18’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Mid-term Break’ by
Seamus Heaney. Both of these poems are about death. In the first poem, Shakespeare is aware
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that his lover will die, so he writes his poem and says, “So long as men can breathe and eyes
can see, so long lives this (poem) and this gives life to thee.” These lines, written in perfect
iambic pentameter and containing a clever metaphor, contain a marvellous, hopeful message
because Shakespeare is saying that love is eternal and can outlast death. Heaney’s poem is also
both dark and hopeful. Describing his arrival home for the funeral, he uses sibilance and
onomatopoeia to convey a scene of great sorrow when he writes “Whispers informed strangers I
was the eldest, away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry,
tearless sighs.” These lines are very striking and are really pessimistic because they show how
death can come along and devastate a family. However, there is also optimism in this poem
because it contains so much love. Heaney’s father and mother loved their son deeply and that is
why they are so struck by grief. However, the most hopeful thing about this poem is that Heaney
took such a terrible event and used it as inspiration to write a brilliant, memorable, and
thought-provoking poem.
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________
Grade outcomes
Circle the grade band you think this response merits.
Distinction: 30-35 / 35
Higher Merit: 25-29 / 35
Merit: 15-25 / 35
Achieved: 0-14 / 35
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________
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PMC JCE
Close Up
Dutch
Upshot
Downshot
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Question 8 (20 marks)
Imagine you are the director of the film you have studied. Discuss how at least two of the types of
shots identified in the poster on page 16 could have been used in key moments in the film to
enhance the viewing experience for the audience. The actual director may or may not have used
these shots in the film.
James Marsh, the director of ‘Man on Wire’ uses interesting camera shots in this
opening sequence. He splices together close-up shots of a mysterious box, of Philippe Petit
and of Jean-Louis with a reconstruction shot of a number of people loading the box into
a van. Combined with the aural elements, these visual elements result in a very
interesting and very engaging opening sequence to the film and there is no question
that the director uses the unique aspects of the medium of cinema to bring the story to
life.
James Marsh employs extreme wide shots to make the climax sequence of ‘Man on Wire’
mesmerizing. He employs these wide shots to convey the reality of August 7th, 1974,
when Philippe Petit performed a high-wire act between the twin towers on the World Trade
Centre in New York. To make the scene more exciting, the editor splices together close up
still shots of Petit on the wire with wide shots and upshots of the towers from the
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PMC JCE
perspective of both the ground and the top of the building. This, combined with the
‘talking head’ witnesses who describe the day, really brings the scene to life.
Comments on the quality of this response:
Grade outcomes
Distinction: 18-20 / 20
Higher Merit: 15-17 / 20
Merit: 11-14 / 20
Achieved: 8-13 / 20
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________
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PMC JCE
Read the following passage which is the ending to a novel by Douglas Coupland. Answer the
question that follows. Sarah, an astronaut who has a physical disability, is going on a space
mission. In the passage she is parting company with her mother Janet and brother Wade before her
voyage.
As the chopper pulled into NASA, Sarah remembered something and mentioned it to Janet and
Wade: ‘Guys, I’m allowed to bring twelve ounces of personal belongings up into space with me.
Do either of you have a lightweight object you’d like to be able to show-and-tell in ten years’ time
and say, This was once up in space!’
Wade and Janet looked at each other, then Wade removed a letter from his shirt pocket, before
he handed it to Sarah, he asked her, ‘Sarah, are you going on a spacewalk on this trip?’
‘Outside the craft?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Yes I am.’
‘So if you were to leave something out there, that would circle the planet for ever?’
‘For a pretty long time.’
‘Take this for me.’ He gave her the letter. ‘But don’t bring it back, OK? Leave it out there, out
in orbit.’
Sarah looked at the letter and made no historical connection. ‘Sure.’
‘You promise?’
Sarah wondered what he was up to. ‘I promise.’
‘Good.’ Wade made a face that might have been made by pioneers crossing the continent,
dropping a piano off their overloaded wagon onto the wheezy Oklahoma dirt – a burden relieved.
‘What about you, Mom?’
‘Could you pass me a pair of those scissors there, dear?’
‘Scissors? What for?’
‘Please, I need them just for a second.’
Sarah handed them to Janet, who reached back, pulled her hair into a ponytail and quickly snipped
off the large lock.
‘There.’
‘Mom!’
‘Oh shush girl. And these are excellent scissors. I’d like to get a pair for myself.’
‘Mom, why did you – ’
Janet quickly tied the severed ponytail into a neat knot.
‘Mom, you’re scaring me.’
‘Sarah, answer me this – if you were to be out in space, and if you threw an object down to
Earth, it would burn through the atmosphere on re-entry, wouldn’t it?’
‘What – throw it down to Earth?’
‘Yes, dear.’
‘But why?’
‘Because people will look up to its trail when it falls down.
They won’t know it, but it will be me they’re looking at.’
‘And – ?’
‘And they’ll think they’ve just seen a star.’
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Brainstorm
Hope – star reference – important to her – a dream fulfilled?
Cut off the hair – a sign of success – hope – the proof of an ability to overcome
obstacles
Burden relieved – freed from regrets – the possibility that pain might end - hopeful
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PMC JCE
Name of writer:
Brainstorm
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