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Irish Independent/Times Exam Diaries (Should be ashamed!)

24567…15

Comments

  • #32
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    Alan Smith wrote: »
    I'm doing one for the Evening Echo (Cork) (Yeah the fella with the ugly head) :p. Anyway if any of the posters on here are from the south munster area be sure to pick it up and let me know what you think. I promise there is nothing about nights-out etc. Just pure opinion on a leaving cert debutante.

    Anyway, I agree with the majority on here. While it's quite unique to have someone doing it several times, it just doesn't seem authentic enough (her leaving cert experience). There is no exploraton involved in here writing as she's already experienced it, a few times. Should stick to people who are expereincing it for the first time to pen the diaries as it's much better.


    G'luck coz I've to write up a piece on today's exams:o

    Hey Alan, just for curiosity's sake, what was the process that lead to them choosing you?
    Oh, and did they give you a brief as to what they wanted or where you given free reign?


  • #33
    Alan Smith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 331 ✭✭Alan Smith


    Syferus wrote: »
    Hey Alan, just for curiosity's sake, what was the process that lead to them choosing you?
    Oh, and did they give you a brief as to what they wanted or where you given free reign?

    Pm there fella. :o

    So what is the indo diarist like? I haven't read him at all? An improvement on "miss i'm going to be a surgeon"?


  • #34
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    Well he has less space so he's more to the point and seems to be more down to earth, but compared with Laura Brady that's not such a stunning achievement.

    Defintely the better of the two, though.

    You can check his stuff out on the Indo's website since they publish pretty much their entire newspaper for free online now:
    http://www.independent.ie/education/features/exam-diary-hoping-for-trusty-iagos-support-after-an-enjoyable-english-paper-1398552.html


  • #35
    boobookitty
    Closed Accounts Posts: 232 ✭✭boobookitty


    Why don't people write their own diaries and post them here on boards.ie? :)

    Alan, nice read but I disagree. Iago did come up. You could have just agreed and disagreed with the statement.


  • #36
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    boobookitty wrote: »
    Why don't people write their own diaries and post them here on boards.ie? :)

    Alan, nice read but I disagree. Iago did come up. You could have just agreed and disagreed with the statement.

    Well I suppose the paper disection threads that appear,invariably before the actual exam is over (argh! I've barely finshed any state exam efore the last 10 minutes outside of CSPE), serve the same purpose but maybe a 'how'd your day go thread' could gather more personal takes on the day.


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  • #37
    Alan Smith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 331 ✭✭Alan Smith


    boobookitty wrote: »
    Alan, nice read but I disagree. Iago did come up. You could have just agreed and disagreed with the statement.
    Eh where did I say that? :eek:


  • #38
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    Alan Smith wrote: »
    Eh where did I say that? :eek:

    Not to speak for her, but maybe Kit meant Mark Roche of the Independent because he made a comment to the effect of Iago not coming up in yesterday's entry.


  • #39
    Alan Smith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 331 ✭✭Alan Smith


    Syferus wrote: »
    Not to speak for her, but maybe Kit meant Mark Roche of the Independent because he made a comment to the effect of Iago not coming up in yesterday's entry.

    That's what I thought :o


  • #40
    IHATECHEMISTRY
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9 ✭IHATECHEMISTRY


    Thats very true, must say though! To give her dues, her diaries are hilarious! Reallllly good grasp of english, but speaking of chemistry!
    O JESUS! apparentley word on the street is, that it was the easiest exam ever
    :(:( i cried my way through the whole thing, anyone else feel the same???


  • #41
    The Walsho
    Registered Users Posts: 1,251 ✭✭✭The Walsho


    looly wrote: »
    I read yer wan's diary every day, not much bad to say against her, she seems to be a grand girl except the first entry where she mentioned getting 545 as a "decent" LC......erm that's practically As in everything! im killing myself to get 545 for psychology and i feel really patronised that other people seem to think an average student could get that. How do all the students who are aiming for 300 or 400 feel now, if 545 is only deemed "decent"?

    i know im ranting lol n its prob not that big a deal to most ppl but it really p!ssed me off

    In fairness, if she was going on about how great she did, it'd be more annoying. Success is relative I guess. I was in contention for the Times job (along with some other folk on here) and was told the main reason I didn't get it was because of the girl's story. I admit I think it was quite a strange decision to pick someone that basically nobody can relate to. That said, she's a great writer. But come on, institute, THIRD time sitting the LC, utterly comfortable with the whole process, out watching films the day before the exam, it's well and good for her but who wants to read that?
    While some people are saying the guy doing it for the Indo isn't the best writer, I'd prefer to read about a real person who's worried and panicking and staying up late drinking cups of coffee like the rest of us.
    Guess I'll just stick to the blogging!


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  • #42
    jennyq
    Registered Users Posts: 227 ✭✭jennyq


    I'm still trying to work out is she a real person...surely nobody could actually be like that. I think she's been stitched up in getting to write the column...I mean I'm sure she's happy to have the opportunity but I doubt she'll be the most popular person in the world afterwards from the way she's come across. Today's one is particularly irritating. Her sense of complete entitlement to a course that she hasn't earned yet is pretty unbelievable. She actually claims in today's paper that last night after the two exams she's done she felt she has "200 points tucked under her pillow". Big talk but if she continues with statements like that she's going to look like a complete fool in August if she doesn't get the points. I'd personally find it hard to feel sorry for her as a student doing the LC first time out with 7 honours subjects without the luxury of dropping my worst subjects. I have an issue anyway with people being able to carry over subjects from a previous year & get higher points in an easier way. I guess that isn't her fault & she's working the system however unfair it is. She's still really, really irritating though.

    Also it is a bit annoying that she spends barely any time actually talking about the exams themselves. I'm not really that interested in what she wore to her exam but I wouldn't mind a reaction on the actual paper thanks. :p


  • #43
    LizT
    Registered Users Posts: 29,089 ✭✭✭✭LizT


    The Walsho wrote: »
    In fairness, if she was going on about how great she did, it'd be more annoying.

    You obviously didn't read today editon when she said she'd be surprised if she didn't already have 200 points.


  • #44
    PrivateEye
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,283 ✭✭✭PrivateEye


    After reading todays pile of rubbish, I can say something I never thought I would...

    ...I hope we see much more from her..

    NEXT YEAR

    Her attitude to it all is incredibly annoying, and saying you think you've "200 points under your pillow", when other people are worried about passing X,Y or Z is unwarranted, and a waste of space in a normally fine newspaper. If you did make a haims of your chemistry, english, maths or godknowswhatelse exam don't worry- I'm sure the 2011 Leaving Cert will be a little nicer :pac:

    Knowing somebody at the Irish Times (*hi!*) is probably reading this now, let's not be too mean. I'm sure she's eh....a nice person and all. Actually, to hell with that: OUT OUT OUT :rolleyes:


  • #45
    LizT
    Registered Users Posts: 29,089 ✭✭✭✭LizT


    I don't even know the girl but I'd actually love if she didn't get Medicine this year. She'd probably just tell everyone that she realised it wasn't the career for her, rather than admit she didn't her 600 points like she thought she did.

    Just thinking that we have to see her face on the front of the Irish times when she gets her results is enough to make you want to emmigrate.


  • #46
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    The Walsho wrote: »
    In fairness, if she was going on about how great she did, it'd be more annoying. Success is relative I guess. I was in contention for the Times job (along with some other folk on here) and was told the main reason I didn't get it was because of the girl's story. I admit I think it was quite a strange decision to pick someone that basically nobody can relate to. That said, she's a great writer. But come on, institute, THIRD time sitting the LC, utterly comfortable with the whole process, out watching films the day before the exam, it's well and good for her but who wants to read that?
    While some people are saying the guy doing it for the Indo isn't the best writer, I'd prefer to read about a real person who's worried and panicking and staying up late drinking cups of coffee like the rest of us.
    Guess I'll just stick to the blogging!

    Well, today she's informed us she thinks she woke up yesterday morning in her ''barque princess bed'' thinking she has ''200 points tuck away''.

    Oh, and she feels ''If I don't like medicine I can take my maxium points elsewhere''.

    Well done for taking three years of grinds and so far having neither a medicine course or maxium points, then.

    I don't find making fahsion name drops or retroactively using 'Sex and the City'' to tie disparate parts of an entry together as good writing.
    An exam diary (in a general interest newspaper) is not meant to be a showcase of how many strange and useless words a person knows.

    It meant to be fuctional.

    I'm sorry, but it's hard to not find this an obnoxious and self-loving piece.
    Perhaps she simply has took the 'diary' part too far to heart and ignored the 'exam' part, but someone aiming for 600 points shouldn't be needed to be told they need to tailor their articles to their audience.

    Maybe on Monday we'll find out about her yacht in Bray and the stereotype will be complete.
    We can move on then.


  • #47
    illiop
    Closed Accounts Posts: 682 ✭✭✭illiop


    jennyq wrote: »
    I'm still trying to work out is she a real person...surely nobody could actually be like that.
    Oh yes, she is real and she is sitting right across from me in the exam hall.
    She repeated the first time(5th and 6th year) in my school and is sitting her exams here this year. She's a nice enough girls, if a bit annoyingly happy.

    Her colums are a good read(they should be, she's had 5 years of honours english classes) but they are not relavant to your average student.

    I also hate the way theese "Elite" students come back to there old schools and make us "first timers" look bad, it's not fair.


  • #48
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    illiop wrote: »
    Oh yes, she is real and she is sitting right across from me in the exam hall.
    She repeated the first time(5th and 6th year) in my school and is sitting her exams here this year. She's a nice enough girls, if a bit annoyingly happy.

    Her colums are a good read(they should be, she's had 5 years of honours english classes) but they are not relavant to your average student.

    I also hate the way theese "Elite" students come back to there old schools and make us "first timers" look bad, it's not fair.

    I don't see it as been 'elite', though. It's really just a case of brute force for her - anyone can repeat and repeat until they get the results they want, the system means it gets easier at each attempt.

    It's the people who get 600 points in their first attempt at regular schools that I have admiration for.

    I don't want to be burning this girl at the stake, but for her sake and her readers' sakes her take on her diary needs to be re-thought.


  • #49
    The Walsho
    Registered Users Posts: 1,251 ✭✭✭The Walsho


    Yeah just read today's paper, jesus christ. She's not doing herself any favours by being so full of herself. I can't understand why she's choosing to write such things.


  • #50
    PrivateEye
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,283 ✭✭✭PrivateEye


    lizt wrote: »

    Just thinking that we have to see her face on the front of the Irish times when she gets her results is enough to make you want to emmigrate.

    This is my reccomendation to the Irish Times for Mondays boards.ie quotes :pac:

    ----

    The Irish Times is just generally annoying me lately on a couple of fronts, todays editorial calling the whole country 'mad', and this continued leaving cert fiasco. Next Monday we've decided as a house not to buy the rag, which will be the first time in 30something years.... it's gone down the sink, will check in on Laura from a Newsagents somewhere ;)

    Somebody posted the idea that some boards.ie heads should keep diaries of their day to day LCs. For some of the longer established heads on here, that'd be a good idea. Just sticky them and get a day to day account of the LC (or whats left of it) from eh...normal young people.


  • #51
    bitterstudent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39 ✭bitterstudent


    The Walsho wrote: »
    In fairness, if she was going on about how great she did, it'd be more annoying. Success is relative I guess. I was in contention for the Times job (along with some other folk on here) and was told the main reason I didn't get it was because of the girl's story. I admit I think it was quite a strange decision to pick someone that basically nobody can relate to. That said, she's a great writer. But come on, institute, THIRD time sitting the LC, utterly comfortable with the whole process, out watching films the day before the exam, it's well and good for her but who wants to read that?
    While some people are saying the guy doing it for the Indo isn't the best writer, I'd prefer to read about a real person who's worried and panicking and staying up late drinking cups of coffee like the rest of us.
    Guess I'll just stick to the blogging!

    Yeah I tried for the exam diarist thing but unfortunately didn't get it... I'm not exceptionally great at English (unlike Walsho and Laura Brady) so I wasn't overly surprised. Its nice to be featured in the blog watch though with my blog.

    Laura seems to be getting a bad response overall while the Irish Independent diarist is getting a better response. I was glancing through the Irish Examiner today and saw that they too have a diarist. I didn't get a chance to read but has anyone else?


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  • #52
    boobookitty
    Closed Accounts Posts: 232 ✭✭boobookitty


    Haha, I want to go and get the paper just to read what she says. At least she will be unifying the LCerters! Just in anger. :)


  • #53
    looly
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16 ✭looly


    Was it just me reading it wonky after too many exams or did she decide she was "carrying over" her points from Chemistry and Maths from last year? Cause u cant do that! You can only count your points from a single sitting of the LC, not from two or three different years. If you choose to repeat one subject, you can only use it for entry requirements, lik a C3 in Irish for Primary Teaching, but it won't give you extra points. Lol, maybe she'll only end up wit 390 instead of 590........heh heh heh


  • #54
    Caoimhe89
    Closed Accounts Posts: 124 ✭✭Caoimhe89


    lizt wrote: »
    I don't even know the girl but I'd actually love if she didn't get Medicine this year.

    Except then we'd have to read her exam diary next year too.

    Otherwise, if she didn't manage to get it yet again, I wonder if she'd get in next year, with the interviews and aptitude test and all...


  • #55
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    Caoimhe89 wrote: »
    Except then we'd have to read her exam diary next year too.

    Otherwise, if she didn't manage to get it yet again, I wonder if she'd get in next year, with the interviews and aptitude test and all...

    I'd safely say entrance into the ''Insitute'' of Education relies more on your parents' bank account details than anything else.


  • #56
    there-there
    Closed Accounts Posts: 30 ✭there-there


    This is very interesting as I have just written a letter of complaint to the IT today regarding their terrible Leaving Cert coverage and in particular the Leaving Cert diary. I doubt they'll print it but look out a letter from a guy from Ennis on Monday


  • #57
    muffinman
    Registered Users Posts: 494 ✭✭muffinman


    Syferus wrote: »
    I'd safely say entrance into the ''Insitute'' of Education relies more on your parents' bank account details than anything else.

    I think Caoimhe89 was talking about getting into medicine with the new graduate entry thing


  • #58
    Syferus
    Registered Users Posts: 5,965 ✭✭✭Syferus


    there-there wrote: »
    This is very interesting as I have just written a letter of complaint to the IT today regarding their terrible Leaving Cert coverage and in particular the Leaving Cert diary. I doubt they'll print it but look out a letter from a guy from Ennis on Monday

    What's so terrible about it besides her diary?
    They've been proressive in keeping tabs on this board snd their paper dissections are all other papers - based on random teachers' opinions.

    It not a new issue and it's been one that's been inherrant in the media at all levels for decedes now.

    It's also featured bits on certain secondary school throughout the week, which is far more than others have done.


  • #59
    devinejay
    Registered Users Posts: 639 ✭✭✭devinejay


    ZorbaTehZ wrote: »
    Those kinds of shenanigans really makes one wonder...


    Shenanigans indeed.....


  • #60
    The Walsho
    Registered Users Posts: 1,251 ✭✭✭The Walsho


    looly wrote: »
    Was it just me reading it wonky after too many exams or did she decide she was "carrying over" her points from Chemistry and Maths from last year? Cause u cant do that! You can only count your points from a single sitting of the LC, not from two or three different years. If you choose to repeat one subject, you can only use it for entry requirements, lik a C3 in Irish for Primary Teaching, but it won't give you extra points. Lol, maybe she'll only end up wit 390 instead of 590........heh heh heh

    I was wondering about that too, but I reckon after three times sitting the thing she'd have a fair idea what she's at. God, imagine if she had it all wrong.


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  • #61
    jennyq
    Registered Users Posts: 227 ✭✭jennyq


    looly wrote: »
    Was it just me reading it wonky after too many exams or did she decide she was "carrying over" her points from Chemistry and Maths from last year? Cause u cant do that! You can only count your points from a single sitting of the LC, not from two or three different years. If you choose to repeat one subject, you can only use it for entry requirements, lik a C3 in Irish for Primary Teaching, but it won't give you extra points. Lol, maybe she'll only end up wit 390 instead of 590........heh heh heh

    I think it's the entry requirements she's taking forward.


This discussion has been closed.
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