Junior Cert Irish HL?

Kelly090

I'm doing my junior cert in June and I really want to get an A in Irish. I got a B in my mocks which I was a bit disappointed about... (I wanted an A). Anyway the composition section in paper one (aiste, eachtra, díospóireacht) and the letter on paper 2 were my weakest sections. I wrote an eachtra and a personal letter for both. My friend's Irish teacher said to her if you want an A you need to either write an aiste (essay) or a díospóireacht (debate) for paper one and a formal letter for paper two. Is this true? How can I improve on these sections to ensure I get an A? For the mock all I did was learn off phrases from revise wise, what else can I do?

Mr Rhode Island Red

I personally wouldn't agree with the teacher in this case. Our Irish teacher has us learn off an Aiste/Eachtra for the exam and we just edit it using our own initiative to make it suit the title on the day. It worked for most of the class, people generally got 35~40 out of 50.

Our class never touched debates or formal letters. For the litir in P2, our teacher says that, besides good Gaeilge, an "individual style" is important. In other words plenty of (cheesy) sayings and the like:

Caithfidh mé a rá = I must say
Dara an scéal= by the way
Níl suíomh gan locht (not sure of spelling)=nothing is without fault.

But different things work for different people, everybody to their own.

I tried to do this on the day and I got 75% overall. Like yourself I wanted that A, but better to get a B now and work for an A, than get an A now and end up with a B in the JC.

Hope this helps

Kelly090

Mr Rhode Island Red wrote: »

I personally wouldn't agree with the teacher in this case. Our Irish teacher has us learn off an Aiste/Eachtra for the exam and we just edit it using our own initiative to make it suit the title on the day. It worked for most of the class, people generally got 35~40 out of 50.

Our class never touched debates or formal letters. For the litir in P2, our teacher says that, besides good Gaeilge, an "individual style" is important. In other words plenty of (cheesy) sayings and the like:

Caithfidh mé a rá = I must say
Dara an scéal= by the way
Níl suíomh gan locht (not sure of spelling)=nothing is without fault.

But different things work for different people, everybody to their own.

I tried to do this on the day and I got 75% overall. Like yourself I wanted that A, but better to get a B now and work for an A, than get an A now and end up with a B in the JC.

Hope this helps

Thanks for all the feedback and advice! Good luck in June

tedobrien98

I know people always say quality over quantity, but a diospóireacht can be handy when you learn off a simple tús and críoch. It fills it out, and if you learn it properly it should put up the grammar marks some bit. 3 well developed points in the middle, use at least two "mar shampla..." things in the whole essay and you should get a decent mark. I got 42/50 and I was short of time for it. I can send on the tús and críoch if you want them.

Xgracie

Learn off an eachtra (just make sure it's 100% correct) and the same with the letter, learn off an opening, paragraph about your family and a closing and you sound like you'd be able to do the points you have to add in!
Good luck

tedobrien98

Xgracie wrote: »

Learn off an eachtra (just make sure it's 100% correct)

You'd want to learn loads of eachtras if you were relying on it for the exam though.

EDIT: Just thought about it there, you're right. The same eachtra could happen at a dioscó, cluiche peil or laethanta saoire. :P

Kelly090

tedobrien98 wrote: »

I know people always say quality over quantity, but a diospóireacht can be handy when you learn off a simple tús and críoch. It fills it out, and if you learn it properly it should put up the grammar marks some bit. 3 well developed points in the middle, use at least two "mar shampla..." things in the whole essay and you should get a decent mark. I got 42/50 and I was short of time for it. I can send on the tús and críoch if you want them.

Yeah that's a good idea, thanks! There are some phrases in my Irish book which I can use for the opening and closing paragraphs, thanks anyway though

IrishLassie26

I`m hoping for an A myself in June too! I got 82% in the mocks so I`m nearly there!
I would recommend the eachtra as no matter what comes up you can always make up a few sentences to change your prepared one around on the day. From eachtras you have written in class pick one topic to write about. A fire is the best as it can happen anywhere. Make up an introduction paragraph suitable for it with basic, yet good irish sentences e.g. Tharla an eachtra seo anuraidh ach ta se chomh soileir i m`aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhair gur tharla sé inné. Say what month it was, what you were doing etc. and make sure you get as much EXPRESSIONS as possible into it! Thats where the marks are

Have loads of expressions in your main body when your saying what happened. You could even through in about being taken to hospital to extend it!

For the closing paragraph, say something like Fanfaidh an imeachtaí an lae sin i mo chuimhne go deo na ndeor.

Just remember for the eachtra expressions are key. Try to have a rough idea of your expressions and eachtra written out and learned for the day.

For the letter all you can do is learn off an introduction and close. Again, expressions wouldn`t do any harm. Make sure you develop each point they tell you to write about!

Hope I`ve helped

Kelly090

IrishLassie26 wrote: »

I`m hoping for an A myself in June too! I got 82% in the mocks so I`m nearly there!
I would recommend the eachtra as no matter what comes up you can always make up a few sentences to change your prepared one around on the day. From eachtras you have written in class pick one topic to write about. A fire is the best as it can happen anywhere. Make up an introduction paragraph suitable for it with basic, yet good irish sentences e.g. Tharla an eachtra seo anuraidh ach ta se chomh soileir i m`aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhair gur tharla sé inné. Say what month it was, what you were doing etc. and make sure you get as much EXPRESSIONS as possible into it! Thats where the marks are

Have loads of expressions in your main body when your saying what happened. You could even through in about being taken to hospital to extend it!

For the closing paragraph, say something like Fanfaidh an imeachtaí an lae sin i mo chuimhne go deo na ndeor.

Just remember for the eachtra expressions are key. Try to have a rough idea of your expressions and eachtra written out and learned for the day.

For the letter all you can do is learn off an introduction and close. Again, expressions wouldn`t do any harm. Make sure you develop each point they tell you to write about!

Hope I`ve helped

Yeah I did the same thing with my eachtra in the mock I just studied vocab and phrases about a car accident and no matter what came up I decided to use that...thanks for all the help! I will learn off some more phrases and hopefully it will work for me on the day. Good luck in June

hf98kk

does anyone have a sample story about a fire that I could use?

tedobrien98

I know this is fairly obvious but make sure you don't leave out any point in the letter. They'll absolutely crucify you for marks... I learned the hard way coz I didn't read it properly while rushing.

Kelly090

tedobrien98 wrote: »

I know this is fairly obvious but make sure you don't leave out any point in the letter. They'll absolutely crucify you for marks... I learned the hard way coz I didn't read it properly while rushing.

Haha thanks... I did the same thing for my German letter in my mock. Better off making the mistakes now though than in the real thing

Kelly090

Just wondering if anyone knows of some impressive Irish phrases to include in compositions that will help bump up my marks?

smiles_1998

Kelly090 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone knows of some impressive Irish phrases to include in compositions that will help bump up my marks?

As in eachtras or aistes? :-)

Kelly090

smiles_1998 wrote: »

As in eachtras or aistes? :-)

Yes ^ for eachtras/aistes/debates if you or anybody else knows any impressive ones thanks

smiles_1998

Kelly090 wrote: »

Yes ^ for eachtras/aistes/debates if you or anybody else knows any impressive ones thanks

I only know ones for eachtras...we haven't done debates and I hate aistes :-)

Tá sé chomh soiléir i m'aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhar gur tharla sé inné. (It's so clear in my mind I would swear it happened yesterday.)
D'fhoghlaim mé ceacht tábhachtach an lá sin agus ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad air go deo na ndeor. (I learned an important lesson that day and I will never forget it as long as I live.)
Bhíomar i gcruachás ansin. (We were in a dilemma then.)

They're the only one I can remember now...seanfhocals are really good in eachtras as well :-)

tedobrien98

Kelly090 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone knows of some impressive Irish phrases to include in compositions that will help bump up my marks?

I found these sheets we got from our teacher very handy for dispoireacht even though they were made for litir fhoirmiúil. At first I used to have the sheets out in front of me doing our weekly aiste but at this stage I know practically all of them and I use them in exams. Hope it might be of use. :P

Kelly090

smiles_1998 wrote: »

I only know ones for eachtras...we haven't done debates and I hate aistes :-)

Tá sé chomh soiléir i m'aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhar gur tharla sé inné. (It's so clear in my mind I would swear it happened yesterday.)
D'fhoghlaim mé ceacht tábhachtach an lá sin agus ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad air go deo na ndeor. (I learned an important lesson that day and I will never forget it as long as I live.)
Bhíomar i gcruachás ansin. (We were in a dilemma then.)

They're the only one I can remember now...seanfhocals are really good in eachtras as well :-)

Thanks so much these are really helpful!:)

Kelly090

tedobrien98 wrote: »

I found these sheets we got from our teacher very handy for dispoireacht even though they were made for litir fhoirmiúil. At first I used to have the sheets out in front of me doing our weekly aiste but at this stage I know practically all of them and I use them in exams. Hope it might be of use. :P

These are great! Thanks so much

Xgracie

Sorry to sound stupid but what is an aiste? We only do eachtras! Also the Irish Revisewise has a really great selection of phrases for the eachtra/aiste/debate if you think it would be worth picking up

tedobrien98

Xgracie wrote: »

Sorry to sound stupid but what is an aiste? We only do eachtras! Also the Irish Revisewise has a really great selection of phrases for the eachtra/aiste/debate if you think it would be worth picking up

Aiste is essay. So you could consider them all aistí. :P

Eims14

Xgracie wrote: »

Sorry to sound stupid but what is an aiste? We only do eachtras! Also the Irish Revisewise has a really great selection of phrases for the eachtra/aiste/debate if you think it would be worth picking up

Aistes are like the opinion pieces kind of-like "famous people are setting a bad example for young people today" was one we had in our mock.

smiles_1998

Kelly090 wrote: »

Thanks so much these are really helpful!:)

You're welcome :-)

Xgracie

Eims14 wrote: »

Aistes are like the opinion pieces kind of-like "famous people are setting a bad example for young people today" was one we had in our mock.

Ah I see! Sounds complicated!

Eims14

Xgracie wrote: »

Ah I see! Sounds complicated!

Not really usually if i do then i just get really melodramatic and throw.in a load of.nathanna cainte its also handy for.me cos im a creative as a twig. so.storys aren't really my thing

Xgracie

Eims14 wrote: »

Not really usually if i do then i just get really melodramatic and throw.in a load of.nathanna cainte its also handy for.me cos im a creative as a twig. so.storys aren't really my thing

I don't even know what nathanna cainte is! I thought I was good at Irish till I came on here lol I just learn off an eachtra

Kmac16

I got an A in higher level Irish in the JC 2 years ago. I learned off one full eachtra on a fire and I planned to adapt it to suit any indoors eachtra that came up and it worked. I also learned off a few phrases from an eachtra lasmuigh. I think if you did what I did it would suffice to get an A and it should cover whatever eachtras are on the paper.

Beca19

hf98kk wrote: »

does anyone have a sample story about a fire that I could use?

I have loads of phrases and vocab I can give you no whole stories though?

Disorganised Disaster

Kelly090 wrote: »

I'm doing my junior cert in June and I really want to get an A in Irish. I got a B in my mocks which I was a bit disappointed about... (I wanted an A). Anyway the composition section in paper one (aiste, eachtra, díospóireacht) and the letter on paper 2 were my weakest sections. I wrote an eachtra and a personal letter for both. My friend's Irish teacher said to her if you want an A you need to either write an aiste (essay) or a díospóireacht (debate) for paper one and a formal letter for paper two. Is this true? How can I improve on these sections to ensure I get an A? For the mock all I did was learn off phrases from revise wise, what else can I do?

I dont know about the compostition sector, our class only really did aistes. You definatley dont have to do a formal letter though! I got an A without one and so did a lot of my friends.

IrishLassie26

To lengthen your story and add more vocabulary and expressions you can start off by:
1. Talking about the day and before the accident happened
Tharla an eachtra seo anuraidh ach tá sé chomh soiléir i m`aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhar gur tharla sé inné. Tús an earraigh a bhí ann agus bhí sé an maidin go hálainn. Ní raibh cíos, cás ná cathú orm.
2. Describe the event (pick one topic e.g a fire and base any eachtra around that)
Chuir mé fios ar na seirbhísí éigeandála. Ba bheag nár bhuail taom croí mé. Thosaigh an arm tine ag scréacháil
3. Say you were knocked out and woke up in the hospital
Níor chuimhin liom a dhath eile. Bhí me suaite agus spíonta amach. Tógadh mé go dtí roinn timpiste agus éigeandála san otharcharr.
4. Give a conclusion (you were on the news and will always remember that event)
Bhí tuairisc ar iméachtaí sna nuachtáin agus ar an teilifís. Is annamh go bhfuil mé sna nuachtáin! Fanfaidh ar imeachtaí an lae i mo chuimhne go deo na ndeor!

I hope I have helped you and if you need anything else just ask!

Kelly090

IrishLassie26 wrote: »

To lengthen your story and add more vocabulary and expressions you can start off by:
1. Talking about the day and before the accident happened
Tharla an eachtra seo anuraidh ach tá sé chomh soiléir i m`aigne go dtabharfainn an leabhar gur tharla sé inné. Tús an earraigh a bhí ann agus bhí sé an maidin go hálainn. Ní raibh cíos, cás ná cathú orm.
2. Describe the event (pick one topic e.g a fire and base any eachtra around that)
Chuir mé fios ar na seirbhísí éigeandála. Ba bheag nár bhuail taom croí mé. Thosaigh an arm tine ag scréacháil
3. Say you were knocked out and woke up in the hospital
Níor chuimhin liom a dhath eile. Bhí me suaite agus spíonta amach. Tógadh mé go dtí roinn timpiste agus éigeandála san otharcharr.
4. Give a conclusion (you were on the news and will always remember that event)
Bhí tuairisc ar iméachtaí sna nuachtáin agus ar an teilifís. Is annamh go bhfuil mé sna nuachtáin! Fanfaidh ar imeachtaí an lae i mo chuimhne go deo na ndeor!

I hope I have helped you and if you need anything else just ask!

Your so good at Irish, thats so helpful! Thanks so much

IrishLassie26

Kelly090 wrote: »

Your so good at Irish, thats so helpful! Thanks so much

No problem! If you need any more help PM me

spurious

When I did HL Irish a million years ago, our teacher used to always stress to us not to try say exactly what it is you would say in English.

You could spend forever trying to say something like 'I advertised the concert all over the area', when you could much more easily say 'I put up posters about the concert'.

Her number one rule was 'If you can't say it, don't say it'. Short correct sentences are better than flowery constructions riddled with errors.

MysticManiac

I'm in an irish speaking school and the majority of my classmates opt for the Scéal/Eachtra, or the aiste. I don't think any1 attempts the diospóireacht. I don't know how many A's my class got but I got 84% and went for the scéal and it's usually easier because you use the past tense

hf98kk

I really want to get an A but I dont really know how to improve my irish between now and the exam. any tips anyone?

Xgracie

hf98kk wrote: »

I really want to get an A but I dont really know how to improve my irish between now and the exam. any tips anyone?

Where did you lose marks in your mock?

hf98kk

mainly in paper 1. I got 74% there. I need to improve my scéal and the comprehensions. I think I lost marks for my story not being all that obviously relevant to the title that was given. Exactly how close to the title should the story be do you think? and can you lose marks for making your answers too long in the comprehensions?

Eims14

hf98kk wrote: »

mainly in paper 1. I got 74% there. I need to improve my scéal and the comprehensions. I think I lost marks for my story not being all that obviously relevant to the title that was given. Exactly how close to the title should the story be do you think? and can you lose marks for making your answers too long in the comprehensions?

I dont think you can lose marks but it could affect the amount of time u have for something else like sceal and therefore losing marks there .It depends on the story title imo like if it was something like an event that happened during the summer its fairly flexibe but if it was something like they give the beginning of the story and you take it really off topic (ur friend texts you telling you they have big news and then suddenly theres a fire.in your house)then it might be considered a bit off topic

Xgracie

hf98kk wrote: »

mainly in paper 1. I got 74% there. I need to improve my scéal and the comprehensions. I think I lost marks for my story not being all that obviously relevant to the title that was given. Exactly how close to the title should the story be do you think? and can you lose marks for making your answers too long in the comprehensions?

Once you mention the event I think you're good! Try write out an A standard story and just learn it off! And yeah you can lose marks for that in the Comprehensions but not many I don't think!

hf98kk

thanks. and for the reading comprehensions how important is it that you put the answers into your own words and not just copy it from the text?

Xgracie

hf98kk wrote: »

thanks. and for the reading comprehensions how important is it that you put the answers into your own words and not just copy it from the text?

Not very tbh a correct answer from the text is better than an answer in your own words that's poor Irish

vcshqkf9rpzgoe

Anyone have any sample sceal/eachtra?

spurious

Bryce Wonderful Mate wrote: »

Anyone have any sample sceal/eachtra?

Hmm, first English, now Irish. Do your own work and don't post this sort of request again.

vcshqkf9rpzgoe

spurious wrote: »

Hmm, first English, now Irish. Do your own work and don't post this sort of request again.

Jaysus you have to ruin everything don't you?

laurap123

Would it be a wise move to learn an Aiste about the World Cup in Brazil? I could potientially waffle for a page and half but would there be a good chance of it appearing on the paper? I was looking back at previous papers and noticed this came up in 2010 for the World Cup in South Africa.

spurious

laurap123 wrote: »

Would it be a wise move to learn an Aiste about the World Cup in Brazil? I could potientially waffle for a page and half but would there be a good chance of it appearing on the paper? I was looking back at previous papers and noticed this came up in 2010 for the World Cup in South Africa.

It certainly wouldn't hurt. The vocabulary would be helpful anyway.

hf98kk

Do you know for the listening comprehension you always have to spell out the town and county that the speaker lives in. Does anyone have a list of places that are common or could come up. I never have any idea how to spell them. Thanks

Xgracie

hf98kk wrote: »

Do you know for the listening comprehension you always have to spell out the town and county that the speaker lives in. Does anyone have a list of places that are common or could come up. I never have any idea how to spell them. Thanks

Ehhh
Maigh Eo
Dun na (n ?)Gall
Ciarraí
Gaillimh
They're all common enough I think and like places like Gaeltacht areas but really once you can give it a shot you'll be fine it doesn't really matter how it's spelled

Beca19

hf98kk wrote: »

Do you know for the listening comprehension you always have to spell out the town and county that the speaker lives in. Does anyone have a list of places that are common or could come up. I never have any idea how to spell them. Thanks

Learn how to spell all the counties names especially the kind of difficult ones like Cill Mhántain & Úibh Fháilí

These are some towns our teacher gave us:
An Ceathrú Rua
An Spidéal
Cill Chiarán
Corr na Móna
Inis Meáin
Inis Oírr
Tír an Fhia
Indreabhán
Casla
Baile na hAbhann
Na forbacha
Ros Muc
Ros a' Mhil

Daingean
Dún Chaoin
Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle Peninsula)
Baile an Easpaig
Trá Lí
Líos Tuathail
Cill Áirne
Cousin Meala

Muileann gCearr
Cùil an tSúdaire
Má Nuad
Droichead Nua
Áth Í

Inis Eoighain
Gaoth Dobhair
Na Cealla Beaga
Gort An Choirce
Rann na Feiristse
Leitir Ceannain

Sorry if a few are spelled wrong my auto correct keeps changing them... Hope that helps

laurap123

spurious wrote: »

It certainly wouldn't hurt. The vocabulary would be helpful anyway.

The only thing is it's a very vague title. Would you be able to link in some of the stuff about why sport is imporant in a person's life or would that be irrelevant?

hf98kk

does anyone know what "chuir siad ar chrannaibh é" means?