• Total Marks: 200

• Duration: 2 hours 50 minutes

• Weighting: 50% of your final English grade

This paper tests your ability to consume information (Comprehending) and produce creative content (Composing).

Section I: Comprehending (100 Marks)

You are presented with three texts (Text 1, Text 2, Text 3) linked by a general theme (e.g., "Perspectives" in 2025, "Connections" in 2024).

• The "Cross-Over" Rule: You must answer Question A on one text and Question B on a different text. You cannot answer both questions on the same text.

• Question A (50 Marks): A reading comprehension task. Usually divided into three sub-questions (e.g., (i) 15 marks, (ii) 15 marks, (iii) 20 marks). These test your ability to retrieve information, infer meaning, and analyze the writer's style.

• Question B (50 Marks): A short writing task (e.g., an open letter, a diary entry, a short radio script). This tests your ability to write for a specific audience and purpose in a shorter format.

Section II: Composing (100 Marks)

• The Task: You must choose one composition from a list of seven options (Options 1–7).

• The Genres: The options always cover specific genres: Personal Essay, Short Story, Discursive Essay, Speech, Article, and occasionally Descriptive writing.

Examiner Note: This single essay is worth 25% of your entire Leaving Cert English grade. It requires significant time investment (approx. 85 minutes).

• Total Marks: 200

• Duration: 3 hours 20 minutes

• Weighting: 50% of your final English grade

This paper tests your critical response to studied literature.

The "Shakespeare Requirement"

You must answer on a prescribed Shakespearean Drama. You can do this in Section I (Single Text) OR Section II (Comparative Study), but not both. In practice, the vast majority of Higher Level students answer the Shakespeare question in Section I.

Section I: The Single Text (60 Marks)

• Focus: Detailed analysis of one novel or play (usually King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, or Othello).

• Structure: You generally have a choice between two questions on your chosen text.

  • Type 1: A character or theme analysis.

  • Type 2: A stylistic or technical analysis.

Section II: The Comparative Study (70 Marks)

• Focus: Comparing three texts (e.g., a film, a novel, and a play) under a specific mode.

• The Modes: There are three modes on the paper (from a rotation of four): General Vision and Viewpoint, Literary Genre, Theme or Issue, Cultural Context.

• Question Choice: You usually have two choices for each mode:

  1. The "Split" Question (30 + 40 Marks): Part (a) asks for a comparison of two texts. Part (b) brings in the third text.

  2. The "Full" Question (70 Marks): A single essay comparing all three texts simultaneously.

Section III: Poetry (70 Marks)

• Part A: Unseen Poetry (20 Marks): You are given a poem you have likely never seen. You answer questions on its content and style.

• Part B: Prescribed Poetry (50 Marks):

  • Four or Five poets from your studied list will appear on the paper.

  • You must answer one question on one poet.

  • The question usually requires you to discuss the poet's themes and their use of language/style.

An analysis of the last 6 exam papers, including the deferred sittings, identifies consistent patterns in topic distribution.

In Paper 1, the Personal Essay is the statistically dominant genre.

• Frequency: It appears every single year, often appearing as two separate options on the same paper (e.g., 2025 Options 4 & 6; 2024 Options 4 & 7).

• Strategic Shift: While traditionally found in Options 1 or 7, the 2025 paper shows it anchoring the middle of the paper (Option 4 and 6).

• Takeaway: A student preparing for the Personal Essay has a near 100% guarantee of having at least one, if not two, prompts to choose from, making it the highest ROI (Return on Investment) study topic for Section 2.

The Comparative Study operates on a strict rotation of four modes (Theme, Cultural Context, General Vision & Viewpoint, Literary Genre), where only three appear on the paper. The data reveals a clear exclusion cycle:

• 2025: Literary Genre was dropped.

• 2024: General Vision & Viewpoint was dropped.

• 2023: Cultural Context was dropped.

• 2022: Theme or Issue was dropped.

• Pattern: The exam board systematically rotates the "rested" mode. This predictability allows students to potentially narrow their study focus if they can identify which mode is due to be "rested" next in the cycle.

While students often try to predict poets based on long absences, the data shows that poets often appear in clusters or short intervals rather than vanishing for decades.

• Boland appeared in 2020, 2021, and returned in 2025.

• Mahon appeared in 2023 and returned quickly in 2025.

• Heaney and Dickinson also show tight recurrence (Heaney 2021 & 2024; Dickinson 2020, 2022, 2024).

• The "Woman Poet" Slot: There is a consistent presence of female poets every year (Boland, Ní Chuilleanáin, Dickinson, Plath, Meehan, Rich, Smith, Bishop). The 2025 paper features Boland and Smith, reinforcing that skipping female poets is a statistically risky strategy.

Use this table to identify which topics appeared in specific questions across recent years. This includes data from standard and deferred sittings.

Time management is the primary cause of grade loss in Higher Level English. You have 370 minutes to secure 400 marks.

Time management is the single biggest cause of grade loss in English. You must be ruthless with your clock.

• Section I: Comprehending (100 Marks | ~85 Minutes)

  • Question A (50 Marks): 45 Minutes. (Answer 3 questions at ~15 mins each).

  • Question B (50 Marks): 40 Minutes. (One writing task).

• Section II: Composing (100 Marks | ~85 Minutes)

  • Essay: 85 Minutes. (Spend 10–15 mins planning and 70–75 mins writing).

• Section I: Single Text (60 Marks | ~60 Minutes)

  • Complete this section in exactly one hour.

• Section II: Comparative Study (70 Marks | ~70 Minutes)

  • Whether doing the 70-mark single question or the 30/40 split, strictly cap this at 1 hour 10 mins.

• Section III: Poetry (70 Marks | ~70 Minutes)

  • Unseen Poetry (20 Marks): 20 Minutes.

  • Prescribed Poetry (50 Marks): 50 Minutes.

Key Tactic: If you are stuck on a difficult part for more than 2 minutes, move on immediately. Secure attempt marks on the next question rather than wasting time on a single part.

Download official SEC exam papers and our annotated solutions. We have included Deferred Papers from 2022, 2023, and 2024. These are official papers that provide excellent, unseen practice material.

2025

• [Download 2025 Paper 1]

• [Download 2025 Paper 2]
  

2024

• [Download 2024 Paper 1] | [Download DAE Solutions P1]

• [Download 2024 Deferred Paper 1]

• [Download 2024 Paper 2] | [Download DAE Solutions P2]

• [Download 2024 Deferred Paper 2]
  

2023

• [Download 2023 Paper 1] | [Download DAE Solutions P1]

• [Download 2023 Deferred Paper 1]

• [Download 2023 Paper 2]

• [Download 2023 Deferred Paper 2]

2022

• [Download 2022 Paper 1] | [Download DAE Solutions P1]

• [Download 2022 Paper 2] | [Download DAE Solutions P2]

Follow this structured approach to cover the syllabus efficiently.

Goal: Master the mechanics of Paper 1 and break the back of Macbeth.

• Paper 1 (Language):

  • Genre: Study the Personal Essay. Read high-quality examples (not just past student essays, but columnists like Fintan O'Toole or personal essays in the Sunday papers).

  • Output: Write 2 full Personal Essays. Focus on "Reflective Insights" (a key marking scheme requirement).

• Paper 2 (Literature):

  • Single Text: Read Macbeth fully. Do not rely on summaries.

  • Visual Aid: Create a character map. In Macbeth, relationship dynamics are central (Lady Macbeth/Macbeth, Witches/Macbeth, Banquo/Macbeth).

  • Poetry: Cover Elizabeth Bishop and W.B. Yeats. (Based on our trend analysis, Bishop is a high-frequency "female poet" slot, and Yeats is due a cluster recurrence).

Goal: Understand the Comparative Modes and perfect Question A (Comprehension).

• Paper 1 (Language):

  • Question A: Focus on Style. Stop summarizing the text. Learn the terminology of aesthetics (e.g., sibilance, anecdote, hyperbole, syntax).

  • Question B: Practice 2 distinct types (e.g., an Open Letter and a Diary Entry).

• Paper 2 (Literature):

  • Comparative Study: You are studying Literary Genre, Cultural Context, and General Vision & Viewpoint.

  • Strategic Note: Theme and Issue is the "dropped" mode for 2026. Do not study it.

  • Task: Create a grid comparing your three texts under "Cultural Context" (e.g., Role of Women, Money/Power, Religion).

  • Poetry: Cover Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and John Donne

Goal: Timing and Memory Retrieval.

• Review:

  • Revise Macbeth quotes. You need 5 key quotes for every major character (Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Witches, Banquo, Macduff, Malcolm).

• Paper 1:

  • Timed Composition. You must practice writing 4–5 pages in 80 minutes.

• The Mock Exam:

  • Treat this as a diagnostic test. Do not panic about the result; panic about the timing. If you didn't finish a section, that is your primary lesson.

Goal: Fix Mock errors and finalize content.

• Paper 2 (Literature):

  • Poetry: Cover Paula Meehan

  • Comparative: Focus on General Vision and Viewpoint (GVV). This is often the most abstract mode. Ensure you can define the "opening," "turning point," and "ending" vision for all three texts.

• Paper 1 (Language):

  • Comprehension: Look at the 2024 and 2025 Marking Schemes. Notice how marks are awarded for "PCLM". Ensure your vocabulary is varied (Language efficiency).

Goal: Exam Technique and "Quote Dumping".

• Strategy:

  • Do not learn new content.

  • Paper 1: Plan 5 different Personal Essay titles from past years (2020–2025). Don't write them full out; just plan the 5 paragraphs for each.

  • Paper 2: Move from "Story" to "Argument".

    • Bad: "Macbeth is an entirely evil character."

    • Good: "Shakespeare utilizes the dramatic elements to convey Macbeth’s internal psychic fragmentation."

  • Poetry: Ensure you have 5 poets covered. (Meehan, Yeats, Bishop, Ní Chuilleanáin, Donne). Do not gamble on just 3.

These are frequent errors identified by our teachers that result in lost marks.

1. "Retelling" Instead of Analysing: In the Single Text (Shakespeare) and Poetry, students often slip into summarizing the plot or paraphrasing the poem. You receive zero marks for telling the examiner what happened. You must construct an argument using "PQE" (Point, Quote, Explain) to answer the specific question asked.

2. Neglecting the "P" in the Comparative: In the Comparative Study, "P" stands for Purpose. Students often compare the texts' plot points (e.g., "Both characters died") without analysing why the author did this (e.g., "Both authors use the death of the protagonist to highlight the failure of society...").

3. Generic "Personal" Essays: In Paper 1, a "Personal Essay" is not just a story about your life; it requires a reflective, discursive style. A common error is writing a fictional short story disguised as an essay, or failing to include the required reflective insights and universal truths.

4. Ignoring the "Mechanics" of Language: In Question A (Comprehension), students often identify what a writer says but fail to identify how they say it. You must explicitly name the aesthetic use of language (e.g., "The use of sibilance creates a sinister tone...") rather than just describing the feeling.

Effective preparation requires consistent practice and expert guidance. Join the Dublin Academy of Education for focused tuition that delivers results.

Review the exact history of every question from the last six years of standard sittings. Use this matrix to identify "Anchors" — questions that remain consistent year after year.