**Shakespeare** and an option of the novel in Section A, and **Poetry** and **Film Studies** in Section C.

Unseen poetry did not appear, probably to the relief of many candidates.

**Kate Barry**, an ASTI subject representative and a teacher at **Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy**, said that the paper was in line with previous years.

However, the course is much bigger than the old Junior Cert, making it difficult to cover topics in a lot of depth.

She suggested that it would make more sense to cover fewer areas in more depth.

This is the second year in a row where candidates sitting the exam did not have to answer a question on the only compulsory topic, Shakespeare.

Instead, they had to choose between Shakespeare and their studied novel.

In this question, they had to read an extract and write a speech proposing **Timon** as person of the year.

This assessed them on speech writing, making inferences from a text, and their familiarity with Shakespearean language, which is a lot of heavy lifting for one question.

Ms.

Daly raised a concern over the distribution of marks, where over 40 percent are allocated to Shakespeare and drama or the chosen novel.

Very specific questions around costumes illustrating character traits were challenging, but then balanced out with broader, student-friendly, relationship questions.

The reading comprehension exercises in Sections B and C were deemed manageable for the majority.

However, the subsequent questions on dialogue and stylistic language may have posed difficulties for some.

The final question on Film Studies, which was on a key scene, would have been a welcome relief at the end of the exam.

However, the paper offered some potentially challenging questions, including the somewhat ambiguous poster: **What to Wear in Antarctica**.

There was an unseen poem, which did not appear on the higher-level paper.

The imagery question in the studied poetry section could have led to confusion among some students due to the film terminology employed.

Overall, the exam covered a wide range of topics and skills, making it a challenging start for junior cycle students.