personal essay leaving cert tips

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• Jan 11, 2023

Writing a Personal Essay for the Leaving Cert: Tips and Strategies

Updated: Feb 17

Introduction to the Personal Essay

As a Leaving Cert student, you may be required to write a personal essay as part of your exams or coursework. A personal essay is a piece of writing that explores a personal experience, opinion, or belief. It allows you to express your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic and can be a powerful way to convey your personality and values to readers.

Choosing a Topic for Your Personal Essay

One of the key steps in writing a personal essay is choosing a topic that is meaningful and engaging for you. The best personal essay topics are often personal experiences or events that have had a significant impact on your life or beliefs.

They may also be issues or ideas that you are passionate about and want to explore in more depth.

When choosing a topic, it's important to consider your audience and the purpose of your essay. If you're writing a personal essay for a college application, for example, you may want to choose a topic that showcases your unique qualities and experiences and aligns with the values and mission of the college.

It's also a good idea to choose a topic that you feel comfortable and confident writing about. Avoid choosing a topic that is too broad or abstract, or that you don't have enough personal experience with to write about with depth and insight.

Tips for Structuring Your Personal Essay

Once you've chosen a topic, the next step is to organize your thoughts and ideas into a clear and cohesive structure. A typical personal essay will have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The introduction should introduce your topic and provide some context for your essay. You might also want to include a thesis statement, which is a sentence that states your main argument or point of view.

The body paragraphs should support your thesis and provide specific examples and details to illustrate your points. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of your topic and have a clear topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

The conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis, and may also include a call to action or a reflection on the significance of your topic.

Tips for Writing a Strong Personal Essay

To write a strong personal essay, there are a few key tips to keep in mind:

Use concrete details and specific examples to illustrate your points: Rather than just stating your beliefs or opinions, use specific examples and details to bring your essay to life and make it more persuasive.

Use a clear and engaging writing style: Avoid using jargon or overly complex language, and aim for a clear and engaging writing style that is easy for readers to follow.

Use transitions to connect your ideas: Use transitional words and phrases to help your essay flow smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.

Edit and proofread your essay carefully: Make sure to revise and proofread your essay carefully to catch any mistakes or awkward phrasing. It can be helpful to read your essay aloud or have someone else read it to catch any errors.

Seek feedback and guidance: Don't be afraid to ask for feedback from a teacher or peer on your essay. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

In conclusion, the personal essay is a valuable opportunity for Leaving Cert students to express their thoughts and feelings about a personal experience.

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• Leaving Cert. English (Higher) 2019: Paper 1 Section II Composing
• Back to the question >

Preparation

Throughout your Leaving Certificate studies, be curious in all of your subjects. Read widely and write regularly. General knowledge, regular reading and writing will make you an interesting, articulate and quick-thinking student — three attributes that are necessary in responding to Leaving Certificate English papers.

Don’t stick to one style or one particular genre. Write in a variety of language categories:

• Information

Take care with your penmanship. Your writing must be legible and good handwriting will create a good first impression.

If you have built up a number of good written pieces, keep them for reference. You may well be able to utilise some of your ideas and techniques in the actual examination.

Read carefully what your English teacher writes about your written work. Re-write your work to improve it and learn from your mistakes.

This essay is worth a quarter of your entire marks for this examination. Its importance cannot be overestimated!

In the examination you should spend approximately one hour and twenty minutes on this section.

Remember you will be marked under the following criteria:

• Clarity of purpose (30%)
• Coherence of delivery (30%)
• Efficiency of language use (30%)
• Mechanics (10%).

1. Write a descriptive essay which captures a sense of the difference between dawn and dusk and celebrates both the beginning and the end of the day.

• Your essay must be descriptive. Concentrate on creating images and atmosphere for the reader. Consider a multi-sensory approach. Aesthetic use of language would be particularly effective in this task.
• Plan this essay carefully. Try to create a lively and engaging piece for the reader.
• Use figures of speech in your essay. This should create images for the reader.
• Consider how the landscape reflects the difference between dawn and dusk. What images are clear for you? How can you celebrate both the beginning and end of the day?

2. Write a short story, suitable for publication in a collection of spy stories, in which a librarian, a photograph and a chair are central to the narrative.

• You must write a short story. You can take a variety of approaches but generally, all short stories have a beginning, middle and end, have at least one character, and have some sense of tension, climax and resolution.
• Ask yourself questions to create ideas:
• Beware of creating an over-long timeline. You have limited space and time. It would be impossible to cover a character’s entire life in 2-4 A4 pages.
• Try to stick with 1-3 main characters.
• You have a long time to write this essay. Re-read what you have written to check it for mistakes.
• Create atmosphere and images for the reader — it will improve your writing.
• Your story must be a spy story. It must also involve a librarian, a photograph and a chair. These items must be central to the narrative.

3. Write a personal essay in which you reflect on what feeds your imagination.

• This title gives you the opportunity to take several different approaches but remember it must be a personal account. Your ideas should be at the heart of the essay.
• A personal essay should have a degree of personal reflection. You should not just tell a story or present a few anecdotes. You must personally reflect.
• Remember how you will be awarded marks in this section:
• 30% for clarity of purpose.
• 30% for coherence of delivery.
• 30% for efficiency of language use.
• 10% for mechanics.
• Your essay must show your reflection on what feeds your imagination. You might consider some of the following:
• Daydreaming
• Conversation.

4. Write a short story which captures the evolving relationship between two characters — one young and one old — as they travel in a strange land.

• See the notes on writing a short story in Question 2 above.
• Your essay must include the following:
• An old character
• A young character
• An evolving relationship
• Travel in a strange land.

5. Write a discursive essay about some of the items you think symbolise the values held by people of your age in Ireland in 2019.

• This is a discursive essay. You need to discuss what you think symbolises the values held by people of your age today.
• Ensure that you have strong views and that your essay is lively and interesting to read.

6. Write a personal essay in which you reflect on some of the places that have helped to shape and define you, and the significance of these places in your life.

• Think about the some of the places that have shaped and defined you. Can you describe them and say why they were so influential?
• Discuss the significance of these places.

7. Write a speech, to be broadcast online, for or against the motion: We are a self-obsessed generation.

• Consider the following devices:
• Reaching out to and directly addressing the audience.
• Rhetorical questions
• Vivid and contrasting imagery.
• Ensure that you show from the beginning of the task that it is a public speech. The examiner must know that you understand the genre.
• Thank your audience for their time and attention at the end of the speech.
• This is a debate speech, which has certain structures such as addressing the chairperson, adjudicators, etc.
• The speech will be broadcast online — consider how that may influence the text of your speech.
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Preparing for Ordinary Level, Leaving Cert English - Composition Questions

8 July 2021

7 minutes to read

• 01. What does the Composition Part of the Exam Consist of?
• 02. How to Choose Which Topic to Write About
• 03. Advice for Creating the Composition Question of your Leaving Cert English Exam
• 04. Where can I get Help Revising for Leaving Cert English?

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Stephen King

Asking a writer about writing is like asking a gamer about gaming! It's hard to know where to begin because it's all so exciting... But before we get into all that, let's talk about your Leaving Cert, English exam.

The comprehension impressions can be found on paper one of the Leaving Cert exam. If you can find out different topics that were given over the years by looking at past exam papers. Going over previous exam papers is a great way to practise different answering styles for your Leaving Cert.

Revise Wise books, contain multiple past exam papers and cost about €10 per subject, if you don't mind printing them yourself you can find past Leaving Cert English exam papers online at The Leaving Cert.

What does the Composition Part of the Exam Consist of?

This section of the English Exam (paper 1) gives you several options to choose from. Usually, the themes/imagery are drawn from the texts you read for the comprehension section. You must choose one of the options given and answer in an essay/short story style.

This section is worth 100 marks, which is the same amount as the comprehension section. However, unlike the Comprehension part of exam paper 1,  you do not get 5 separate questions to make up the marks in the Composition section all marks are earned for your personal writing.

How to Choose Which Topic to Write About

There is really only one way to choose which question is for you, do you prefer being imaginative or do you prefer to write what you know?

If you love being creative and imaginative, you should choose a topic that allows you to utilise your imagination. The following are examples of those kinds of questions that appeared in past exam papers:

• Write a short story about a character whose determination to be the centre of attention has unexpected consequences.
• Write a short story in which one character deceives another.
• Imagine you are a robot teacher. Write at least three diary entries in which you record your impressions of humans in general, write specifically about your work as a teacher and give your views on the behaviour of the students that you teach. Your diary entries may be humorous or serious or both.
• Write a short story that involves a race against time to prevent a disaster.
• "‘Ignoring the Restricted Area sign I just kept walking …’ - Write a short story inspired by the above phrase.

As you can see these types of questions are perfect for the imaginative/creative, they provide just enough guidance that you can easily assemble a plot and yet allow enough freedom that the creative possibilities are endless.

The "short story" option is perfect for budding fiction authors, as it enables you to use your creative streak to gain valuable marks towards your overall English grade.

The other type of topic you can be asked to write about in this part of your exam is more formal and structured.  This type of topic is perfect for anyone who prefers to write what they know, rather than trying to create something new on the spot. Below are examples of the more formal topics that appeared in past exam papers:

• Imagine you are a representative of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA). Write a speech, to be delivered in schools, in which you explain the practicalities and responsibilities involved in keeping a pet and encourage the students in your audience to treat animals with respect.
• Write a personal essay giving your views on the importance of praise and encouragement as we go through life.
• Write an article, to be published in a popular magazine, on the value of volunteering with at least one sporting or charitable organisation. The article should discuss the possible benefits for the people who volunteer their time and energy, and for the organisation(s) involved.
• Write a speech, to be delivered to your year group, in which you express your views on the importance of Irish cultural pursuits such as music, sport, drama etc.
• Write a talk about a person/people whose achievements you admire.

As you can see these questions/topics are less about your imaginative/creative abilities and more about your ability to communicate in a clear, concise manner, while also holding the reader's attention.

Advice for Creating the Composition Question of your Leaving Cert English Exam

No matter which type of topic you decide to write for you should use your not note page to create a plan. There are so many reasons why this is helpful and we are going to take a look at them below.

• Brainstorm and Plotting - By creating a brainstorm bubble graph or a bullet-pointed plot, not only are you creating something which will help you stay on track and remember what you wanted to write next, but you are also creating a safety measure. What I mean by safety measure is, if you are running out of time but you have your plan laid out somewhere for the examiner to see, you will ensure you get some more points than if you had just abandoned the piece unfinished.
• Thinking Time - By using the notes/blank page to plot your text, you are giving yourself time to come up with a format for your story/article that you are confident and happy with.
• Key Words and Concepts - Every writer, whether it's someone who writes books or blogs, knows the importance of key concepts and keywords. These are the things you want your readers to focus on. By identifying them before you start writing, you can familiarise yourself with what you wish to draw attention to and ensure you use them throughout the text.
• Character Profiles - If you choose to go with a short story question, you might want to take a few moments to create your main characters, the who, what, where, when and why's of them and their story.
• Self-confidence - By writing down your plot, you can see your ideas on paper. Sometimes when in a situation like an exam, you can panic and think none of your ideas is good enough but when you write them down and read them back, it can give you that boost you need to go ahead with a piece because everything is clearer on paper.

Apart from prep notes, a second important piece of advice I would suggest is, you should pick the topic you feel you can write the most about. It is no coincidence that this section of the English exam is worth so many points, it requires the most work from you and it gives you the least to work off compared to the other sections.

How much should you write?  There is no specific answer all I can do is give you the guidance I would have given my younger self.

If you choose a short story style question:

• Make sure your story has a definitive beginning and end.
• 4-6 pages of text.
• Don't tangent, (convey a singular story).
• Don't copy something you have read (that's plagiarism)
• Nothing is "too much" (if you can imagine it in your story, write it)

If you choose the more structured style question:

• Familiarise yourself and the reader with the main message
• Speeches/talks should be about 5mins worth of reading, on average 1000-1200 words, meaning 3-5 written pages.
• If you feel passionate about the topic, let it show in your writing, speeches should empower people.
• If you think of a funny anecdote, include it, the examiner will welcome the humour.
• The introduction and the closing statements should be at least a paragraph each, thank your audience in both.

Remember like all the other parts of the English exam, practice makes perfect. The best way to get comfortable writing is to write, and the best way to study writing is to read.

Where can I get Help Revising for Leaving Cert English?

Superprof has many tutors offering grinds in English online.

Superprof grinds are flexible to suit each individual's academic needs. At Superprof you can choose your tutor from a large selection, you can select times that suit you and take as many or as few revision/preparation classes as you need. Superprof, tuition is affordable, grinds start from just €10 and because they are flexible they are super convenient!

For more information on how to answer questions for ordinary level English, click any of the links below to see the related articles:

• Questions and topics for leaving cert English
• Comparative text questions
• Single text questions
• Poetry questions
• Reading comprehension questions

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Really Useful Links for Writers: Leaving Cert Essay Writing

Paul FitzSimons

• 29 May 2014

I have good news – the weather will be beautiful next Wednesday. The sun will shine, the skies will be clear, the temperature will be in the twenties. How do I know that? Because it’s the first day of the Leaving Cert Exams.

Besides being the unofficial start of summer, Day 1 of the Leaving is also English Paper 1, the culmination of two years’ work for around fifty thousand English language students.

The Leaving Cert English exam is divided into two papers – Paper 1, which is all about comprehension and composition and Paper 2, which covers The Single Text , The Comparative Study and Poetry. Like the other two-part exams Maths and Irish, English 1 and 2 happen on two different days – the first Wednesday and Thursday mornings of the schedule. Maybe this is to give brains and hands a chance to recover from a hectic morning of essay-writing.

Besides having the aptitude to tell a good story, writing essays at Leaving Cert level requires certain acquired skills, most of which we learn over the years of study prior to the exam. However, there are some aspects of writing the perfect essay that we don’t necessarily pick up or, with the deluge of knowledge that we’re trying to take in, have slipped from our memories. Thankfully, there are plenty of online resources that will fill in those gaps and also offer some additional advice on writing, organisational and time-saving that will prove invaluable on the day.

On the ever useful website LeavingCertEnglish.net – seriously, I wish this had been around in my day – we are given an invaluable guide to preparing for and then sitting down to English Paper 1. Their pages include advice on approaching each essay, what needs to be covered to achieve a passing mark and what flourishes will help to get that all-important A.

After sitting his Leaving Cert in 2011, student and blogger Aidan Curran decided to take the lessons he learned during that traumatic year and share them on his website. His post How To Get An A In English Essay Writing takes us through everything we need to remember coming up to and during the exam. He reminds us that, as essay-writing is not something we can memorize, it makes it both the easiest and most difficult part of the exam.

Most of the above applies to Paper 1 of the exam. Of course, there are also some essays to be written for Paper 2, which deals with curriculum’s prescribed texts, such as the play, novels and poetry. The Clevernotes website offers us some invaluable advice on tackling the second English paper compositions, suggesting that, in order to form a cogent and coherent response to the question asked, an essay must always contain an introduction, a number of well-focused body paragraphs and a conclusion.

For some slightly more tongue-in-cheek advice on essay writing, we can watch video blogger Clisare’s video on Entertainment.ie. She takes us through her unique thoughts on writing both English and Irish essays. She does offer some interesting insight but the fact that she advises us to remind the teacher that ‘Irish is a dead language’ suggests that we should probably take most of her tips with a grán salainn.

If you feel an online tutor will be able to help, check out TutorHunt .

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris

A Whole Website Dedicated To It.

LeavingCertEnglish.net has all the advice, information and sample exams we need to tackle the Paper 1 essay.

“”Stick to the topic. Have plenty of ideas. Identify problems but also offer solutions.”

http://leavingcertenglish.net/2012/03/inspiration/ .

Them’s The Rules.

LeavingCertEnglish.net takes us through six important rules for writing the perfect essay.

“It’s really important to grab the reader’s attention. Use a quote, or a series of rhetorical questions, a list, or a vivid description.”

http://leavingcertenglish.net/2011/05/six-rules-of-essay-writing/

From The Horse’s Mouth.

Recent Leaving Cert student Aidan Curran takes us his advice on Essay-writing, based on his own experience.

“Obviously, when you get the essay titles first you say “That’s it, I’m screwed, we’ll call it a day”. But if you just look at them, you’ll realise that they can be changed to your strengths.”

http://aidancurran.com/how-to-get-an-a1-in-english-essay-writing-aidan-curran/

It’s Not All About Paper 1, You Know.

English Paper 2, which deals with the subject’s prescribed texts and poetry, also involves some essay writing. Clevernotes tells us how to tackle it.

“The most basic principal of essay writing is that it should be structured. Your essay must form a cogent and coherent response to the question asked.”

https://www.clevernotes.ie/english/hl/leaving-cert/how-to-write-a-paper-two-essay/

And Lastly, Some Proper Serious Advice (Or Maybe Not)

Vlogger Clisare gives us her unique take on Essay Writing.

“Always end English Language essays with ‘…and then I woke up.’ Teachers love that.”

http://entertainment.ie/wtf/WATCH-How-to-write-a-leaving-cert-essay/191520.htm

(c) Paul FitzSimons

About the author

Paul FitzSimons is a screenwriter and novelist and has written the novel ‘Burning Matches’ and a number of scripts for film and TV. He has worked as a storyline writer on RTE’s ‘Fair City’. His short stories are published in ‘Who Brought The Biscuits’ by The Naas Harbour Writers. Paul likes crime thrillers, good coffee and Cadbury’s chocolate. He doesn’t like country-and-western music or people who don’t indicate on roundabouts.

Paul also runs the  Script Editing service Paul | The | Editor .  paulfitzsimons.com

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Leaving Cert English Personal Essay: Irishness #625Lab

“the shoes of irishness fit me well.”, write a personal essay in which you explore your sense of what it means to be irish. (2001).

This is a good essay from a current Leaving Cert student. It’s published under our #625Lab section that reviews the strengths and weaknesses of students’ essays. Note the corrections and comments: these will point you to common mistakes to avoid and help you increase your grade.

Being Irish is a thought playing on everyone’s mind recently. It’s been called into question who we are and what we stand for now in comparison to the ideals of the rebel leaders in the GPO 100 years ago. In the political scheme of things, the general consensus seems to be that we have let them down. The homelessness crisis is deteriorating daily, our health system is woeful and we currently do not even have a government to blame it all on. It’s a far cry from the “romantic Ireland” they envisioned and fought for. Having said that, national pride is at an all time high. The 1916 centenary celebrations have made history buffs of us all as we celebrate this milestone event of our past. Whilst not everyone is in agreement that the Rising was the best way to gain our freedom, it has to be admired as the catalyst for a small nation to break free from seven hundred years of oppression exacted upon us by one of the biggest empires in the world. It beat all the odds. We should not have survived the war of independence and the subsequent civil war, in theory, should have brought the country to its knees, but we were too stubborn to give up, too determined to have our independence and too proud to give up on our country. Our history is the symbol of who we are as a people and we wear these shoes with pride.

Many of our customs have evolved from deeply spiritual and sacred practices from hundreds of years ago. It is a fantastic tribute to our culture that these old traditions are not dying out, but constantly being brought back to life by the younger generations. The session in the pub, the sing song on the way home, the stereotypical “craic agus ceol’” can only be found in Ireland and are appreciated by every generation and nationality who are fortunate enough to experience them first hand. (Hmm, in the introduction the author seemed a little dismissive of the auld craic agus ceol and now all of a sudden it’s a good thing? It would be better to stay consistent throughout the essay.) Every family has that one member who can always be counted on to regale all in attendance with their go to song, usually “Rattling Bog”, or the Gran Aunt who sits by the fire, just waiting to recite “Oh to have a little house…”. Some will need a few drinks up their sleeves, before they launch into a murderous rendition of Ellis Isle, but others, from years of childhood cajoling, know they have a talent and are all too eager to remind everyone of that. The trick is finding the balance between the good, the bad, and the American cousin. (This paragraph is clearly about culture, so it’s a huge improvement on the formless previous paragraph.)

The Irish wake, is one of the best ways to deal with the loss of a loved one. The whole family gathers and grieves together. The best part of the wake is that it truly is a celebration of the person’s life: stories are told, their favourite songs sung, you laugh until your stomach aches and cry until your eyes sting, but it is so wonderfully cathartic to, metaphorically, bring the person back to life, surrounded by family, before it is time to say goodbye for once and for all. The video that recently went viral sums this tradition up. Ger “farmer” Foley passed away in the village of Killorglin, after a long battle with CF. On the night of his funeral, a friend decided to dedicate his version of “Mr Brightside” to the young man. The pub lit up with a huge out pouring of emotion for their friend. Crucially, there were no tears. The song was a celebration of his life, a celebration of the contribution he made to a local festival, a celebration of his life and how he lived it. That’s what a funeral should be and that’s what an Irish funeral is. It’s a unique part of our culture that can’t be appreciated fully until you are grieving through it. The video was shared hundreds of times across social media, often accompanied by the quote: “Being Irish you know that a good funeral is better than a bad wedding.” The international reaction was one of shock and admiration. It seemed to confirm that the Irish, even in death, are always enjoying themselves. (This is an improvement on the previous paragraph as it illustrates that there indeed isn’t a party like an Irish party.)

The Irish hospitality is something we are famed for and perhaps why family pubs are so popular with tourists. The Irish will go out of their way to be as welcoming as possible to guests. I am reminded again of another of my Granddad’s anecdotes. His house was overflowing one Christmas, as all his sons had decided this was the year they would introduce their girlfriends to the family. Twenty one people were booked in to stay at the Murphy Inn that night, spread between four rooms. Kevin, the eldest son, had recently moved to Cork and had become well-known after the impression he left on the football pitch. According to my aunt’s account, he made a very good impression on the local parish priest there. Some girl from the parish was stuck in Kerry for the night and the priest directed her back to “Kevin Murphy’s house.” Just like that, she was invited to stay for the night, even though none of the twenty one people had ever laid eyes on her before. That is only one of hundreds of examples of Grandad’s excessive hospitality. He was also known to invite a travelling gypsy to move in whilst Nanny was in hospital one week or to open up the back garden to twenty Kilkenny nurses looking for a place to camp during the “Rose of Tralee” festival.

Leaving Cert English Papers are marked using “PCLM”

Clarity of purpose:, coherence of delivery, accuracy of mechanics.