Leaving Certificate English resources
In April 2020 I created a first version of this advice. Now in January 2021 here’s a new ‘edition’, directed particularly at 2021 Leaving Certificate candidates and their teachers.
During these uncertain and anxious times for pupils, here is a summary of some resources for Leaving Certificate English candidates that may be helpful. Also, for English teachers: some recommendations here, as well as general teaching recommendations here, Shakespeare here.
Although Evelyn O'Connor has shuttered her site Leaving Cert English, you can still avail of lots of helpful resources and advice.
King Lear:
Essays:
And revision podcasts on which those essays are based -
The first talk examines the explosive and crucial opening scene, during which the King sets in train the disastrous train of events which leads to personal and public catastrophe.
The second looks at the extreme bleakness of Shakespeare's vision in the play, especially through its treatment of religion and the gods. The gods are often invoked in King Lear, and on the surface in it ancient Britain seems to be a highly religious society. But in fact there is no stage at which heaven seems to be active or effective. The play disabuses its audience of the notion that there is any benevolent power above which will protect us from ourselves.
The third looks at the ‘good guys’, Kent and Albany, and how they affect the central story and its themes. Both are decent men; while Albany needs to travel on a path of moral development, Kent is the most clear-sighted and steadfast character in the play. In the end, however, their decency cannot prevent the tragedy.
The fourth features ten quotations from the play for pupils: pause after each, and self-test on who spoke the words, and their context, and then listen to the answers and a commentary on the quotation.
The fifth, using the notorious scene in which Gloucester is blinded as a starting point, looks at ideas of blindness and seeing throughout the play, particularly in the stories of the two old 'blind' men, Lear and Gloucester. Lear undergoes a humanising process of development, and starts to 'see' real truths about himself and society; however, in the end this matters little, as he is exposed to devastating grief on the death of Cordelia.
The sixth looks at the end of the play, considering how the famously bleak ending is constructed by Shakespeare. Lear so nearly becomes a play with a comic ending (like its sources and Nahum Tate's rewritten 1681 version). Instead, there is no mitigation: all is dark horror. To read Tate's version, click here (go to page 66 for the ending).
Quizlet quotation self-tests as retrieval practice. This isn’t for ‘mere’ recall: it’s to make you think about key issues in the play.
17 quotation retrieval grids: these important quotations range from Act 1 to the end and help pupils think about their context and their importance, and generate ideas for the play as a whole. Good to do in pairs, but they work for individual study too.
Poetry:
The Patterns of Poetry: 15 five-minute podcasts on poetry techniques (useful for both the unseen and the prescribed sections). Podcasts 1-8 here (including alliteration and personification) and 9-15 here (including rhyme and metaphor).
A podcast analysis of Seamus Heaney’s ‘Mossbawn: (1) Sunlight’.
Text of an analysis of ‘This Moment’ by the late great Eavan Boland.
Eavan Boland: a summary of some resources, including a podcast on 'This Moment' (see above, too).
Boland in the excellent site 'A Poet's Dublin', including readings of the poems.
RTÉ radio documentary on the life of Paul Durcan.
The Irish Film Institute Player has excellent resources, including this interview with Paul Durcan, and this one with Eavan Boland.
Fiction:
The Great Gatsby: here are 15 annotated video analyses of key moments in the novel.
An index to the whole novel.
And then follow up with these questions to provoke thoughts about the moments.
Language:
Here are lots of Articles of the Week for keeping your mind going (especially for the Comprehension sections of the exam).
Of course the best thing you can do is read. As widely as possible. A great site for pointing you towards excellent reading is Five Books - recommendations from some of the most expert people around. If you find it difficult to get books right now, there's always Kindle delivery.
Everything starts with vocabulary: check out ‘6 useful vocabulary sites’ from a top expert in this area, Alex Quigley. Spend 10 minutes every few days on Describing Words, for instance.
Revision strategies:
Below are some excellent proven strategies -
The Learning Scientists have excellent advice: check out their videos here. Don't waste your time re-reading notes and using the highlighter like a paintbrush. Instead, test yourself by retrieving material (see below), space your learning out and so on.
And here's a fine guide on those strategies from Carl Hendrick of Wellington - 'How should students revise? A brief guide.'
Flashcards are always good, and of course they can simply be on paper. Quizlet is an excellent tech-version, and here are some qu0tation tests on King Lear, for instance (the main thing is that answers should prompt thought about the play more generally. You could always compose flashcards that you share electronically with your peers).