English (Option B), Junior Cycle - Higher Level - Paper

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Pre-Junior Cycle Final Examination 2023
English
(Option B)
Higher Level
For examiner's use only
2 hours Sec on and answer Marks
1.
180 marks A 2.
3.
4.
B
5.
6.
C 7.
8.
9.
D
10.
RobertSchool use- Oatlands
Atkinson only: College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1
Total
Spelling Waiver Granted Grade Descriptor
*01*
The theme of this examination paper is
Celebrating Differences and Uniqueness
Instructions
There are four sec ons in this examina on paper.
Sec on A Responding Imagina vely to Texts 60 marks 3 Ques ons

Sec on B Giving Though ul Value Judgements 50 marks 2 Ques ons
Sec on C Apprecia ng Character, Se ng and Story 45 marks 3 Ques ons
Sec on D Reading and Responding to Visual Texts 25 marks 2 Ques ons
Answer all 10 ques ons.
The ques ons do not all carry equal marks. The number of marks for each ques on is stated at the
top of the ques on.
You should spend about 35 minutes on Sec on A, 30 minutes on Sec on B, 30 minutes on Sec on
C and 20 minutes on Sec on D.
When answering on studied material, you must use texts in line with what is prescribed for 2023.
Write your answers in the spaces provided in this booklet. You may lose marks if you do not do so.
You are not required to use all of the space provided. You should read each ques on in full before
you begin your response.
Extra pages are provided if needed. Label any extra work clearly with the ques on number and
part.
You may only use blue or black pen when wri ng your answers. Do not use pencil.
This examina on booklet will be scanned and your work will be presented to an examiner on
screen. Anything that you write outside of the answer areas may not be seen by the examiner.
*02*
Section A Responding Imaginatively to Texts 60 marks
Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon A: 35 minutes
CelebraƟng Unique Characters in Novels
Read the following character descrip ons from three different novels and answer the ques ons
that follow:
1. "… in the last years she con nued to se le and began to shrink. Her mouth bowed forward
and her brow sloped back, and her skull shone pink and speckled within a mere haze of hair,
which hovered about her head like the remembered shape of an altered thing. She looked as if
the nimbus* of humanity were fading away and she were turning monkey. Tendrils grew from her
eyebrows and coarse white hairs sprouted on her lip and chin. When she put on an old dress the
bosom hung empty and the hem swept the floor. Old hats fell down over her eyes. Some mes she
put her hand over her mouth and laughed, her eyes closed and her shoulder shaking.”
(* Nimbus - a cloud or aura around a person)
Marilynne Robinson “Housekeeping”
2. “My brother Ben’s face, thought Eugene, is like a piece of slightly yellow ivory; his high white
head is kno ed fiercely by his old man’s scowl; his mouth is like a knife, his smile the flicker of light
across a blade. His face is like a blade, and a knife, and a flicker of light: it is delicate and fierce, and
scowls beau fully forever, and when he fastens his hard white fingers and his scowling eyes upon
a thing he wants to fix, he sniffs with sharp and private concentra on through his long, pointed
nose…his hair shines like that of a young boy—it is crinkled and crisp as le uce.”
Thomas Wolfe, “Look Homeward, Angel”
3. “He was ‘most? fi y, and he looked it. His hair was long and tangled and greasy, and hung down,
and you could see his eyes shining through like he was behind vines. It was all black, no gray; so
was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed; it was
white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s
flesh crawl – a tree-toad white, a fish-belly white. As for his clothes – just rags, that was all."
Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
*03*
QuesƟon 1 (25 marks)
Op onal Rough Work
(a) Of the three characters described, which one would you like to read more about?
Explain your answer with reference to your chosen paragraph.
*04*
(b) These three character descrip ons use imagery and language very effec vely. Iden fy one
example of the effec ve use of both imagery and language in these paragraphs, and describe
how each example added to the descrip on of the characters.
Op onal Rough Work
*05*
*06*
Characters who differ from the people we encounter in our everyday lives appeal to
a reader far more than we realise.
(a) Select a character from a novel you have studied. With reference to at least one key moment
in the novel, explain how this character is different or unique compared to other characters
in the same novel.
Title of novel:
Name of author:
Name of character:
Op onal Rough Work
*07*
*08*
(b) Name another character whom your chosen character in part (a) has a rela onship with:
Explain, using reference to the text, whether this is a posi ve or a nega ve rela onship and
outline the impact this rela onship has on the plot of the novel.
Op onal Rough Work
*09*
*10*
The following adjec ves describe character personality traits. In the case of each word, please
select the correct synonym by placing a ck in the appropriate box. Tick one box only in each case.
(a) ApatheƟc
9
A. Laid-back B. Nega ve C. Angry
(b) EnthusiasƟc
A. Forgiving B. Passionate C. Calm
(c) Steadfast
A. Rude B. Shy C. Reliable
(d) Resilient
A. Unique B. Common C. Tough
(e) ConscienƟous
A. Careful B. Quiet C. Dishonest
*11*
Section B Giving Thoughtful Value Judgements 50 marks
Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon B: 30 minutes
Read the following poem by Eve Merriam and answer the ques ons that follow.
Thumbprint
In the heel of my thumb

are whorls, whirls, wheels
in a unique design:
mine alone.
What a treasure to own!
My own flesh, my own feelings.
No other, however grand or base,
can ever contain the same.
My signature,
thumbing the pages of my me.
My universe key,
my singularity.
Impress, implant,
I am myself
of all my atom parts I am the sum.
And out of my blood and my brain
I make my own interior weather,
my own sun and rain.
Imprint my mark upon the world,
whatever I shall become.
(a) What, do you think, is the main theme of this poem and which line(s) from the poem best
capture this theme, in your opinion? Explain with reference to the poem.
Op onal Rough Work
*12*
*13*
(b) Do you think your English class would have enjoyed studying this poem for the Junior Cycle
exam? In your explana on, focus on the theme of the poem and the use of language.
Op onal Rough Work
*14*
*15*
In “Thumbprint”, Eve Merriam takes a very ordinary thumbprint and describes it

as something extraordinary. This is the power of poetry.
Select a poem you have studied where the poet takes an everyday object, a person or a place and
transforms it into something special.
Title of poem:
Name of poet:
What techniques did the poet use to transform an object, person or place into something special?
Explain your answer with reference to three specific poe c techniques in the poem.
Op onal Rough Work
*16*
*17*
Addi onal wri ng space. Label all work clearly with the ques on number and part.
*18*
Section C Appreciating Character, Setting and Story 45 marks
Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon C: 30 minutes
Read the text printed below and the extract from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Answer the
ques ons which follow.
The Background
The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of

witches and then moves to a military camp, where the
Sco sh King Duncan hears the news that his generals,
Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate
invading armies.
Following their ba le, Macbeth and Banquo encounter

the witches on a bleak Sco sh Moor. The witches
prophesy that Macbeth will be made Thane (a rank
of Sco sh nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of
Scotland.
They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo,

will beget a line of Sco sh kings, although Banquo will
never be king himself. The generals want to hear more,
but the “weird sisters’’ disappear.
Glossary:
Swine - Pig - in this case, it describes a person that disgusts the speaker
Quoth - said
Ronyon - a nega ve word to describe a disgus ng woman
Aleppo - the largest city in Syria
Tiger - the name of the ship the sailor was on
Pent-house - the sailors' eyelids
Bark - ship
Tempest - a violent storm
Thrice - three mes
Aƫre - clothing
Hail - a gree ng of respect
SCENE III. A heath near Forres.

Thunder. Enter the three Witches
First Witch
Where hast thou been, sister?
Second Witch
Killing swine.
Third Witch
Sister, where thou?
First Witch
A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And munch’d, and munch’d, and munch’d:-- 5
‘Give me,’
Robert Atkinson quoth I: College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1
- Oatlands
‘Aroint thee, witch!’ the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ the Tiger:
But in a sieve I’ll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail, 10
I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.
*19*
Second Witch
I’ll give thee a wind.
First Witch
Thou’rt kind.
Third Witch
And I another.
First Witch
I myself have all the other, 15
And the very ports they blow,
All the quarters that they know
I’ the shipman’s card.
I will drain him dry as hay:
Sleep shall neither night nor day 20
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid:
Weary se’nnights nine mes nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:
Though his bark cannot be lost, 25
Yet it shall be tempest-tost.
Look what I have.
Second Witch
Show me, show me.
First Witch
Here I have a pilot’s thumb,
Wreck’d as homeward he did come. 30
Drum within
Third Witch
A drum, a drum!
Macbeth doth come.
ALL
The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about: 35
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! the charm’s wound up.
Enter MACBETH and BANQUO
MACBETH
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
BANQUO
How far is’t call’d to Forres? What are these
So wither’d and so wild in their a re, 40
That look not like the inhabitants o’ the earth,
And yet are on’t? Live you? or are you aught
That man may ques on? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her chappy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips: you should be women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret 45
That you are so.
MACBETH
Speak, if you can: what are you?
*20*
In the extract above, we read about three of Shakespeare's most infamous and unusual characters:
The Witches or “Weird Sisters”. Find two examples of how the witches are conveyed as being
different in the extract. Explain with reference to and quota on from the text.
Op onal Rough Work
*21*
The supernatural element of the witches in this scene creates opportuni es

for a director to stage the play in an imagina ve way.
Based on your reading of this extract, explain two things a director could do to stage this extract in
an imagina ve way.
Op onal Rough Work
*22*
*23*
The plays we study in school s ll remain relevant today despite being wri en
in a me much different to ours.
Write the text of a blog post for your school website in which you explain your opinion on whether
the play you have studied for your Junior Cycle is relevant to the lives of young students in 2023.
Support your opinion with detailed reference to your studied text. (E.g., themes, elements of the
plot, characters, etc.)
Title of Studied Play:
Name of Playwright:
Op onal Rough Work
*24*
*25*
Section D Reading and Responding to Visual Texts 25 marks
Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon D: 20 minutes
Study the three images below and answer the ques on that follows:
Image A Image B
Image C
*26*
The three images above reflect the importance of “Celebra ng differences”

using visuals of the hands.
Which of the three images communicates the message most effec vely? Explain with reference to
both copy and visuals in the image.
Op onal Rough Work
*27*
Imagine that one of the following two pictures shows a character from a story you are wri ng.
Using one of the two images, write the opening paragraph of the story in which you introduce your
character to your readers. The theme of your story is “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover”
Op onal Rough Work
*28*
*29*
*30*
*31*
*W4BFC*
Acknowledgements
Texts
Unique Characters in Texts- descrip ons taken from “The Gigan c List of Character Descrip ons on
Bookfox at h ps://thejohnfox.com/2016/06/character-descrip on/
“Thumbprint” by Eve Merriam (1984) accessed from h ps://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/

thumbprint/
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare (1606) Extract adapted from Act I Scene III
Images
Images from Sec on A (books) and Sec on B (Thumbprint): Stock Images from Google photos
Sec on C: Image of Macbeth’s witches h ps://non-aliencreatures.fandom.com/wiki/The_Witches_

(The_Tragedy_of_Macbeth)
Reading and Responding to Texts images:

Image A: h ps://www.elementaryma ers.com/2020/01/diversity-ma ers-celebra ng-our.html
Image B: h ps://jansgephardt.com/index.php/tag/celebra ng-differences/
Image C: h ps://hollandmuseum.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/
Images for Ques on 10

Image 1: Chris Dalzall ta oos h ps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-46046755
Image 2: Megan Raphino h ps://www.allure.com/gallery/best-hair-color-trends
*32*
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Terms and conditions

3. I will not photocopy or distribute the paper to students.

Part of the Examcraft Group T: 01 808 1494 F: 01 8307464 E: info@examcraft.ie www.examcraft.ie

Please consider joining our correction team, even if

Leaving Certificate Junior Cycle

Any questions, please email correctors@examcraft.ie

PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS WHEN COMPLETING THE INFORMATION BELOW.

Title (Mr, Mrs, Ms):

Pre-Junior Cycle Final Examination 2023

The theme of this examination paper is

Celebrating Differences and Uniqueness

There are four sec ons in this examina on paper.

Sec on A Responding Imagina vely to Texts 60 marks 3 Ques ons

Answer all 10 ques ons.

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Section A Responding Imaginatively to Texts 60 marks

Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon A: 35 minutes

CelebraƟng Unique Characters in Novels

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

QuesƟon 1 (25 marks)

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

QuesƟon 2 (30 marks)

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

A. Forgiving B. Passionate C. Calm

A. Rude B. Shy C. Reliable

A. Unique B. Common C. Tough

A. Careful B. Quiet C. Dishonest

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Section B Giving Thoughtful Value Judgements 50 marks

Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon B: 30 minutes

In the heel of my thumb

QuesƟon 4 (30 marks)

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

QuesƟon 5 (20 marks)

In “Thumbprint”, Eve Merriam takes a very ordinary thumbprint and describes it

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1

Section C Appreciating Character, Setting and Story 45 marks

Suggested Ɵme for SecƟon C: 30 minutes

The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of

Following their ba le, Macbeth and Banquo encounter

They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo,

SCENE III. A heath near Forres.

Enter MACBETH and BANQUO

QuesƟon 6 (10 marks)

Op onal Rough Work

Robert Atkinson - Oatlands College - 60050E - robert.atkinson@oatlands.net - 1