LC English case studies
LC English · Put your knowledge to work in context.
LC English (Leaving Certificate English, Ardteistiméireacht Béarla) is the English examination taken by senior-cycle students in Ireland and is a core subject for most third-level entry pathways. It is for candidates who can read and respond to unfamiliar material, sustain an argument, and write at length under time pressure. The LC English case studies are 5 cases and about 3,913 words.
1The Deceptive Opening: Choosing the 100-Mark Composition
Fiona is sitting Paper 1 with 2 hours 50 minutes on the clock. She has spent 45 minutes on Question A (50 marks) and now has roughly 100 minutes for Composing (100 marks), planning included.
803 words, about 4 min2Question A: The 50-Mark Sprint
Dara has 50 minutes left for Question A on Paper 1: a two-page magazine feature titled 'The Four-Day Week: Miracle or Marketing?', followed by three comprehension questions and a functional writing task worth 25 marks. The article reports impressive trial results but suggests the gains may come from the novelty of being watched.
753 words, about 4 min3The Statement That Doesn't Match the Notes
Niamh has studied The Great Gatsby for the Single Text question (60 marks). Her folder contains twelve quotations on the green light, the valley of ashes, Gatsby's parties, Nick as unreliable narrator and the closing image of boats against the current.
771 words, about 4 min4Three Texts, Fifty-Five Minutes, One Judgement
Comparative Study is worth 70 marks and Cian has 55 minutes of Paper 2 for it. He has studied a novel, a play and a film under the theme 'the outsider'.
801 words, about 4 min5Six Poems, One Question, Three That Fit
Aoife has studied six poems by the same poet for the studied poetry question (50 marks). She knows three closely - a poem about a father's funeral, one about a flooded garden, one about an emigrant sister's letters - and has thinner notes on two childhood poems and a love poem containing a single image of an empty chair.
785 words, about 4 min