Junior Cycle English aims to enhance students' language and literature knowledge while improving their literacy skills. Through the study of oral, written and visual texts, students are encouraged to engage personally and think critically. Additionally, they have the opportunity to create their own texts using the following headings:
Guide
Everything you need to study Junior Cycle English
- 3 minute read
English in Junior Cycle is a core subject and is compulsory in all schools. Students will have to study various texts, engage in CBA project work and improve their creative writing skills. Studyclix is here to make getting a distinction in English that much easier.
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What's involved?
Aesthetic writing
Argumentative writing
Informative writing
Narrative writing
Persuasive writing
Top tips for English
Make sure you pay attention to details like grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting. Good vocabulary is also very important to doing well so try and take note of any new words you come across.
A good way of learning quotes is to record yourself saying them and then play them back on your phone. Finally, before you start writing a long answer (such as an essay), try and put together a quick plan/mind-map.
Exam structure
The English curriculum is divided into 3 sections. Here is how you will be examined:
The written exam
The final exam is worth 90% of the overall grade and it takes place in June. It is a 2-hour paper which can be taken at higher or ordinary level. The paper is made up of elements such as reading/engaging with texts, comprehending and responding.
The CBAs
CBA stands for Classroom-Based Assessment and students must complete 2 of them:
- CBA 1 is the Oral Communication task where students may choose a topic/issue and carry out an individual or group project based on it.
- CBA 2 or the Collection of Student's Texts involves the submission of two texts created by the student.
The Assessment Task
This is worth 10% of the overall grade. This task will link into CBA 2 and may vary from year to year. It may require students to react to a short stimulus that may be in a written, audio or audio-visual format.
The final exam is worth 90% of the overall grade and it takes place in June. It is a 2-hour paper which can be taken at higher or ordinary level. The paper is made up of elements such as reading/engaging with texts, comprehending and responding.
More information
How Studyclix can help you study English
CBA guides
The new English course allows students to showcase their work from 2nd and 3rd years in the form of CBAs (Classroom-Based Assessments). To make sure you get the marks you deserve, we have teamed up with expert teacher, Jamie Dockery, to create guides which walk you through each step of the CBAs.
Podcast episode
In this episode of the Studyclix Podcast, Nessa has a chat with Jamie Dockery to get his tips on getting the best possible grade in Junior Cycle English. You can tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or any platform where you listen to podcasts. Alternatively, you can listen here:
Distinction guide
This guide will give you a broader understanding of the aims of the English exam and how to do well in it. At the end of the day, it’s an English exam, so you’ll do well so long as you can write.
Top tip
Stuck on a question? Not sure about a topic? Looking for some more notes? Try asking our community page for some tips and advice. There are plenty of students and teachers there who are more than willing to help you out.
Have some ideas for more resources?
We are always looking for new ways to improve our site so we would love to hear your feedback. Get in touch by emailing info@studyclix.ie 😊