English - Higher

This subject will test your creativity and your comprehension of poets, plays and fiction.

In the exam, it is really important to work to the clock and get your timings correct so that you get all questions finished. Pay attention to your vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and handwriting as this all will play a part in how the examiner marks your exam. Finally, don’t forget to study Paper 1 – there is just as much potential for practice and preparation as the studied material on Paper 2.

Higher Level Course Content

1 Composition (Personal Writing)
1 Reading Comprehension
Comparative - Cultural Context (2025/26)
Comparative - Literary genre (2026)
Comparative - Theme or Issue (2025)
Comparative - Vision & Viewpoint (2025/26)
Hamlet (2024)
King Lear (2025)
Macbeth (2026)
Othello (2022)
Poetry - Bishop (2026)
Poetry - Boland (2025)
Poetry - Dickinson (2025)
Poetry - Donne (2026)
Poetry - Eliot (2025/26)
Poetry - Heaney (2026)
Poetry - Hopkins (2025)
Poetry - Kavanagh (2025)
Poetry - Mahon (2025)
Poetry - Meehan (2026)
Poetry - Ni Chuilleanain (2026)
Poetry - Plath (2025)
Poetry - Smith (2025/26)
Poetry - Yeats (2026)
Text - All the Light We Cannot See (2025/26)
Text - Frankenstein (2025)
Text - Never Let me Go (2025)
Text - Pride & Prejudice (2025/26)
Text - The Crucible (2025/26)
Text- Days Without End (2025)
Unseen Poetry

Ordinary Level Course Content:

1 Composition (Personal Writing)
1 Reading Comprehension
Comparative - Hero, Villain (2026)
Comparative - Relationships (2025/26)
Comparative - Social Setting (2025/26)
Comparative - Theme (2025)
Hamlet (2024)
King Lear (2025)
Macbeth (2026)
Othello (2022)
Poetry - Adcock (2026)
Poetry - Bishop (2026)
Poetry - Boland (2025)
Poetry - Browning (2026)
Poetry - Bryce (2026)
Poetry - Clanchy (2026)
Poetry - Clancy (2026)
Poetry - Clarke (2025)
Poetry - Coleridge (2025)
Poetry - Dickinson (2025)
Poetry - Donne (2026)
Poetry - Dove (2026)
Poetry - Eliot (2025/26)
Poetry - Giovanni (2025)
Poetry - Haldeman (2025)
Poetry - Heaney (2026)
Poetry - Hopkins (2025)
Poetry - Hughes (2025)
Poetry - Kavanagh (2025)
Poetry - Keegan (2025)
Poetry - Lochhead (2025)
Poetry - Mahon (2025)
Poetry - Meehan (2026)
Poetry - Morrissey (2025)
Poetry - Muldoon (2026)
Poetry - Ni Chuilleanain (2026)
Poetry - Nye (2026)
Poetry - Oliver (2026)
Poetry - Olusanya (2025)
Poetry - Plath (2025)
Poetry - Poe (2026)
Poetry - Robinson (2025)
Poetry - Seibles (2025)
Poetry - Shakespeare (2025)
Poetry - Shelley (2026)
Poetry - Shuttle (2026)
Poetry - Smith (2025/26)
Poetry - Smither (2025)
Poetry - Williams (2026)
Poetry - Wright (2026)
Poetry - Yeats (2026)
Poetry - Zephaniah (2026)
Text - All the Light We Cannot See (2025/26)
Text - Frankenstein (2025)
Text - Never Let me Go (2025)
Text - Pride & Prejudice (2025/26)
Text - Sive (2025/26)
Text - The Cove (2025/26)
Text - The Crucible (2025/26)
Text- A Raisin in the Sun (2025/26)
Text- Days Without End (2025)
Unseen Poetry

The Exam

The English exam is very understandable and approachable. The exam is designed to let you express what you do know rather than catch you out on things you don't know. The exam consists of two papers, for both Higher and Ordinary levels.

Paper I

Higher and Ordinary Level - 170 mins (200 marks)

Section I

Three texts (one of which is visual) are presented to you on a general theme. Two sets of questions, an A and a B follow each text. You must answer a Question A on one text and a Question B on a different text. (100 marks)

Section II

Composing - you must write an extended composition in a specific genre of language from a list of seven choices (story, talk, debate, article, essay). (100 marks)

Paper II

Higher and Ordinary Level - 200 mins (200 marks)

Section I The single text (60 marks)

Section II The Comparative study (70 marks)

Section III Poetry (70 marks)

Higher

(i) Unseen poem (20 marks)

(ii) Prescribed poetry (50 marks)

Ordinary

(i) Unseen poem (20 marks)

(ii) Four poems will be printed on the exam paper and you must answer questions on one of the four. (50 marks)

Future Careers with Leaving Certificate English

A pass in English is a requirement for entry into many CAO courses. Students who like English can follow a wide variety of career paths including; Advertising, Writing, Arts, Business, Management, Journalism, Politics, and Entertainment.

Download the Leaving Cert English Syllabus

Download the Prescribed texts for the 2025 Examination

Download the Prescribed texts for the 2026 Examination

Download the Leaving Cert English Guidelines for Teachers

Download the Leaving Cert English Chief Examiner's Report (2013)