Overview:

This course bridges the gap between Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate, and introduces pupils to a variety of interesting texts and approaches to literature and language. It was the first TY course in the College, and has been modified and improved by teacher experience and pupil feedback over 25 years.

Course Content:

The course is a mixture between literature and language study. In the first term, the major project of the year is completed: an Extended Essay on books chosen by each pupil, taking about 10 weeks to finish. This is comparative and is a good basis for such work in the Leaving Certificate years. There are three classroom texts during the year - currently Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Claire Keegan's novella Foster and Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire. Another significant element of the course is a Work Portfolio completed during the second and third terms, including creative, discursive and personal writing. Sets rotate among teachers for short ‘module’ courses for extra flavour and variety, looking for instance at Geoffrey Chaucer and the History of the English Language, the poetry of W.B.Yeats, performance poetry, and images in poetry.

Teaching & Learning:

There is a strong emphasis on pupils taking responsibility for their own work, especially in terms of selecting (with guidance) texts for the Extended Essay, and organising over time their responses to the Work Portfolio. This is combined with more traditional classroom discussions about the Department-chosen texts.

Assessment:

30% for the Extended Essay, 25% for the Work Portfolio, 20% in total for the College exams in the first two terms, and 25% awarded by teachers on the level of commitment, organisation and classroom contributions of the pupils. At the end of the year all pupils also fill in an online self-assessment form.

Additional Information:

• All TY pupils are encouraged to enter the College prizes offered by the Department (Senior English, Senior Poetry, Shakespeare), and to take part in the many external essay and poetry competitions offered by outside bodies.