Ordinary Level Junior Cert exam structure

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a) Exam Structure & Strategy

Level Ordinary
Time 1½ hours (90 minutes)
Marks 180
Structure Question 1: Picture Questions (35 marks)
Answer all 3 in the appropriate spaces on the exam paper
Allow 10 minutes.
Question 2: Document Questions (35 marks)
Answer 2 questions in the appropriate spaces on the exam paper
Allow 10 minutes
Question 3: Short-Answer Questions (60 marks)
Answer 10 from 20 short questions in the appropriate spaces on the exam paper try to answer most of the 20 to give yourself the best possible chance to get full marks here
Allow 25 minutes
Question 4: People in History (50 marks)
Answer A and B in a separate answer book
Allow 25 minutes


Exam Strategy
Timing: Allow ten minutes to read the paper carefully at the start. This will get your mind tuned in and help you to make the correct choice of questions. Plan the time you will spend on each question, with more time given to the questions carrying higher marks, and write down the times allocated. Be aware that even within a question there can be different marks for each part so don’t spend too long on the questions worth fewer marks.

Answering style: You can structure your answer to question 4 in paragraph form or in point form (provided you use full sentences). Remember examiners must mark everything so, if you think you have made a mistake, put a simple line through the error with a ruler. Where you see a blank, fill it.


(b) Walk-through the paper (Question by question)

Question 1 (Picture questions)

This is a good opportunity to pick up marks as the answer will often be in the picture. Examine the picture very closely - the answer will often be obvious. Fill in all the blanks as you will not be penalised for a guessed attempt.

Question 2 (Document questions)

Once again, there are handy marks available here - the answer is usually contained in the document. If you are having difficulty, simply re read the passage. You may be asked for your impression of the author or if the document is a primary or a secondary source. Be ready with words like ‘biased’ and remember there is no obligation to put the answer in your own words, so use the passage itself.

Question 3 (Short-answer questions)

There is a good choice here as you are marked on ten out of twenty, with 2 marks per question. Read through the questions and answer the ones you find easy. Then do a second sweep, answering as many of the harder questions as you can. Remember you have 25 minutes for this question which gives you plenty of time to answer as many as possible. Make sure you attempt at least ten questions fully, as you won’t be penalised for an unsuccessful attempt. There will probably be one or two questions in this section that make no sense, as it covers the entire course. Don’t worry – remember that you only need to have ten correct answers for full marks.

Question 4 (People in history)

Here you are asked to write on a specific historical figure such as Columbus or Robespierre. You must choose one of three options from A and one of three from B. It does not matter whether you write creatively in the first person or not, what matters is that you make important points of information (at least ten good points on each). Do not dwell too much on the early life of the person but get straight to the reasons why he or she had an impact on history.