EuraStudy
This is the second prescribed A2 theme and, like the other three, it is CONTENT rather than an assessed unit. It supplies the territory of the nine-minute general conversation in Unit A2 1 and the topics of the recordings and reading passages in Unit A2 2, which between them carry 42 percent of the A level. It is also the most demanding of the four themes, because its six prescribed topics — equality and inequality with discrimination and prejudice; poverty at home and abroad; immigration and emigration; multicultural society and cultural identity; the causes, consequences and resolution of conflict; and sustainable living and environmental issues — are all subjects on which informed people disagree, and several of them are contested in this jurisdiction in particular. The method these notes use throughout applies here without exception: dated institutional facts stated flatly, every interpretation attributed to whoever holds it, live debates named as debates, no invented statistics, and no discussion of any named individual's live legal or political case.
5 sections~31 min reading time4 competenciesLevel Foundation 1 · Advanced 4
basic level
This theme is A2 content and is not examined at AS, but two of its bullets overlap with AS material and can be started early. Poverty connects to the challenges-for-families bullet under Relationships, and sustainable living connects to the well-being and holidays bullets under Culture and Lifestyle. Building the vocabulary in the first year costs little and removes the biggest obstacle to the A2 conversation, which is not opinion but words.
higher level
At A2 you will be asked to weigh rather than to describe, and on this theme in particular you will be asked about causes, consequences and remedies, because that is how four of the six bullets are worded in the specification itself. Learn the three-part frame — na cúiseanna, na hiarmhairtí, na réitigh — and any question on this theme has a shape before you have thought of a single idea.
Reading depth: In depth
Text size: Standard
Our Place in a Changing World and its six prescribed topics
The examiner asks a question on this theme that you have not specifically prepared. Show how the specification's own sub-headings supply an answer shape in the first three seconds.
Four of the six bullets are worded as causes, consequences and measures. So whatever the question, it can almost always be answered as: cad is cúis leis, what causes it; cad iad na hiarmhairtí, what are the consequences; agus cad is féidir a dhéanamh faoi, and what can be done about it. Three moves, and you have them before you have thought about the topic.
I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi na cúiseanna, ansin faoi na hiarmhairtí, agus ar deireadh faoi na réitigh. To begin with, I would like to speak about the causes, then the consequences, and finally the remedies. Note na hiarmhairtí with the h-prefix after na before a vowel.
Give one structural cause and one immediate one, because that shows analysis rather than listing. And attribute anything that is contested: deir eacnamaithe go bhfuil baint aige le ..., economists say it is connected with; ach deir daoine eile gurb í an chúis ná ..., but others say the cause is.
The measurable one attributed and directional, with no figure invented; the human one concrete and specific. That pairing is what makes a consequence paragraph land, and it works on poverty, on migration, on conflict and on the environment alike.
Name two, and then say what nobody knows: Tá roinnt daoine ag rá gurb é sin an réiteach, ach níl fianaise chinnte againn go fóill. Some say that is the solution, but we do not yet have conclusive evidence. Admitting the limit of the evidence is a stronger move than pretending there is none.
Mar fhocal scoir, is dóigh liom go bhfuil na cúiseanna casta agus nach mbeidh réiteach amháin ann. As a final word, I think the causes are complex and that there will not be a single solution. Note nach mbeidh with eclipsis, and note that the close is a judgement about the shape of the problem rather than a political position.
Result: A six-move answer generated entirely from the specification's own sub-headings — causes, consequences, remedies — with two causes on different axes, two consequences of different kinds, two remedies plus an honest statement of what the evidence does not settle, and a close that judges the problem's shape rather than taking a side.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
For each of the six bullets, write three headings in Irish — na cúiseanna, na hiarmhairtí, na réitigh — and put two entries under each. Thirty-six entries. Beside every entry that is an interpretation rather than a fact, write who makes it. That second column is the difference between an A2 answer and an assertion.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Sources: CCEA GCE Irish specification (2016) — §3 A2 Our Place in a Changing World; §7.4 (CCEA)
The examiner asks: Cén stádas atá ag an nGaeilge i dTuaisceart Éireann? What status does Irish have in Northern Ireland? Answer factually, at A2 level, and without adopting any political position.
Tá tagairtí don Ghaeilge i gComhaontú Aoine an Chéasta sa bhliain 1998, agus ritheadh Acht na Féiniúlachta agus na Teanga sa bhliain 2022 a rinne foráil, i measc rudaí eile, do Choimisinéir Gaeilge. There are references to Irish in the Belfast Agreement of 1998, and an Identity and Language Act was passed in 2022 which made provision, among other things, for an Irish Language Commissioner. Note ritheadh, the autonomous past, which is exactly right for what a legislature does.
Tá easaontas mór ann faoi cé chomh maith is a comhlíonadh na gealltanais sin, agus faoin méid ar cheart a dhéanamh anois. There is great disagreement about how well those commitments have been met, and about what should now be done. This is a true sentence, it commits you to nothing, and it is more informative than either side asserted.
Deir dream amháin nach ndearnadh a ndóthain; deir dream eile go bhfuil an teanga á cur chun cinn go leordhóthanach. One group says that not enough has been done; another says the language is being promoted sufficiently. Both attributed, neither endorsed, and neither caricatured — which is the part that takes care.
Is féidir liom féin a rá go bhfuil scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge ann, go bhfuil comharthaí dátheangacha in áiteanna, agus go mbíonn cláir Ghaeilge á gcraoladh. I can say for myself that there are Irish-medium schools, that there are bilingual signs in places, and that Irish-language programmes are broadcast. First-person observation, unarguable, and it advances the answer.
Ní dóigh liom gur ceist í seo a réiteoidh mise i scrúdú Gaeilge — is fearr liom cur síos a dhéanamh ar an dá thaobh. I do not think this is a question I am going to settle in an Irish examination; I prefer to describe both sides. Saying so out loud is honest and it is also, in an examination assessed on AO1 and AO3, entirely sufficient.
Ach is é an rud is suimiúla dom ná an cheist theangeolaíoch: an gcuidíonn stádas oifigiúil le teanga a choinneáil beo, nó an í an teaghlach agus an pobal a dhéanann é sin? But what interests me most is the linguistic question: does official status help keep a language alive, or is it the family and the community that do that? A genuine, answerable, non-partisan question, and one AO4 would reward.
Result: Six moves: two dated documented facts stated flatly, the disagreement named as a disagreement, both positions attributed without caricature, a first-person observation, an explicit refusal to adjudicate, and a reframing towards a linguistic question that can actually be evaluated.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
Write three definitions in Irish — one each for éagothroime, idirdhealú and réamhchlaonadh — and then three examples, each of which is clearly one of the three and not the others. Then write one sentence in which all three appear in a single causal chain. If you can do that, you have the distinction the bullet is built on.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Sources: CCEA GCE Irish specification (2016) — §3 A2 Our Place in a Changing World; §7.4 (CCEA) · GCE AS and A level qualifications — regulated qualification information (UK Government)
Cad is féidir a dhéanamh faoin mbochtaineacht in Éirinn? What can be done about poverty in Ireland? Answer at A2 level with the three-part frame and complete evidential honesty.
I dtús báire, caithfear a rá cad is bochtaineacht ann. Tá difear idir bochtaineacht iomlán agus bochtaineacht choibhneasta, agus ní hionann na réitigh atá orthu. To begin with, one must say what poverty is. There is a difference between absolute and relative poverty, and the remedies for them are not the same. Note the autonomous caithfear and ní hionann, the negative of the specification's own is ionann.
Ar thaobh amháin tá cúiseanna struchtúrtha: costas na tithíochta, pá íseal in earnálacha áirithe, agus easpa deiseanna i gceantair áirithe. Ar an taobh eile bíonn cúiseanna pearsanta ann fosta — tinneas, briseadh caidrimh, cailliúint poist. Structural and personal causes named separately, which is more honest than either alone.
De réir na n-eagraíochtaí a oibríonn sa réimse seo, bíonn tionchar ag an mbochtaineacht ar shláinte, ar oideachas agus ar shaol sóisialta duine. According to the organisations working in this field, poverty affects a person's health, education and social life. Attributed, directional, no figure, and ar shláinte with lenition after ar.
Tá trí chineál freagra ann. Faoiseamh láithreach: bia, foscadh, íocaíochtaí éigeandála. Athruithe struchtúrtha: tithíocht, oideachas, polasaí leasa. Agus obair idirnáisiúnta: cabhair, trádáil, fiacha. Three kinds of response, named — immediate relief, structural change, and international work.
Níl mórán easaontais faoin gcéad cheann. Tá go leor easaontais faoin dara agus faoin tríú ceann, agus ní faoi na spriocanna atá an t-easaontas ach faoin dóigh. There is not much disagreement about the first. There is plenty about the second and third, and the disagreement is not about the aims but about the method. That sentence is the most valuable one in the answer.
Mar fhocal scoir, ní chreidim go bhfuil réiteach amháin ann, agus is dóigh liom gur cheart dúinn a bheith amhrasach faoi aon duine a deir go bhfuil. As a final word, I do not believe there is a single solution, and I think we should be sceptical of anyone who says there is. A judgement about the shape of the problem, not about a party.
Result: Six moves: define before arguing, structural and personal causes named separately, consequences attributed to the organisations that report them with no figure invented, three kinds of measure distinguished, an explicit statement of what is and is not disputed, and a close that is sceptical of simple answers rather than partisan about complex ones.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
Build a two-column sheet, sa bhaile and thar lear, and under each write three causes, three consequences and three measures, in Irish. Eighteen entries. Then mark every entry that is contested and write, in three words, who disputes it. Nothing on this bullet should be spoken in the examination that has not been through that second column.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Sources: CCEA GCE Irish specification (2016) — §3 A2 Our Place in a Changing World; §4.6 (CCEA)
The examiner asks: An bhfuil an inimirce go maith do thír? Is immigration good for a country? Show the move that distinguishes an A2 answer: representing both positions at their strongest.
Braitheann sé ar an gceist a chuirtear: go maith don gheilleagar, do na seirbhísí poiblí, don chultúr, nó do na daoine a thagann? Ní hionann na freagraí. It depends on the question asked: good for the economy, for public services, for the culture, or for the people who come? The answers are not the same. Splitting the question is itself an analytical move.
Deir eacnamaithe go dtagann daoine chun oibre, go n-íocann siad cáin, agus go líonann siad poist nach bhfuil á líonadh. Deir daoine eile gur saibhrede an tír an éagsúlacht. Economists say people come to work, pay tax and fill jobs that are not being filled. Others say diversity makes a country richer. Attributed, and stated as its holders would state it.
Deir daoine eile go gcuireann fás tapa brú ar thithíocht, ar scoileanna agus ar sheirbhísí sláinte, agus nach mbíonn an t-infreastruchtúr réidh dó. Others say rapid growth puts pressure on housing, schools and health services, and that the infrastructure is not ready for it. Note that this is stated as a resource argument, which is how those who make it usually make it — not as a caricature.
Is ceist eimpíreach í cuid mhaith den argóint seo — cé mhéad, cá luath, agus cad é an t-infheistiú a rinneadh — agus ní réiteoidh mise anseo í. Much of this argument is an empirical question — how many, how quickly, and what investment was made — and I am not going to settle it here.
Agus is fiú a chuimhneamh gur tír eisimirce a bhí in Éirinn ar feadh i bhfad, agus go bhfuil pobail de bhunadh na hÉireann ar fud an domhain. And it is worth remembering that Ireland was a country of emigration for a long time, and that there are communities of Irish descent throughout the world. Factual, relevant, and it complicates both positions rather than either.
Mar fhocal scoir, is é an rud is suimiúla dom ná an cheist teanga: cad a tharlaíonn do theanga phobail nuair a thagann teangacha nua isteach? As a final word, what interests me most is the language question: what happens to a community's language when new languages arrive? Genuine, answerable, and squarely in this qualification's subject.
Result: Six moves: refuse the yes-or-no by splitting the question, state both positions at their strongest and attributed, name the empirical part and decline to settle it, add Ireland's own emigration history as a complication to both sides, and close on a linguistic question that the qualification is actually about.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
Write two lists in Irish: reasons people leave a country, and reasons people come to one. Six entries each. Then, for the immigration list, write beside each entry both the benefit somebody would name and the concern somebody else would raise, attributed in each case. Twelve pairs, and you are prepared for any version of this question.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Sources: CCEA GCE Irish specification (2016) — §3 A2 Our Place in a Changing World (CCEA)
Show the two different kinds of preparation this section requires — a method-based answer on conflict and a content-based answer on sustainability.
Sula dtosóidh mé, ba mhaith liom a rá gur deacair téarma a roghnú anseo: tugann daoine áirithe na Trioblóidí air agus tugann daoine eile coimhlint air, agus ní focal neodrach é ceachtar acu do gach duine. Before I begin, I would like to say that it is difficult to choose a term here: some call it the Troubles and others call it a conflict, and neither is a neutral word for everybody. Note sula dtosóidh with eclipsis.
Baineadh amach Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta ar an 10 Aibreán 1998, agus ceadaíodh é le reifrinn ar an dá thaobh den teorainn ar an 22 Bealtaine 1998. The Belfast Agreement was reached on 10 April 1998 and was approved by referendums on both sides of the border on 22 May 1998. Two autonomous past forms, baineadh and ceadaíodh, which are exactly right for events with institutional rather than personal agents.
Maidir leis na cúiseanna agus leis an bhfreagracht, tá easaontas domhain ann, agus ní dóigh liom gur ceart dom breith a thabhairt air i scrúdú Gaeilge. Is fearr liom cur síos a dhéanamh ar an méid a deir daoine éagsúla. As for the causes and the responsibility, there is deep disagreement, and I do not think it right for me to pass judgement on it in an Irish examination. I prefer to describe what different people say.
Ach is féidir liom labhairt faoi rud amháin go compordach: an ról a bhí ag an teanga agus ag an gcultúr sa phróiseas, agus an dóigh a bhfuil daoine ó gach cúlra ag foghlaim na Gaeilge inniu. But I can speak comfortably about one thing: the role language and culture played in the process, and how people from every background are learning Irish today. Relevant, describable and squarely on this qualification's own ground.
Is é athrú aeráide an dúshlán is mó atá romhainn, dar le formhór na n-eolaithe. Ar an leibhéal áitiúil, feictear é san aimsir, i dtuilte, agus i gcúrsaí feirmeoireachta. Climate change is the greatest challenge before us, according to most scientists. At the local level it is seen in the weather, in flooding and in farming matters. Attributed, then made local and specific.
Tá freagraí ann ag trí leibhéal: an duine aonair — athchúrsáil, iompar poiblí, níos lú feola; an pobal — fuinneamh in-athnuaite, foirgnimh níos fearr; agus an rialtas — dlíthe agus infheistíocht. Agus is é an t-easaontas is mó ná cé chomh tapa is ba cheart dúinn bogadh. Three scales named, and the disagreement located precisely — about speed rather than about direction.
Result: Two contrasting answers: on conflict, a method answer that opens with the naming dispute, states two dated facts with autonomous verbs, declines adjudication explicitly in Irish, and reframes onto language; on the environment, a content answer that attributes the central claim to scientists, makes it local and specific, and names measures at three scales while locating the real disagreement in the speed rather than the direction.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
Prepare the environment bullet fully — causes, consequences and measures, twelve entries in Irish — and prepare the conflict bullet as METHOD: three dated facts you could state, three interpretations you would attribute and to whom, and one sentence in Irish declining to adjudicate. Rehearse that last sentence until it is fluent, because it is the one you would need under pressure.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Sources: CCEA GCE Irish specification (2016) — §3 A2 Our Place in a Changing World; §7.4 (CCEA) · GCE AS and A level qualifications — regulated qualification information (UK Government)
References & sources