Young People in Society (A2 theme)

You want to say that young people find it harder to get work than older people do. Write it three ways — invented, unattributed and attributed — and see what each is worth.

1. 01Version one — the invented figure

   Tá 30 faoin gcéad de dhaoine óga dífhostaithe. Thirty percent of young people are unemployed. It sounds authoritative. It is a number you cannot source, it is probably wrong, and if the examiner asks where it comes from you have nothing. This is the single most damaging sentence type available in this theme.

2. 02Version two — the unattributed generalisation

   Tá sé i bhfad níos deacra do dhaoine óga post a fháil. It is far harder for young people to get a job. Better, because nothing is invented, but it is an assertion with no support and the follow-up question — cén fáth a gceapann tú sin? — will find nothing behind it.

3. 03Version three — attributed and directional

   De réir na bhfigiúirí a fhoilsíonn na gníomhaireachtaí staidrimh, bíonn an ráta dífhostaíochta níos airde i measc daoine óga ná i measc daoine níos sine. According to the figures published by the statistics agencies, the unemployment rate is higher among young people than among older people. Attributed, directional, defensible.

4. 04Now add the mechanism, which is where the marks are

   Agus tá cúis leis sin: níl taithí oibre ag duine atá díreach amach ón scoil, agus is minic a bhíonn taithí ag teastáil fiú do na poist is bunúsaí. And there is a reason for that: someone straight out of school has no work experience, and experience is often required even for the most basic jobs. An explanation cannot be factually wrong in the way a statistic can.

5. 05Then the qualification

   Ach ní hé an scéal céanna é i ngach earnáil. Ar an drochuair, tá roinnt earnálacha ann nach nglacann le duine gan cháilíocht ar chor ar bith, agus tá cinn eile ann atá ag lorg daoine óga go géar. But it is not the same story in every sector. Some will not take anyone without a qualification at all, and others are actively looking for young people.

6. 06Compare what each version survives

   Version one survives no follow-up at all. Version two survives one. Version three plus the mechanism plus the qualification survives four or five, which in a nine-minute conversation is the difference between filling the time and being rescued by the examiner.

Result: The invented figure is the weakest sentence available; the unattributed generalisation is safe but shallow; the attributed directional claim plus a stated mechanism plus a sectoral qualification is strong, honest, and survives the follow-up questions that a nine-minute conversation is made of.

An bhfuil post páirtaimseartha go maith do dhalta atá i mbliain na scrúduithe? Is a part-time job good for a pupil in examination year? Build the five-move evaluative answer.

1. 01Open, and commit

   I dtús báire, is é mo bharúil féin go bhfuil sé go maith ach go bhfuil teorainn leis. To begin with, my own opinion is that it is good but that there is a limit to it. Two of Appendix 5's phrases, an eclipsis after go twice, and a position taken in one sentence rather than three.

2. 02First side, with a mechanism

   Foghlaimíonn duine óg scileanna nach múintear ar scoil ar chor ar bith — conas déileáil le custaiméirí, conas a bheith in am, conas airgead a bhainistiú. A young person learns skills that are not taught at school at all: how to deal with customers, how to be on time, how to manage money. Note the autonomous nach múintear, which is exactly right because who does the teaching is not the point.

3. 03Second reason, on a different axis

   Ina theannta sin, tugann sé neamhspleáchas airgid do dhuine, agus athraíonn sin an caidreamh atá aige lena thuismitheoirí. In addition, it gives a person financial independence, and that changes their relationship with their parents. A second reason from a different direction is worth more than two versions of the first.

4. 04The turn

   Ar an drochuair, áfach, is furasta dul thar fóir. Dá mbeadh duine ag obair fiche uair an chloig sa tseachtain, ní bheadh an t-am aige don staidéar. Unfortunately, however, it is easy to go too far. If someone were working twenty hours a week, they would not have the time for study. Two adverbials and a conditional after dá.

5. 05Attribute rather than assert

   Deir múinteoirí go dtagann titim ar na torthaí nuair a théann na huaireanta thar líon áirithe. Teachers say that results fall when the hours go beyond a certain number. Attributed, no number invented, and the vagueness of líon áirithe is honest rather than evasive.

6. 06Close on the limit you named at the start

   Mar fhocal scoir, ní hé an post féin an cheist ach líon na n-uaireanta. As a final word, the job itself is not the question but the number of hours. Note na n-uaireanta with the n-prefix in the genitive plural, and note that the close answers the question the opening posed rather than adding a new idea.

Result: Five moves — commit, two reasons on different axes, a turn with a conditional, an attributed counter-claim with no invented figure, and a close that resolves the limit named in the opening — carrying four Appendix 5 adverbials, one autonomous verb, two eclipses and the genitive-plural n-prefix.

The examiner asks: Ar cheart an aois vótála a ísliú go sé bliana déag? Should the voting age be lowered to sixteen? Answer at A2 level, in Irish, without adopting a party position.

1. 01Establish the fact first

   Faoi láthair, caithfidh duine a bheith ocht mbliana déag d'aois le vótáil sa dá dhlínse. At present a person must be eighteen years of age to vote in both jurisdictions. Note ocht mbliana déag with the eclipsis that numbers seven to ten require.

2. 02Give the case for, attributed

   Deir daoine atá i bhfabhar an athraithe go n-íocann daoine sé bliana déag d'aois cáin má bhíonn siad ag obair, agus gur cóir go mbeadh guth acu dá réir. Those in favour of the change say that sixteen-year-olds who are working pay tax, and that they ought accordingly to have a voice. The claim belongs to them, not to you.

3. 03Give the case against, also attributed

   Deir daoine eile go bhfuil difear idir a bheith ag obair agus a bheith réidh le cinneadh polaitiúil a dhéanamh, agus go bhfuil an aois ochtar déag ann ar chúis. Others say there is a difference between working and being ready to make a political decision, and that the age of eighteen exists for a reason.

4. 04Add the comparative fact, if you have one

   Is fiú a rá go bhfuil an aois difriúil i ndlínsí éagsúla agus i gcineálacha éagsúla toghcháin. It is worth saying that the age differs between jurisdictions and between kinds of election. That is true, checkable and useful, and it does not require you to name a jurisdiction you are unsure about.

5. 05Decline the side, but not the question

   Tá dhá thaobh ar an gceist seo agus ní dóigh liom go bhfuil freagra simplí uirthi. Is é an rud is suimiúla dom ná nach faoin aois amháin atá sé ach faoi cé chomh maith is a mhúintear an pholaitíocht ar scoil. There are two sides and I do not think there is a simple answer. What interests me most is that it is not only about age but about how well politics is taught at school.

6. 06Why that last move is strong rather than evasive

   It reframes the question towards something you can genuinely evaluate, it demonstrates the analytical response AO4 asks for, and it gives the examiner an obvious follow-up. Declining a side while offering a real observation is a better answer than either side asserted flatly, and it is the honest one.

Result: Six moves: state the current legal position with the correct numeral eclipsis, attribute the case for and the case against to those who hold them, add a checkable comparative fact, decline to adjudicate, and reframe towards a question you can genuinely evaluate — with no party named and no individual case discussed.

An bhfuil saoránacht Eorpach tábhachtach do dhaoine óga in Éirinn? Is European citizenship important for young people in Ireland? Answer at A2 level with the changed landscape handled honestly.

1. 01Establish which people you are talking about

   I dtús báire, caithfimid a bheith soiléir faoi cé atá i gceist. Is ballstát den Aontas Eorpach í Poblacht na hÉireann; d'fhág an Ríocht Aontaithe an tAontas ar an 31 Eanáir 2020. To begin with, we must be clear about who is meant. The Republic of Ireland is a member state; the United Kingdom left the Union on 31 January 2020. Two facts, one date, no opinion.

2. 02Add the fact that makes the question interesting here

   Faoi Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta sa bhliain 1998, aithnítear go bhfuil sé de cheart ag muintir Thuaisceart Éireann iad féin a aithint mar Éireannaigh nó mar Bhriotanaigh nó mar an dá rud. Under the Belfast Agreement of 1998 it is recognised that the people of Northern Ireland have the right to identify themselves as Irish or British or both. Note the autonomous aithnítear, which is exactly right for what a document does, and de cheart with lenition after de.

3. 03The advantages, concretely

   Is buntáiste mór é go bhfuil deis ag saoránach den Aontas staidéar agus obair a dhéanamh i dtíortha eile gan víosa. It is a great advantage that a Union citizen has the opportunity to study and work in other countries without a visa. Concrete, first-order, and directly relevant to a young person, which is what the bullet asks about.

4. 04The disadvantages, attributed

   Deir a lucht cáinte go gcailleann tír smacht ar chuid dá cinnteoireacht féin, agus go bhfuil na hinstitiúidí i bhfad ó na vótálaithe. Its critics say that a country loses control of some of its own decision-making, and that the institutions are far from the voters. Reported, not endorsed, and reported accurately rather than as a straw position.

5. 05The opportunities, and the honest complication

   Do dhuine óg ó Thuaisceart Éireann, braitheann an scéal ar cé acu pas atá aige, agus is minic a bhíonn an dá cheann ag daoine. For a young person from Northern Ireland, the situation depends on which passport they hold, and people often hold both. That is a description of a real situation and it takes no side.

6. 06Close on the analytical observation

   Mar fhocal scoir, is é an rud is suimiúla ná gur athraigh an cheist seo go mór ó scríobhadh an tsonraíocht seo sa bhliain 2016. As a final word, the most interesting thing is that this question has changed greatly since this specification was written in 2016. Note the autonomous past scríobhadh, and note that the observation is about the topic rather than about a party.

Result: Six moves resting on three dated facts — the Republic's membership, the United Kingdom's departure on 31 January 2020, and the 1998 Agreement's recognition of both identities — with advantages stated concretely, disadvantages attributed to their holders, the Northern Ireland complication described rather than resolved, and a closing observation about how the question itself has moved.

A candidate's draft answer is: 'Society thinks young people are lazy and the media is always negative.' Rebuild it as an A2 analysis.

1. 01Separate the two claims in the draft

   There are two: a claim about what society thinks, and a claim about what the media publishes. They are different claims with different evidence, and merging them is the draft's first weakness. Deal with them one at a time.

2. 02Rebuild the media claim, attributed

   Deir taighdeoirí a dhéanann staidéar ar na meáin chumarsáide go mbíonn clúdach na ndaoine óga níos diúltaí ná mar a bhíonn clúdach grúpaí eile. Researchers who study the media say that coverage of young people is more negative than coverage of other groups. Attributed, comparative, and no number invented.

3. 03Rebuild the attitudes claim, and complicate it

   Maidir leis an tsochaí féin, níl aon mheon amháin ann. Bíonn dearcadh difriúil ag daoine ag brath ar a n-aois, ar a dtaithí, agus ar cé acu a bhfuil aithne acu ar dhaoine óga nó nach bhfuil. As for society itself, there is no single attitude. People's outlook differs according to their age, their experience, and whether or not they know any young people.

4. 04Add the abstract-noun structure

   Agus dá óige an duine, is ea is mó an brú a bhíonn air é féin a chosaint. And the younger the person, the greater the pressure on him to defend himself. This is the A-level list's abstract-noun degree in action and it does real analytical work here rather than being decoration.

5. 05Turn it round

   Ach oibríonn sé sa dá threo. Bíonn dearcadh ag daoine óga ar an nglúin níos sine chomh maith, agus ní bhíonn sé sin i gcónaí cothrom ach an oiread. But it works both ways. Young people also have an outlook on the older generation, and that is not always fair either.

6. 06Close on the distinction you opened with

   Mar fhocal scoir, ceapaim gur cheart idirdhealú a dhéanamh idir an méid a cheapann daoine agus an méid a fhoilsítear — ní hionann iad. As a final word, I think a distinction should be made between what people think and what is published: they are not the same. Note the autonomous a fhoilsítear and ní hionann iad, which is the negative of the specification's own is ionann iad.

Result: A one-sentence complaint rebuilt into a six-move analysis that separates attitudes from coverage, attributes the coverage claim to researchers, denies that society holds a single attitude, deploys the abstract-noun degree structure from the A-level list, turns the relationship round, and closes on the distinction it opened with.