by Annamarie Jennings
The higher-level home economics paper was a very manageable and topical paper that offered students a great variety of choice in the questions offered especially with the amendments to the paper this year. The short questions served as a nice introduction to the paper and were very approachable overall with a variety of topics that should cater for all students.
The compulsory long question offered some surprise as the expected lipids and carbohydrates did not appear however the questions included were straightforward and focused on the diets of teenagers, vitamin D and food choice.
The remaining questions in section B, of which one had to be answered covered vegan diets, food spoilage, housing and the modern Irish family giving students a great choice and opportunity to show their knowledge. The social studies question included an unusual combination of topics including marriage, the roles of older family members and wills but overall the question was very approachable.
In section C this year there was also additional choice with students able to opt for question 4 (Core Studies), this examined students on vegetables and gave the choice between answering on coeliac disease or household appliances – topics that students should have been well prepared for.
The other popular choice of the elective question was election 3 (social studies) again this was a very topical question touching on unemployment, leisure and education.
Overall students should be happy with the paper as it featured many of the anticipated topics with something for everyone in the paper.
