The first exam is completed!

The nerve-racking first exam is over, and the relief is complete after completing the Higher Level English Exam Paper. 'The Art of Storytelling' was the theme of this year's paper. There were only four sections, each with about two to three questions.

Section A focused on film and character analysis. Question 1 was about studying films, and I chose Sing Street by John Carney, which I knew by heart. I'm glad I studied and rewatched Sing Street the night before the exam because question 2 was about compelling visual images that are camera angles.

Section B focused on narrative in poetry. I didn't understand the question, but I did my best to fill in all the blanks. Question 5 asked for a poem I had studied, and I responded with 'For Heidi with Blue Hair' by Fleur Adcock. It was straightforward because I learned it in second year and constantly revised it.

Section C was about appreciating the story and there was a Shakespearean extract (Hamlet) and no offence but I did not understand a word in the extract. I only liked the multiple choice questions as they were simple. In Question 7, I wrote about Trash by Andy Mulligan. I learnt Trash this year and something that I know because it's from my home country, the Philippines. There were 2 pages of boxes but I only did 1 page because my hand started hurting.

Section D was a simple section about crafting stories and emotions. The section was mostly about making up your own story and doing a simple grammatical exercise. Overall, I'm relieved that it was the first exam. There was a good variety of activities to do, and it really made me feel better for the remaining examinations.