THIS IS the first year that design and communication graphics (DCG) has been examined at Leaving Cert level.

The subject was introduced in 2007 as a replacement for technical graphics and modernises the syllabus, teaching computer-aided design (CAD) modules alongside traditional draughting techniques.

John O’Sullivan, ASTI subject representative, said that students would now approach the exam with marks in the bag.

“It takes some pressure off in the context of a high-stakes Leaving Cert examination.

“Students would welcome a single paper over the previous system, when the exam was split into two sittings, he said.

Overall, Mr O’Sullivan said he was broadly happy, considering it marked the first examination of this revised syllabus.

He welcomed the addition of CAD modeling as a necessary modernisation of the technical graphics syllabus.

“It results in the students engaging in a much broader range of knowledge”, he said, which would be crucial for third level study in the area.

The written paper is worth 60 per cent of the available marks.

Project work, submitted prior to the exam, comprises the remaining 40 per cent.

Students must answer three of five questions from the core syllabus and two of five from the Applied Graphics syllabus.

These optional modules focus on different aspects of the course in more detail.

Mr O’Sullivan praised yesterday’s paper, saying it was very well laid out, both in higher and ordinary.

The structure was similar to the sample papers issued by the State Exam Commission (SEC), he said.

The use of colour visuals was welcomed in the context of a DCG examination in the 21st century, said Mr O’Sullivan.

He said it would help students visualise the objects presented.

In previous years, the technical graphics exam was criticised for its depth.

Many critics concerned that it had a negative effect on student takeup of the course.

Mr O’Sullivan said that the new exam “examined abstract principles in an applied way”, bringing academic concepts into the everyday.

This change of focus achieved a reduction in the depth of treatment while increasing the breadth of student understanding, said Mr O’Sullivan.

Mr O’Sullivan said that while it was still a complex examination, well-prepared students would have no problem completing the paper.

In the future, the State Exam Commission needed to ensure that that students’ attainment compared favourably with that of previous years, added Mr O’Sullivan.