A bit of talk radio and tackling Question Bs

The task of writing for radio has come up at regular intervals on the Leaving Certificate over the past decade,

Here are some examples

2017

You have been asked to participate in a radio programme entitled Reflections on the World of Childhood. Write the text to be broadcast on radio, in which you reflect on the world of your childhood, discuss what captured your imagination, and recall a selection of the songs, sounds or stories that live on in your memory.

2010

‘Books are Forbidden’

Write the text for a short radio talk where you explain the importance of books in your life and in today’s world.

2007

Imagine your local radio station is producing a series of programmes entitled ‘Changing Times’ in which teenagers are asked to give their views on the changes they welcome in the world around them. You have been invited to contribute. Write the text of the presentation you would make.

The task is quite similar to that of delivering a speech to a live audience (something that also comes up quite frequently) but with a few key differences. Rather than being argumentative or persuasive the tasks are discursive asking you to reflect on a particular topic, sometimes in a personal way or sometimes in a more general way.

The 2017 task asks you to do three different things: Reflect on the world of your childhood, discuss what captured your imagination, and recall a selection of the songs, sounds or stories that live on in your memory. This is almost like a personal essay and it is vital in this situation to address all aspects of the task or your marks will suffer.

You need to pay careful attention to your target audience to determine how formal you need to be. When addressing an audience like the UN or the Dáil you’re expected to be extremely formal. Radio in general is a little more informal and relaxed but read the task carefully in case it specifies.

Use the language of radio to address listeners rather than readers/audience. Perhaps use the name of a well-known radio presenter or radio show to anchor the talk in a particular style and engage with the listeners by reading out some questions/points that they have texted or tweeted in to the show. Little touches like these can lend the piece a real authenticity. Here’s a sample opening to the 2017 task: Thank you Ray for giving me the opportunity to speak on a topic close to my heart. I just had a baby last year so am currently getting to relive my childhood vicariously through my son! I was a child of the 80s, a much simpler time - pre mobile phones, the internet and generally people having money in Ireland. We were all poor by today’s standards and looked longingly at American TV shows like Baywatch and the A Team, which featured lifestyles very different from our own. It was the era of the cassette tape and one of my earliest memories is of dancing around to Madonna songs in the kitchen never fully understanding her lyrics! I read a lot and was obsessed with Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I loved escaping into a different world via the pages of a book usually sourced from the local library. My family spent a lot of time in my grandparents’ house in deepest rural Mayo, no shops for miles around, only two channels on the tiny television (how we complained to our parents when traveling there) but acres of fields to explore, trees to climb, muddy puddles and wildlife to ogle. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of our time there. I’d like to share a little more detail on these elements of my childhood if you will indulge me and if any of your listeners were also children of the 80s I’d love to hear their memories also. Text or Tweet into the show now!