Mature Students Admission Pathway

Module 1 – Written English (1 hour)

All MSAP candidates are required to do Module 1

Your responses to the essay prompts are written in the Answer Booklet. Working space is provided for you to plan your essays. Use a blue or black pen, not a pencil.

There are two writing tasks and candidates will write in response to a prompt in each task. One prompt invites an argumentative response, and the other invites a personal response.

Good preparation for this section of the test is to attempt the essay prompts sample on this website (Practice Questions link). Set yourself the task of choosing and writing on two of the sample prompts. Make some time when you will not be interrupted and give yourself an hour to write your essays under 'test conditions'. It is often helpful to ask someone else to read your essay and suggest improvements or alternative approaches. It can also be useful to put your essay aside for several days before re-reading it to look for ways to make improvements.

Don't be concerned about the expected length of the MSAP Written English essays. Within reason, the quality of the writing is much more important than the length. Remember, you only have 30 minutes to plan and write each essay, and the examiners do not have unrealistic expectations of what you can produce in that time.

The criteria for the assessment of Written English:

• The quality of what is said in the piece of writing (developing & exploring ideas in response to the prompt)
• The quality of the structure and organization developed to say something
• The quality of the language used to organize and present what is said (using language precisely & appropriately to produce a clear & fluent piece of writing)

Some comments from the MSAP markers about the characteristics of stronger responses:

"The stronger responses were those who could challenge some of the ideas (you don't have to agree with the prompt!) as well as support their point of view in some detail".

"...Ability to understand the whole prompt (not just address part of it) and deal with it broadly; able to discuss complex issues..."

"...Ability to use personal anecdote and bed it into a wider discussion..."

And characteristics of weaker responses:

"Writing which used lists/dot points/sub-headings was not successful".

"Over-use of cliches".

"Candidates often only dealt with half the prompt and omitted addressing the section that would enable them to show some depth and substance".

Some candidates are very concerned that their poor spelling will have a significant impact on their marks. Don't be. The markers are looking mainly at content - they want to see you thinking ideas through, managing complexity, going beyond the superficial. They are more interested in the words you have chosen and how you've put them together, than how you have spelled them.

Module 2 – Reasoning in the Humanities and Social Sciences (1 hour)
for candidates applying for Arts/Humanities courses at UCC, UCD and NUIG

Module 3 – Reasoning in the Sciences, Mathematics and Social Sciences (1 hour)
for candidates applying for Science or Ag Science courses at UCD only

These modules of MSAP are in multiple-choice format. You will mark your answers by filling in ovals on a machine-readable answer sheet. It is very important that you record your answers carefully. Record your answers by completely filling in the oval with pencil. If you decide to change an answer, erase it completely and mark the oval corresponding to your new choice.

Use only a B, 2B or HB pencil, and have a good quality eraser.

Use the sample questions on this website to practise your exam technique. Make some quiet time when you are unlikely to be distracted. Remember that in the real test there will be 35 questions to be completed in one hour. Try to attempt all questions before checking your answers. Other good preparation is to read widely and think critically about what you need. 

There are 35 questions in each Module in multiple-choice format with 4 responses, from which the candidate is asked to choose the most appropriate response. There is only one correct response.

In Module 2, the questions focus on interpretation and understanding of ideas in language. Some questions will ask candidates to identify the main idea in a passage, or interpret specific words and phrases. Inferences or deduced meanings may be required. In some questions the emphasis is placed on analyzing and understanding the stimulus material, and in others the candidates will have to manipulate information and solve problems.

In Module 3, the questions focus on comprehension, application, decision making and solving scientific and mathematical information. Some questions will require candidates to interpret figures, identify connections, relationships and patterns. Other questions will require basic calculation, estimation and application of equations. Some questions will require deduction, extrapolations and using evidence, and others involve problem solving.

The answer sheet is scanned by Optical Mark Read (OMR) technology. You must complete the sheet in pencil, not pen. Information is filled in the boxes at the top of each column, then the corresponding 'bubble' below is coloured in. Do not put ticks, crosses or circles - just fill in the 'bubble' completely.

The multiple-choice answer sheet is on the front cover of the Answer Booklet.

See a sample version of the answer sheet.

There is one Answer Booklet for all three modules of the test, so the answer sheet will have space for answers for Modules 2 and 3.

As most people will be doing either Module 2 OR Module 3, it is important that you record your answers in the correct section.

• It is not advisable to spend too much time on any one question.
• Read the stimulus material for a unit several times before starting the questions.
• Read through all the alternative answers to a question, even if you think the first one is correct, before marking your chosen response. See if there are any options you can discard immediately because they are obviously wrong.
• If you think you know the answer to a question, mark it, even if you are not certain. Move on to the next question and return to this question later if you have time. This will prevent you from getting your answers out of sequence with the questions, and will give you some chance if you run out of time.

  Points to note

• Answers should be marked directly onto the answer sheet, not on the test booklet.
• You may do draft work in the margins of your test book.  Scrap paper is not allowed.
• All questions have the same value. It is recommended that you attempt as many questions as possible in order to maximise your score.
• No marks will be deducted for a wrong answer.
• If you mark more than one answer to a question it will be considered wrong.
• Use only grey lead pencil (HB, B or 2B) to mark your answers.