Junior Cert advise please?

Hi! Im just after completing my Junior Cert this June! I was gearing up for the Junior Cert from when I started third year in September but I really got into it after Christmas for the mocks. After the mocks make sure you don't give up. You will have a lot of work put in for the mocks if your aiming high so make sure you DO NOT throw in the books after the mocks. A lot of people in my year got fed up after them.

For maths I went through the book chapter by chapter and made sure I understood the samples, questions and explanations in it. You may find your maths book is very easy to the exam papers. My maths class had an awful shock when we started the exam papers. But stick at them do every question possible in the exam papers and then revise the questions in the exam papers! For maths, always ensure you ask or find the solution to every question you are stuck on. I found by buying the exam solutions online for my educate exam papers was a big help for me.

For business you basically need to learn the book! Its the only subject where you have to do this in my experience but you need to be able to quote every term, point and step from the book. It is very important that you learn the terms and if there is a glossary at the end of each chapter this usually highlights the main definitions.

For English, you just need to do your homework and every question you get to do the best you can. If you have a good teacher they will point out your unsuitable phrasing, punctuation etc. and if you don't understand ALWAYS ask. I was one of the best students in my class for english but my english teacher was always pointing out things I did wrong. At the end of the day though I think him for the tough love treatment!

As for a timetable, I think everybody's falls apart! I found it easier to set goals for myself rather than saying I must study this now. So for each term (e.g. September to Halloween) use the index at the front of your books to select what you will cover in study for that term. Don`t be afraid to take good junks of the book to study and put similar chapters together. Divide your time evenly with each subject (even the one`s you don't like) and each chapter. I always found I would have the first chapters of every book known inside out because I always went to the start, but try and go in a chapter every time you study. Remember it`s not how long you study, its how much you understand and take in! Try and spend an hour study every evening. It can be tight to fight in with homework and other activities but try and put the pressure on and do it. And remember always take breaks (10 mins every 40 is usually suitable).

In general, do all the homework you get to the best of your ability, listen in class and ask questions if you dont understand. If you ever feel like giving in, Dont! Think about you opening the envelope in September and everyone being overwhelmed by your good results! I cant wait until I open mine now

Best of luck with the junior cert and dont stress! Honestly, it can get a bit hectic but just keep going and it will all be a success! Anymore questions just ask

Roscommonabc wrote: »

Above advise very good for a third year student ..... thank you all.

One question for Irishlassie .... you mentioned your Maths revision and that you bought the solutions on line. Is there a particular website you used, I would appreciate your answer if you are allowed to disclose such on boards.ie. thanks. appreciate your help.

I`m not sure if the sample papers in all exam papers are the same but for my educate Maths exam papers I logged into the https://educateplus.ie/exam-solutions website where it allowed me to buy the solutions for these papers for €8 I think it was. They were of great benefit to me when I got stuck and it showed each line of the solution needed to get full marks for the majority of sums.
However don't always give up straight away if you come across a difficult sum, try to figure it out on your own. You should use these solutions to check that the steps you have done for each sum is correct and if you need assistance!
I`d highly recommend them as last year it allowed me to have nearly all the exam papers done and fully understood when the rest of my class were still trying to come to terms with how difficult they were compare to our maths book!

Any other questions feel free to ask

Most people have already said everything but yeah basically :
1. Do your homework. All of it. Make sure you understand it and don't get lazy, do it to the best of your ability.
2. Listen in class, It makes everything so much easier.
3. Exam Papers. It's important to be prepared for the type of questions they're going to ask you and how they are going to ask them. If you are familiar with what the exam looks like you'll be less nervous on the day.

In my experience, the best way to study maths is to just keep practising. No matter how well you learn off the theory, it'll mean nothing if you can't apply it to the questions. Exam papers are very useful and can really help you (don't worry if they scare you at first, some of those mock questions are crazy hard.) If you don't understand something, ask your teacher about it.