Night before Leaving Cert advise?

EDmon · 31-05-2012 5:59pm #1

To the students who have done the LC.

We've all been advised by teachers etc. to "get a good nights sleep", before each exam.

But for the mocks I ended up staying up late into the night cramming, until I had gone over all of the most relevant information, so I could refresh myself. (With this, I was very happy with mock results.)

I'm afraid if I haven't read it the night before I may not remember some things.

Thus, What are you guys doing the night before sleep or cram or other?

what would you advise ?

Thank you.

Amirani · 31-05-2012 6:59pm

'Advise' in the sense you meant is spelled 'advice'. Handy enough for the auld English paper.

bscm · 31-05-2012 7:23pm

NiallSparky wrote: »

'Advise' in the sense you meant is spelled 'advice'. Handy enough for the auld English paper.

I always thought "advice" was the noun, "advise" was the verb

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Advice_vs_Advise

Jammyc · 31-05-2012 7:33pm

As you can see OP, confusion only gets greater after the Leaving Cert.

I can't exactly remember what I did for my Leaving Cert but I do remember sleeping properly the night before. In bed by around 12ish to be up for around 8.

UrbanSea · 31-05-2012 8:37pm

All night cramming is the worst thing you can do. Head to bed early, I was in bed before eleven every night. Nothing worse than doing a big exam totally wrecked tired,you'll find yourself not even remembering things you did the day before.

Lawliet · 31-05-2012 9:01pm

Unless you are totally screwed for the exam, get some sleep. All nighters are for the desperate.

languagenerd · 31-05-2012 10:43pm

I concur with the others, sleep!!

I always stopped studying around 9 or 10pm, had a hot chocolate and was in bed by 11. I don't pull all-nighters for college exams either because I'd just be a zombie the next day. Everyone is different though, and maybe it works for you. But I found with the LC that there came a point the night before where I just couldn't study the subject anymore, so that was when I gave up. If you've been putting in work all along, then you're probably better off spending those few hours sleeping - you don't take much in when you're tired anyway!

Good luck!

fiinch · 31-05-2012 10:47pm

study untill you feel tired, simple trade off, do as much as you can going over your topics untill you feel like you should go to bed. if you think you should be in bed, you probably should. if you think you can stay up a bit later and not be wrecked in the morning for your exam then stay up by all means.

it's different for everyone, do what you're comfortable with. that's what i would advice, er.. advise..

01-06-2012 12:06am

Sleeeeep! Seriously, don't listen to what anyone else says about cramming, sleep. The LC is too important to take risks, and I've heard of & know people who've overslept and missed exams because they were up cramming, or completely drawn a blank on the paper due to exhaustion. You think it won't happen to you until it does.

Be well rested and alert, and good luck!

01-06-2012 12:13am

Completely agree with sleep. You'll reach a moment at which your brain can't take any more information when you're cramming if you're anything like me. Get to bed early, wake up early, and do an hour or two review before the exam. That's what I do for exams.

Remember, your brain needs to rest and more importantly your brain needs to be able to recall all the information the next day!

kate.m · 01-06-2012 12:22am

I had never done a proper all nighter before college. Yeah sure I might stay up til 1am or 2am if I was desperate for some random sixth year exam but never more.

I did however pull an all nighter in my college exams this year with my first physics exam and it was the*worst* thing I could have done. There is nothing worse than half recognising something in an exam and not having the brain power to work it out! Thats what lack of sleep does.

So yeah my advice is get 6-8hours sleep the night before. (especially subjects that require you to work stuff out - maybe some other exams like geography wouldn't be as bad to cram for)

Grimebox · 01-06-2012 12:41am

My brother once advised my to smoke a joint if I ever have trouble sleeping. He failed his leaving cert

Steodonn · 01-06-2012 1:45am

Grimebox wrote: »

My brother once advised my to smoke a joint if I ever have trouble sleeping. He failed his leaving cert

Well that normally works not something you want to do the night before an exam . Weed isent the kindest to your memory which might be more important than a goods night sleep

FloatingVoter · 01-06-2012 10:46am

And remember this is a third level thread. You can screw up exams in college by cramming / drinking the night before and still repeat them in August / September. Not an option in the LC.
Rest your brain the night before is my best advice.

01-06-2012 2:15pm

Exams aren't just about information, especially in LC, there's a lot of creative thinking involved, especially in subjects like English and Maths. You need to be able to perform critical thinking and express you answers in a well written easy-to-read way. No matter how much raw information you remember, without a clear head you wont be able to use it.

It's better to remember a little, and use it well, than remember lots but be too sleep-deprived to be able to articulate it. I didn't know much at all for the leaving cert, barely went to school, and nobody thought I'd get more than 300 points. But I studied at home, took care of myself, and the few things I did remember in the exam I explained very well. I ended up doing best in the subjects that were more critical thinking based. And I got the course I wanted and now I couldn't be happier.

Get at least 6 hours sleep, and eat a good low GI breakfast. I've no doubt that taking care of myself around exam time boosted by results by 50 points at least.

Diamond_Ninja · 01-06-2012 2:23pm

Whatever you do, don't go for a few drinks to relax before any of your exams.. That right there will get you a D3 in Ag Science :eek:

Togepi · 01-06-2012 3:41pm

Is it grand to do a couple of hours' study in the morning before each exam? I'll probably do this and take a two hour break before the start of each exam to avoid having a headache during them.

PeterTwo · 01-06-2012 4:14pm

I think late-night cramming works ok for college as you need to retain less info, but the sheer volume of stuff needed for the LC means that cramming isn't the best option and you'd do better with a good night's sleep.

spurious · 01-06-2012 4:34pm

Don't be late the first day. There are a few housekeeping things need to be done.

ceegee · 01-06-2012 4:42pm

As everyones said get a decent nights rest. The LC is a marathon not a sprint, you might get away with an all nighter on a one off exam but youll be f**ked for the next few days. It MIGHT be worth it if you need to pull out a hail mary effort for your last exam but could well backfire - and the LC aint the time for experimenting

ceegee · 01-06-2012 4:46pm

Togepi wrote: »

Is it grand to do a couple of hours' study in the morning before each exam? I'll probably do this and take a two hour break before the start of each exam to avoid having a headache during them.

What time you planning on getting up at? Id say any study the morning of the first exam will be pretty sh*te due to nerves etc.
For later exams Id play it by ear and see how tired you are and what suits you. A lot depends on how nicely your exams fall in terms of days off

The Black Oil · 01-06-2012 8:30pm

Sleep is a good plan.

This thread makes me feel old.

Togepi · 01-06-2012 10:04pm

ceegee wrote: »

What time you planning on getting up at? Id say any study the morning of the first exam will be pretty sh*te due to nerves etc.
For later exams Id play it by ear and see how tired you are and what suits you. A lot depends on how nicely your exams fall in terms of days off

I'd get up at 8 or 9 all going well, for any exam at 2 that is. Then maybe 6 or 7 if I need to for the 5 that start at 9.30-ish. I'm on from Wednesday the 6th to Wednesday the 13th with no break, then I've a few days off before the last two exams. I'd only do it for English Paper II, Maths, Irish, and maybe Phys/Chem.

I'm not one to get nervous really, usually far too laid back for my own good! Plus I did the Leaving Cert last year so I'm even less worried about it.

nommm · 02-06-2012 1:26am

SLEEP

Amirani · 02-06-2012 1:33am

bscm wrote: »

I always thought "advice" was the noun, "advise" was the verb

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Advice_vs_Advise

Thread title is the problem, the usage in the post itself is fine.

I'd agree with the posts recommending sleep.

Night before Leaving Cert advise?

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