PLEASE HELP US FOR 2013!

MovingToMars · 21-06-2012 9:46pm #1

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd start a new thread where maybe those who have just completed their leaving cert could share some tips and advice for next years leaving certs

What would you have done differently? Anything you know now that you wish you knew going into 6th year?

All advice appreciated

I'm a newbie by the way so Hi!

Impossible LC · 21-06-2012 9:57pm

study everything,, go over sample papers also....
not rely too much on predictions anymore
the SEC wants to make the exams less predictable~ (& harder in my opinion compare to those in 2005-7

whatsec · 21-06-2012 10:00pm

It's such a typical response but seriously, start studying early. There were certain subjects I'd done work for throughout the year and it makes such a difference the night before an exam. Far less stressful.

Also on a random note, as some one who just finished today, don't assume if you have a week gap before a final exam that you can leave all the study for that exam till then. You will have lost all motivation by then! haha

Persistance is key!

ei.sderob · 21-06-2012 10:06pm

Just pace yourself. From the first week you go back have a little plan in place. Start off with an hours study every night (excluding homework) and gradually work it up to 2 hours the 3 then 4. Repetition is key, lads. KEEP GOING OVER STUFF. That way it'll gradually start to stick and you'll sub consciously know thing that your conscious self doesn't even know you know.

MovingToMars · 21-06-2012 10:16pm

whatsec wrote: »

It's such a typical response but seriously, start studying early. There were certain subjects I'd done work for throughout the year and it makes such a difference the night before an exam. Far less stressful.

Also on a random note, as some one who just finished today, don't assume if you have a week gap before a final exam that you can leave all the study for that exam till then. You will have lost all motivation by then! haha

Persistance is key!

Oh no

I'm already planning to leave a lot of the "finishing touches" to music and economics for the last week.. dreading this year already :rolleyes:

Incompetent · 21-06-2012 10:20pm

MovingToMars wrote: »

Oh no I'm already planning to leave a lot of the "finishing touches" to music and economics for the last week.. dreading this year already :rolleyes:

Seriously. I have my applied maths exam tomorrow, and I've done nearly no work. 0 motivation even though my next year depends on it! Ahh well

My point is you'll be drained, even if you don't think you will be

Lucario · 21-06-2012 10:28pm

MovingToMars wrote: »

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd start a new thread where maybe those who have just completed their leaving cert could share some tips and advice for next years leaving certs

What would you have done differently? Anything you know now that you wish you knew going into 6th year?

All advice appreciated

I'm a newbie by the way so Hi!

I suggest leaving this thread and perhaps make another late August

It's much too early to be thinking about your LC now, just enjoy your last few months of freedom.. :rolleyes:

MovingToMars · 21-06-2012 10:32pm

Lucario wrote: »

I suggest leaving this thread and perhaps make another late August It's much too early to be thinking about your LC now, just enjoy your last few months of freedom.. :rolleyes:

Thought I'd catch ye before ye left for the college forums

Togepi · 21-06-2012 10:35pm

For homework/study, get a copy and write down everything you're going to get done every day. Like setting goals or whatever. It really helps you focus and you can see how much you're getting done as you cross each thing off. I did that towards the end of the year and it worked - before that I found it really hard to do any study!

Leaving stuff 'til the last week if you're off before your last exam seems fine, but you just won't be bothered anymore by then, and you could get sick (like I did!) or just want to go out one night because everyone else is finished (and then not do anything for a day or two afterwards). :P

spurious · 21-06-2012 10:48pm

Listen properly in class and never leave the room not understanding something that was said/done.
Do all your homework as if it was an exam question.

Doing the above will make your studying/revision so much easier.

SP534 · 21-06-2012 10:50pm

Incompetent wrote: »

Seriously. I have my applied maths exam tomorrow, and I've done nearly no work. 0 motivation even though my next year depends on it! Ahh well My point is you'll be drained, even if you don't think you will be

I'm in the exact place as Incompetent. If your exam is this late on in the whole process, you will not have the motivation to study. You'll be wrecked, and just fed up of the whole thing. The fact that you need to do well, or the fact that "it's all over after that one exam" will make no difference.

Do the work DURING the year, not at the end. Keep at it, and it truly will pay off in the end.

Also keep going over everything. Both stuff you did back at the start of 5th year, and the stuff you're doing now. Leave nothing forgotten. There's no point studying something once, marking it as done and leaving it be again until the exams come around. It won't work.

Edit: As a footnote, try not to wear yourself out too early. Do your study, but don't lock yourself away in your room for the year either. There has to be a balance between your outside life and the leaving cert, don't let it totally take over your life.

MovingToMars · 21-06-2012 11:18pm

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Much appreciated.

Chuchoter · 21-06-2012 11:24pm

Choose your subjects wisely. Pick things that will leave you open to everything, but not ones that will make you work your arse off for. Checking the A rates for each subject is helpful. I'm not saying pick subjects you're not interested in just because their easy, but don't make life hard for yourself.

Study from 5th year! Keep really good notes and be organized. I cannot emphasize that enough.

Make sure your courses are moving quickly. You don't want to find yourself 6 weeks to the LC cutting corners because half of it hasn't been covered.

finality · 22-06-2012 12:55am

Leaving the study til the night before is probably very bad, but if you do end up doing it, don't tell yourself "it's not going to make a difference now." Last minute study can work wonders.

Try not to put it off though, like in sixth year I kept telling myself "ah I'll start studying after christmas...ah I'll start studying after Easter...ah I'll start studying after I graduate." :L I told myself as it got closer to the exams I'd get really stressed and start studying 10 hours a day or something. Didn't happen. I ended up studying for Irish the morning of the exam and revised the whole biology course the night before the exam (wanted to die but it paid off).

Basically don't underestimate the value of last minute study, but don't leave everything til the last minute or you will be so exhausted during the LC that you will want to die.

Oh and use your own thoughts in English essays! It's so much easier to remember your own thoughts than some random notes that don't make sense to you. I rarely used notes in English (only towards the end of the year when I got lazy) and it made the subject so much less stressful for me at least.

Oh and when writing up science experiments, shorten them as much as possible. Leave out all the quantities and excess. No marks for them, waste of time. I made the mistake of writing out the chemistry experiments almost directly from the book, and in the end I didn't even look at the lab book because it was useless to me.

Oh and finally, if you've got good notes (or are good at underlining the main points in your book), don't bother with revision books unless you're used to them and really like them. I bought revision books for chemistry and physics and never looked at them because the definitions and experiment methods in them were different to what I'd learnt, so they were useless and confusing for me. That could just be me though.

And avoid this forum in the weeks before the exams. It will make you procrastinate like never before. :P

Leftyflip · 22-06-2012 1:00am

Few naggins, be graaannndd!!

Whatsisname · 22-06-2012 3:02am

Whatever you do, do NOT rely on predictions for English.

..or anything for that matter..

ThatGuy93 · 22-06-2012 3:22am

Whatsisname wrote: »

Whatever you do, do NOT rely on predictions for English.

..or anything for that matter..

I'd like to second this. I in my complete and utter stupidity decided to go with the English predictions and I only did Plath and Heaney, and guess what? ... They didnt come up. Do 5 poets dont risk it!

fizzyorange · 22-06-2012 10:22am

Do Plath, be grand. :P

Really though, listen in class and do your homework. Those two things made study for me so much easier.

I always varied the way I studied. For physics, biology and Maths, I just did exam questions over and over again. For English, I never really studied. Just know your texts, know your poets and understand them. No point in knowing all of Frost's poems off by heart off by heart if you can't give a personal response. Know the basic structures for your comparison essays, but I wouldn't recommend learning off essays. The only things I learnt off were Plath and Larkin quotes the night before the exam. For geography, I had a sample answer wrote out or essentially every question they could ask. Just by writing them out and reading over them I could remember the points and I ended up doing fairly well in that exam. For Irish and German, I just prayed. :P looked over German key words and prayed for health and fitness. Then health and fitness came up and I was the happiest girl in the world.

Just try your best, do a bit of work but don't kill yourself. There are more things important than exams.

Mysteriouschic · 22-06-2012 10:35am

Study early I started properly during Easter but I'd done other studying a few days a week for different subjects.

Make a list rather than a timetable. I made timetable and I haven't once stuck to them.

English you could do the 3 women one woman has to come up that's what I did anyway you could do 5 if you just wanted to be safe.
The comparative just knowing your texts well would be fine then the single text practice all the questions and don't predict the essay title.

The other subjects like geography , business , economics you just learn the material off although you really need to understand economics . Maths just practising the questions.

Do all your homework and hand up extra work you've done at home to be corrected.

iMMer5ion · 22-06-2012 10:50am

Yeah a thread in August may be a better idea but then again all Leaving Certs be busy preparing for college, not giving tips.

For Summer, if you're into it, I'd recommend reading. It will help you a lot for English (short stories, vocabulary). I'm starting reading again this summer. Learn vocabulary you didn't know before and that will be beneficial.

Why wouldnt you turn your Leving Cert into 12 months rather than 10? You don't have to do 6 hours study in summer, but at least do a bit here and there. Learn definitions from science subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) and start learning valuable vocab for your language subjects (English, Irish, French, Spanish).

What I would REALLY recommend (I'm repeating so believe me I'll be doing this);
From experience...I will definitely be drafting and starting History projects this summer. I left it till March/ May as did the rest of my class. Big mistake.
Start choosing a topic. Gather some information. Write a very rough draft. That's 60%ish of the battle.

If you do music, start deceiding what pieces you'd like to play for the practical. And take a look at music tecnology or whatever it is that you'll do with it. Music Practicals are 50%. I am going to kick my piano playing up a knotch this summer.

Even just practice a few odd exam questions during summer and you'll have done something important.

These tips may only be of value to you if you are hoping to achieve very high points. Some may say I'm giving unrealistic tips and that no-one will work through summer.

The reality of the Leaving Cert is that everyone lies. Your friends lie about how much they're studying. People who say they're not doing anything may be studying plenty - and those who say they've done loads and that they're 'sorted', have done nothing. In fact you lie to yourself. You can always do more.

The ones who want to a achieve high points use their summer. You don't have to dedicate 6-8 hours a day. You just balance your time and give attention to what is most needed each day. That is how you do the Leaving Cert (IMO)...time and balance.

MovingToMars · 22-06-2012 12:13pm

Whatsisname wrote: »

Whatever you do, do NOT rely on predictions for English.

..or anything for that matter..

I'm thinking that they'll HAVE to put Plath on the paper next year.. but it will be an Awful question. :rolleyes: We've only done Elizabeth Bishop so far ( I know, only one poet covered :eek: ) so I have a feeling I will end up relying on predictions, even though I really don't want to.

iMMer5ion · 22-06-2012 1:18pm

oh yeah most importantly...for God's sake, DON'T DO OR RELY ON PREDICTIONS!!!

kippy · 22-06-2012 1:28pm

Leaving Cert Advice: (apart from what has already been said) from a guy in his 30's who has been there, worn the t-shirt and sold it again.
1. Don't get too stressed by it. While it is an important set of exams it does not have to define your future "success" in life.
2. You're CAO choices and choice of college course are as critical as any results you get in the leaving cert.
3. Remember, the points that are required to get into a course do not link up with the "difficulty" of the college course. IE the effort required to get 200 points in the leaving cert does not necessarily correlate to the effort required to get through a course where the entry level is 200 points.
4. There is more than one way to skin a cat (a saying my dad loves, and one which is probably not PC any more). Basicilly, if you really want to do a course/career and you feel like you wont be able to get the points required, make sure you still put that course top of you list, but second on the list put a course whereby it would be possible to get into your chosen course from it in a year or twos time (with the possible negative that it may take a year longer) - a year isn't long, believe me. Do you research about how to get into a particular area.
5. Probably a bit late now but if you do know what you want to do, make sure you know the entry requirements to the course outside of the points requirements.
6. Make sure you pass the "main" subjects. Maths, English, Irish. Failing any off these is a pretty big issue, no matter at what level as this will limit severely what you can do.
7. While the leaving will appear to be the most important thing in the work for the next 12 -15 months, after that you are in the "big, bad world" of college or life outside of home. Enjoy the year if you can, do your best with what you've got and always, always make sure you have a plan B.

Wanchor · 22-06-2012 1:31pm

Put up notes on the walls in your room now. I put up physics definitions about 2 months before the leaving and just by walking past and taking a quick glance, I had learned about 80% of them. I also drew a lot of pictures to help me take the information in easier. It's fantastic for poetry.

amyleaving · 22-06-2012 5:13pm

I saw someone here said it was too early and to wait till august, i do agree that you should enjoy the summer but its never too early! good for you for thinking about it now,
i wish my teachers got us to start doing exam paper questions a lot earlier i didn't even think of doing them , i would just study my books then i would look at the questions and they were completely different, so study the chapter in the book then try to do exam questions without the book, it worked well for me.
try not to worry too much! i would get frustrated with the huge amount of study i hadn't done it just put me in a bad mood , not good for studying! then i would just get even less study done and then worry again :P you will get it all done..

leaveiton · 22-06-2012 5:52pm

Don't do any work over the summer. You'll have plenty of time in 6th year, and you won't really get many breaks between the beginning and the end (I know for me that midterms/Easter holidays were full of homework, study and extra classes. Christmas was the only real break I had), so take the opportunity now to do nothing.

Sixth year can be really stressful, as you know. If you're finding that things are getting on top of you, talk to someone. If you're not comfortable talking to your friends or family, school guidance counsellors are really great, in my experience. They'll know exactly what you're going through. If you still don't feel comfortable with that idea, then there are organisations like Samaritans that can help too.

I personally started to pretty much crack around January of this year. I'd only come back from doing the Christmas tests and the teachers were talking about the mocks, I was getting homework left right and centre and it was just too much. I wasn't sleeping properly, I couldn't concentrate in school, I was exhausted. I had to take a couple of days just off school completely, because I felt that if I went in, it would be just as bad as going in with a stomach bug, I just wouldn't be able for it. It did me the world of good. If you find anything similar happening to you, just take some time off. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

silversky · 22-06-2012 6:07pm

Best Advice: Don't rely on predictions. Like everybody says. We were really fecked over this year especially in English so learn your five poets off! Same with the other subjects, even though I find it literally impossible to keep all that info in my brain- start in 5th year.

I would advise you to type up all your essays or notes on a computer/ laptop, it's so much better/ neater/ easier to access.

Take your holidays off for example the February break. I know some people do crazy amounts of study but my advice would be to relax and then get back into study when you go back or just catch-up on home work. You need that break to de-stress.

And I suppose just be consistent throughout the two years. Learn your notes off for class tests and when you're revising for big exams it'll come back easier to you.

Lucario · 22-06-2012 7:29pm

MovingToMars wrote: »

Thought I'd catch ye before ye left for the college forums

Good point

What subjects are you doing? Maybe then you can get more specific tips for each subject?

HeaneyBabe · 22-06-2012 9:36pm

Okay some advice from my own experience, realistic advice.

-If you know yourself that you're not a person that will do 4 hours of study every night excluding homework then don't try to turn yourself into one. It won't work. You need to go at your pace. I don't mean don't study if you haven't been doing any at all, but you can't just leap into 4 hours if you're not that type of person. 2 hours a night is definitely enough, or 3 or 4 including homework. Maybe a bit more coming up to the mocks and the LC. But otherwise you cannot burn yourself out.

-Continued revision is key. Learning off geography answers for example is something that will stand to you the night before your exam. Keep learning things off, and then you won't be freaking out the night before when you have about a million essays to learn off.

-Don't rely on predictions. Predictions on here told me to learn Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney, so I learned Patrick Kavanagh and Adrienne Rich. It worked for me. I'm not saying always go against statistics, but learn everything. I learned all poets actually, i just knew Kavanagh and Rich the best.

-If you happen to have a week off before an exam, don't say you're going to take a day off. That will turn into 3, 4, 5 days off and then you will suddenly be freaking out the night before once again while a lot of your friends could be finished.

-Last but not least, enjoy your last year in school. 6th year was by far my favourite year at school. I had so much fun and although I'm thankful to be finished that chapter in my life and I would definitely not do it again, you need to enjoy it with your friends. Otherwise you won't get through it.

Good Luck!!

ganon · 23-06-2012 1:06am

Ask questions in every class!

Get a little notebook and keep a page or two for each subject, write out a list of all the topics/poets/questions and put ticks beside them each time you revise

Cut out some of the distractions in your life, I stopped watching TV and stuff and just used playing music as my main hobby/break

randylonghorn · 23-06-2012 5:15am

Mysteriouschic wrote: »

English you could do the 3 women one woman has to come up ...

One woman does NOT have to come up!

It's pretty likely that one will, but there's no rule about it.

MovingToMars wrote: »

I'm thinking that they'll HAVE to put Plath on the paper next year..

They don't HAVE to do any such thing!

Perhaps they will reckon that loads of people will think like this, and leave her off again?

PLEASE HELP US FOR 2013!

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