How to study?

ian 123

Hey,so quick question, I have my mocks coming up after the mid term and I havnt a clue how to go abut studying. I can study maths easy enough its just the likes of irish and business that I can never remember. Has any one got tips on how to study? cheers

cautioner

Looking at a book for 2 hours is a no-no, for me anyway.

What I do: whip out an A4 pad, a highlighter, and a fresh pen and start making neat notes on whatever you're studying. Even if it's just copying down what's in the book, I find it far more effective than just reading. I say neat because it's easy to jot down stuff roughly but I personally find if I try and make it nice and tidy it takes a bit more effort and seems to stick with me better.

That said, I think everyone has their own way of doing things, you might just find my method terribly time-consuming and boring.

ian 123

Thanks for the help, Il try that in the morning. I agree with you that you cant just stare at a books for hours(well im sure some people can) but its just to boring and nothin soaks in! thanks again:D

Synods

if ya have a place to yourself (or a really understanding family) i find that reading out loud helps, especially in the languages great for helping accents and that!! You have to concentrate more on the info compared to when your just skimming.....ya might feel like a fool at first but give it a chance. Try everything at least once, its only that way youll find what works for you:D Good luck in the mocks!!

p1akuw47h5r3it

Synods wrote: »

if ya have a place to yourself (or a really understanding family) i find that reading out loud helps, especially in the languages great for helping accents and that!! You have to concentrate more on the info compared to when your just skimming.....ya might feel like a fool at first but give it a chance. Try everything at least once, its only that way youll find what works for you:D Good luck in the mocks!!

Yeah I totally agree with this, sayin it out loud really helps you (well me anyway) to remember things

MeowXyz

You have more than 3 months left, so believe it or not you have plenty of time to revise the whole course in all your subjects. Start now. Your mocks are great at giving you the experience of doing an exam (question timing), but you should treat them as just that. You probably haven't covered some of the material anyway.

Make a study timetable aiming to have everything covered (and hopefully revised too) by the end of May. Make it REALISTIC. Give yourself plenty of breaks. STICK TO IT. Make sure you are always aware of what you need to have covered by June, i.e. if you miss your study on a specific topic, don't just forget about it - slot it it somewhere else. If you feel that timetabling isn't for you, at least have a list of all the topics you need to cover and tick off as you go.

The leaving cert is very manageable if you go about it the right way. If you plan your study time, you will always be able to see what needs to be done and you can move things around effectively if an unexpected event occurs (such as a night out you just can't miss). Doing the leaving cert doesn't mean you have to forfeit your social life completely, just mostly! But your social life will THRIVE when you get into the right course in the right college.


For wordy subjects such as history, business etc.

Making notes is an extremely effective way of helping you to remember material as well as reducing your revision workload coming up to the June.

Your notes should be concise and to the point. Leave out all irrelevant words, focus on noting only significant relevant points. Ensure your notes are neat - titles, margins, bullet points, & colour coding can help. Do not simply copy what is in the book - you could use your time more effectively.

When looking over your notes you will find that you remember a lot of the info. Use a highlighter to narrow your focus even more. By highlighting the key word in a sentence, you will be reminded of the whole piece of information when you reread just one word.

You will be grateful that you have done this when your exams are coming up and you can revise everything very quickly. A small pile of A4 sheets is a lot less daunting than a 200 page history book.


For languages

Two key areas: vocabulary and grammer.

Learn new words. Seriously. People forget that you have to do this and wonder why they are failing.

If you learn 5 words every night until May you will have about 450 new words by the leaving cert. If you learn 10 you'll have 900. Revise the words from the previous day until they stick in your head. Words that are repeated in comprehensions or useful phrases that can be used in many places will prove most uselful.

Learn the rules of grammer. These are the foundations the language is built on. You may have to brush up on your english grammer! (What is a pronoun, a reflexive verb, the accusitve or nominative case? If you don't know in english how will you know in another language.) If your textbook doesn't spell them out clearly enough, buy a revision book. Practice using the rules in sentences. Correct grammer is essential for a high grade.


For mathematical subjects

Learn formulas.

Practice, practice, practice.


Prepare by doing exam papers. Ensure you know how you are marked. The marking schemes for past papers are available on http://examinations.ie/.


In Trinity the student union elections are on at the moment - lots of campaigning and carry on that you would expect in American sitcoms. Weekends in college start on Tuesdays. There are free drinks receptions here at least 3 times a week if you know where to look. Once you're here, you're here - you will never have to work as hard as you did for the LC ever again. So get it right the first time.

cautioner

Best. First post. EVER.

ian 123

Thanks for all the help everyone,meow xyz-that was really helpful thanks for putting so much effort into helping! Im making a timetable now cheers

ironictoaster

Out of curosity, how do you people study for English? It's the only one I can't my head studying for.

Redbhoy

I did English last year and did fairly well (B2 without answering on a poet). I got sample answers and studied them as best I could.

Paper 1 - Read the comprehension and answer the question IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
The essay just needs to flow. Introduce the subject, elaborate in the main body and give a conclusion at the end. Simpel really.

Paper 2 -With Othello there was bound to be a question about Iago and how evil he was so I had a few quotes memorised to add into the answer.
I think Macbeth is on this year so cant give a good hint here but check skoool.ie and the likes for sample questions and answers.

The comparative study was about themes and I wrote on the relationships in the different texts I studied. I think the key is to understand the texts. I liked the 3 texts so found it easy to write on them.

Poetry- I banked on Eavan Boland in the prescribed and she didnt come up so I didnt answer anything for that. If you know a little of the history of the poet ans ome of their poems, a few quotes go down well.

The Unseen poetry is handy. Just write what you think the poem is about and how the poet uses different techniques in it.

Dexterm99

OP,
Apart from the good advice on note taking etc, there are a few ways to remember stuff. Try using a 'Palace of Knowledge'. wiki-how will have pointers on this. When it comes to history, pick a movie that you know fairly well and set the history scene and characters into the movie. You will be surprised at how much you will be able to remember for you exams. Good luck!

mcnamaraali

Personally I learnt off sentences.
Break them up in your head and make Rhymes, anything that works.

Oh and for Geography and subjects like that, I had the best teacher.
He made us write everything into summaries... that way we understood things.. summarise in your own words,
1) It makes you think about the subject and not just write it down
2) You understand it so you've learnt it off and it'll stay with you.
3) Understanding is more important than learning off by heart.
4) if you understand then the marker will get the feeling you've conveyed your subject matter in the right context and grammar etc.

Good luck, it only happens once.
Don't make the mistake I did, study as hard as possible all year and then lose motivation the week before.

keep focused, write down on a piece of paper each day how many points you want and think in your mind of how to get those points, i.e. if I study this bit, it could come up..... look up sample answers to get an idea, you don't have to re invent the wheel, just look at what other people have done already and get a better idea.

It works...

ironictoaster

Redbhoy wrote: »

I did English last year and did fairly well (B2 without answering on a poet). I got sample answers and studied them as best I could.

Paper 1 - Read the comprehension and answer the question IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
The essay just needs to flow. Introduce the subject, elaborate in the main body and give a conclusion at the end. Simpel really.

Paper 2 -With Othello there was bound to be a question about Iago and how evil he was so I had a few quotes memorised to add into the answer.
I think Macbeth is on this year so cant give a good hint here but check skoool.ie and the likes for sample questions and answers.

The comparative study was about themes and I wrote on the relationships in the different texts I studied. I think the key is to understand the texts. I liked the 3 texts so found it easy to write on them.

Poetry- I banked on Eavan Boland in the prescribed and she didnt come up so I didnt answer anything for that. If you know a little of the history of the poet ans ome of their poems, a few quotes go down well.

The Unseen poetry is handy. Just write what you think the poem is about and how the poet uses different techniques in it.

Fook me, the rest of questions must have been class!

I think I'm ok for comparative, and all of paper 1 for studying but, when it comes to studying poetry and Macbeth I don't have a clue...

Any ideas?

Redbhoy

I hated Shakespeare for years until last year when I got a study notes book out of the library. I think it was Cambridge Notes.
I read through that and realised that there was more to aul Willie than thee thou dost etc etc!! It goes into the complexity of the plot and charachters. Very good. Folens notes were good too.
Try to understand it rather than learn it and you'll fly through it.

For the poetry, learn a few bits about the actual poet and when you're writing on the poems just say what YOU think is going on in the poem and you'll be grand. I wish I had the chance to actually answer my poetry question.

ironictoaster

I'll try study English again, really don't want to though!