Is 2 hours study from a first year a lot to expect?

elaine93

My brother is in first year. His Christmas tests are in 2 weeks and he basically hasn't done any study. They have given him these 'study sheets' that say he should do 2 hours a night in bits and pieces. I don't think thats a lot for Christmas tests, but not even my Mum believes me. He's having enough trouble with 1st year as it is and bad results aren't going to do him much good. These are the subjects hes taking


Maths
Geog
History
Science
Latin
French
Music (started 3 months late)
Irish (bad at)

Am I mad for thinking this? How much did you do in 1st year....because I can't remember that far back, the JC fried my brain

Moromaster

Right before tests, yeah he should definatly be studying two hours a hour, especially if he's been lazy all year (less then an hour a day).

He should spend most of his time studying math, Irish and Latin; these are going to be the ones where the extra time could mean the difference between a C and a A.

domrush

its first year......
Don't remember anybody doing more than an hour the night before the test

donvito99

2 hours in First year, they don't even do that in China!





Don't ask me for a source....

bluejay14

If he wants to do really well then yeah two hours should do it but it could puut too much pressure on him to do two hours every night.Maybe he could do it for an hour and a half and do it in say 3 half an hour blocks with maybe 20 minutes breaks inbetween so he can do what he wants and not be just studying all night.He should concentrate on the more difficult subjects and areas most.He should at least read over everything if he doesn't bother learning it.You'll be surprised at how much you'll remember when you just read over something, he may just remember the most inportant details that will be useful for short-answer questions.



Remember to tell him not to get worried.If he doesn't do as well as he wants well, that's the way things happen sometimes.He is oly in first year anyway so he'll have plenty of time.

jr2oo9

god help us when i was in 1st year i studied da nite b4 da test n i always got like a B and i done the same in 2nd year so never mind what the teachers say

jhegarty

jr2oo9 wrote: »

god help us when i was in 1st year i studied da nite b4 da test n i always got like a B and i done the same in 2nd year so never mind what the teachers say

You got a B in English ?

jr2oo9

in 1st year i did n 68 at da end a 2nd year which was grand

Leftyflip

I'm in third and I'm not doing two hours a night!

jr2oo9

same here evryone i know in ty says dont start studyn til a month before the jc

MultiUmm

Tbh two hours a night for a first year is ludicrous.

First year Christmas exams are INSANELY easy, however that's not to say he should put no study in.

If they're two weeks away I'd say he should put in about a half an hour to 45 minutes every night on each individual subject, because in fairness he's not doing that many + they won't have a HUGE amount of the course done by now.

On weekends he could obviously do a bit more but it's important you don't push him too hard because he'll just burn out.

And sure in fairness, in the bigger scheme of things Christmas exams (unless they decide whether he does honours or pass) are fairly irrelevant.
It's great to do well in them as it can be a confidence booster for pupils but the Summer exams are the biggies because they'll decide what kind of class he'll be in for 2nd year.

Hope that helped a bit.

fkt

Absolutely laughable suggestion. I didn't do as much as a half an hour a day in third year and did fine. Two hours in first year? No, just no.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

jr2oo9 wrote: »

god help us when i was in 1st year i studied da nite b4 da test n i always got like a B and i done the same in 2nd year so never mind what the teachers say

jr2oo9 wrote: »

in 1st year i did n 68 at da end a 2nd year which was grand

What about in subjects other than English...?

Corkfeen

Was a bit surprised to see title so decide to post.:D I'm in 6th year and doing about 3 hours a night. So 2 hours is far too much.

CookieMonster.x

You'll laugh when you hear this but...
When I was in first year we did all subjects, 16/17 subjects :eek: On our introductory booklet, it said 2 hours should be spent on homework each night. Now, my school, not private, but among the top schools (like not top 10) in Ireland, is very strict. It focuses on education and little else. When I was in first year, never mind the 2 hours of homework, I did about 4 hours :eek:
I had so much homework that it took me that long. And I hated 1st year. And I took like everything home with me... I even made a list of everything I needed for each class lol

Ah those days...

jr2oo9

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

What about in subjects other than English...?

i done grand in the rest a em

jumpguy

elaine93 wrote: »

My brother is in first year. His Christmas tests are in 2 weeks and he basically hasn't done any study. They have given him these 'study sheets' that say he should do 2 hours a night in bits and pieces. I don't think thats a lot for Christmas tests, but not even my Mum believes me. He's having enough trouble with 1st year as it is and bad results aren't going to do him much good. These are the subjects hes taking


Maths
Geog
History
Science
Latin
French
Music (started 3 months late)
Irish (bad at)

Am I mad for thinking this? How much did you do in 1st year....because I can't remember that far back, the JC fried my brain

Two hours? That's far too much...it's 1st year! I can't even remember what I did then, probably like an hour a day a week before they started, and then tie it up the night before the tests.
I'd advise though if your soon is having trouble with maths and Irish to try and improve them early. This is one thing I wish my parents had done with Irish.

Aoifums

Two hours is absurd! I'm in fifth year and some people are doing two hours now. I did as little as possible for in first year. If he's been doing his homework so far he should be fine.

If he's struggling with Irish, get him some help (well get your mam to). I wish I could go back and actually work in Irish and Maths and not be struggling now.

Fad

I'm in first year of college now, and I'm kinda baffled to think I'm the only one who doesnt think 2 hours is that much, it really isnt! Break it up a bit, 4 half hour sessions, that's not long at all.

I say do as much as needed, look over everything before the exam and it will stand to you in the exam (strangely).

Aoifums

2 hours for a 12/13 year old. For first year christmas tests? On top of other homework? I still think it's crazy.

I know it'll stand to him in the exam, but he's only done a few months of first year work, which hardly counts as work. Two hours a night really isn't needed for first year.

Piste

2 hours in first year is a bit much if it's for a long period of time. It depends if he's doing very badly, if it looks like he's straddling the divide between pass and fail then it might be wise to spend a good bit of time on his weaker subjects in the week or two before the exams. If he broke the 2 hours into 4 chunks of 30 mins every evening for the week or two before his exams I'd say he'd be doing well enough.

SarcasticFairy

Fad wrote: »

I'm in first year of college now, and I'm kinda baffled to think I'm the only one who doesnt think 2 hours is that much, it really isnt! Break it up a bit, 4 half hour sessions, that's not long at all.

But he's a first year! First year Christmas exams are practically handed to you on a plate - so long as you've done your homework reasonably consistently, there's not going to too much more on the exam.

If he's struggling with something in particular, it'd be wise to spend a bit more time on that subject, but besides that, two hours a night should be enough

Evan93

2 hours is more than a enough for a first year. Sure only little of the course will be done by now. There isnt that much to study. One hour in my opinion would surely suffice. I didnt do 2 hours in first year,not even 2nd year. I do not regret it. However,if he wants to make an impression with his results, percentage wise, like 2 hours would get most exams in the 90-100 % region.