Advice for incoming 6th years?

plein de force

hello all,

i'm going into 6th year next week and the next year seems daunting, as i'm sure it does to lots of others going into 6th year. So do any of you guys who have just got your results have any advice to give us for next year? Study tips and strategies, or things you would have done differently that you think would've helped your do better.
Thanks in advance

P.S. well done to everyone who got their results yesterday!

kev9100

Ease yourself into the study. If you start studying four hours a day in September you will burn yourself out. Also, if there is a member of your family who speaks Irish/German/French, speak to them in that language as much as possible.

Dafydd Thomas

I had an English grind this year from one of the most fantastic teachers I've ever had. He was a smart man and a motivational speaker. He said "Don't feel sorry for yourself because if you're feeling sorry for yourself you're not focused". Seems very simple but it was the best advise I ever got. There were so many people in my year this year who really felt sorry for themselves, even alienated themselves from their friends and were just generally miserable. None of them did that well and I know one of them is devastated with results.

As long as your focused, don't worry about what other people are doing (as I did and turns out I got higher than most of them). Balance friends and your hobbys with study.

One of the things I realised late in the year is that even an hour of study, if it's the right thing could bring you up a grade. Also if there is something you are having lots of trouble with, don't be afraid to waste a full day trying to get your head around it (as long as it's before February). If you still don't get it go seek more help.

I manged to get 480 and I'm delighted. Good luck with everything and even if your results are way off what you're hoping for don't worry, you've months to improve.

double GG

The first thing is, don't stress it. Really it is not all it's put out there to be. It's hyped up. You have one year left to study for these 'exams'. Use the year wisely, there is no point setting yourself a target of 4 hours of study a night before Christmas, for me anything like this was impossible. Stick to doing your homework every night consistently and perhaps do a small bit of reading over what you did in class that day. There is no real point in doing any more than 2 hours of study/homework before Christmas in my opinion.

Motivation is the key to doing well in the Leaving, not sitting in a room for 5 hours every night with a book in your hand. If you can motivate yourself to do 2 hours solid study per night you will be fine.

I can say in my opinion, 5 hours study is ridiculous. You spend 6 hours in school during the day and with another 5 hours on top, its way too much.

Try to learn a small bit every night, do your homework and most importantly become a pro at cramming.

Vurnon San Benito

double GG wrote: »

The first thing is, don't stress it. Really it is not all it's put out there to be. It's hyped up. You have one year left to study for these 'exams'. Use the year wisely, there is no point setting yourself a target of 4 hours of study a night before Christmas, for me anything like this was impossible. Stick to doing your homework every night consistently and perhaps do a small bit of reading over what you did in class that day. There is no real point in doing any more than 2 hours of study/homework before Christmas in my opinion.

Motivation is the key to doing well in the Leaving, not sitting in a room for 5 hours every night with a book in your hand. If you can motivate yourself to do 2 hours solid study per night you will be fine.

I can say in my opinion, 5 hours study is ridiculous. You spend 6 hours in school during the day and with another 5 hours on top, its way too much.

Try to learn a small bit every night, do your homework and most importantly become a pro at cramming.

+1

gazzacarroll

start study round easter time , i got 510 doin dat, nd one piece of advice.....if u can in anyway do 6 honours then do! or even 5 honours and LCVP ! if u have 6 honours and u get c1 in everything , thats 420 lik, nd a c1 isnt impossible by any means...

plein de force

gazzacarroll wrote: »

start study round easter time , i got 510 doin dat, nd one piece of advice.....if u can in anyway do 6 honours then do! or even 5 honours and LCVP ! if u have 6 honours and u get c1 in everything , thats 420 lik, nd a c1 isnt impossible by any means...

I'm doing 5 honours and LCVP, 2 ordinary level in maths and irish.
but i think i don't think i'd be able to start studying that late, fair play to you though still doing that well.

grrrrrrrrrr

Delete your boards account

Grace16

If you do your homework every night and study for class tests coming up then you would be suprised how much you actually learn. Sometimes studying for 4 hours at night doesn't help at all so if you do things and learn as your meant to you should do grand. I got 495 and that was just studying that way. I only really studied for hours in the weeks before the exams.

unknown13

Drop LCVP. Don't waste any time in Sixth year with that subject and use the time to study a higher level subject because a Distinction is actually impossible to get.

Wolfe Tone

Practise for the Irish Oral from the start. Actually do study over Christmas.

double GG

MUSSOLINI wrote: »

study over Christmas.

:eek::eek::eek:

Wolfe Tone

double GG wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

I didnt, and I should have!


Also if you do history, or geo, get the projects out of the way before Christmas.

brian1991

A very large percentage of success is motivation and work. As the phrase goes; ''Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration''. However, this phrase didn't seem to help with my Maths as I just couldn't understand it, but thankfully I got lots of help from my brother. But I guess getting the idea to get help was the 1% ''inspiration''? Anyway, to keep motivated, I suggest using this method which really helped me and could have saved my Leaving Cert. Another moment of inspiration, followed by 99% perspiration (hard work studying).

The method is described here by Brad Isaac:

"Years ago when Seinfeld was a new television show, Jerry Seinfeld was still a touring comic. At the time, I was hanging around clubs doing open mic nights and trying to learn the ropes. One night I was in the club where Seinfeld was working, and before he went on stage, I saw my chance. I had to ask Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comic. What he told me was something that would benefit me a lifetime...

He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day. But his advice was better than that. He had a gem of a leverage technique he used on himself and you can use it to motivate yourself—even when you don't feel like it.

He revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain," he said again for emphasis.

Over the years I've used his technique in many different areas. I've used it for exercise, to learn programming, to learn network administration, to build successful websites and build successful businesses.

It works because it isn't the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes. You may have heard "inch by inch anything's a cinch." Inch by inch does work if you can move an inch every day.

Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don't break the chain, you'll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn't. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides "compounding interest."

Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next.

I've often said I'd rather have someone who will take action—even if small—every day as opposed to someone who swings hard once or twice a week. Seinfeld understands that daily action yields greater benefits than sitting down and trying to knock out 1000 jokes in one day.

Think for a moment about what action would make the most profound impact on your life if you worked it every day. That is the action I recommend you put on your Seinfeld calendar. Start today and earn your big red X. And from here on out...

Don't break the chain!"

I would recommend taking one day off per week though, more at the start of the year (even if you are breaking the rule... just a little). As kev9100 said, ease yourself into the study. I took too long to do this though, and the pres were a real eye-opener for me.

All the best with Sixth Year,
Brian

Noodleworm

Read over what you've covered in each class shortly afterwards, do this as often as possible. during any free classes/lunches/bus trips

for languages maybe consider one of those Computer programs like Rosetta Stone.

I had some odd study methods, I used to record my history notes being read out. Also I used colour chalk to draw huge, big, colourful biology diagrams on my bedroom wall (it was going to be painted after LC anyway).

and maybe study some things with a friend, make a game of it.

Wolfe Tone

Also I used colour chalk to draw huge, big, colourful biology diagrams on my bedroom wall

LOL! Hope ya didn't take that approach with the reproductive system!

kmhenry

the lc results from 09 and 2010 show that d lc is indeed becoming dat little more harder and less predictable...therefore, i know its easy to say this, cover most to nearly all topics in your preparation and NEVER listen to Eavan Boland style predictions (those glory days of guessing your lc are behind us unfortunately lol). Do remember to play the "exam game"[Ihowever (with caution). For eg. in Geography dont go learning the whole textbook off by heart without looking at past papers. by all means have a general knowledge of the book (eg. metamorphic rock q in 2010 was unexpected).But for eg. if u can get a copy of exam skills by sue honan and learn off the exam answers to frequently asked questions this can really boost your confidence when studying...if there are some questions that you can have in the bag, despite the new found unpredictabality of the current lc, it can help. For French (and i suppose all european languages) NEVER learn off answers with the most peculiar vocab; learn adaptable ones if u gonna go down dis road..you just cant..or topics such as drugs and alcohol...when do they ever come up! Logic dictates howevr that preparing some unclichéd youth related topics and adaptable phrases should get you through. For subjects like business and chemistry (prob bioogy too) dont just learn evrything frm the exam papers..do that yes but learn from other sourses too (look at Q5 in Chem HL this year...unexpected). Most importantly try not to become neurotic and obsessive about points and statistics and going on to boards.ie and listening to the usual panic-inducing tripe which has been generated from the grinds culture.

Finally...get on with it! If you have a bad teacher don't sulk or pay thousands in somewhere like Leeson St without learning the notes because you're so angry with your teacher. if you're a motivated person who can direct themselves then push yourself, consult those lucky people who may have a good teacher and ask to borrow their notes. Use the internet now and again as a resourse also. I couldnt afford to pay thousands for exchange programmes in france or grinds or expensive notes etc. So for eg. when my french teacher was out half the year in sixth yr(without a sub) without having gone through any aural, oral or written with us, withuot doin any in 5th |Year either I printd stuff frm the internet (eg. skool.ie etc., francais.ie etc.) and taught myself. I also practisd french all the time with my brohtr who was also doin the lc and tried to do as much as i could thru french. i got an A1 in french in the lc this yr...a prime example!!

Oh yeah try not to stress yourself out..too much!!!

Coeurdepirate

kmhenry wrote: »

the lc results from 09 and 2010 show that d lc is indeed becoming dat little more harder and less predictable...therefore, i know its easy to say this, cover most to nearly all topics in your preparation and NEVER listen to Eavan Boland style predictions (those glory days of guessing your lc are behind us unfortunately lol). Do remember to play the "exam game"[Ihowever (with caution). For eg. in Geography dont go learning the whole textbook off by heart without looking at past papers. by all means have a general knowledge of the book (eg. metamorphic rock q in 2010 was unexpected).But for eg. if u can get a copy of exam skills by sue honan and learn off the exam answers to frequently asked questions this can really boost your confidence when studying...if there are some questions that you can have in the bag, despite the new found unpredictabality of the current lc, it can help. For French (and i suppose all european languages) NEVER learn off answers with the most peculiar vocab..you just cant..or topics such as drugs and alcohol...when do they ever come up! Logic dictates howevr that preparing some unclichéd youth related topics and adaptable phrases should get you through. For subjects like business and chemistry (prob bioogy too) dont just learn evrything frm the exam papers..do that yes but learn from other sourses too (look at Q5 in Chem HL this year...unexpected). Most importantly try not to become neurotic and obsessive about points and statistics and going on to boards.ie and listening to the usual panic-inducing tripe which has been generated from the grinds culture.

Finally...get on with it! If you have a bad teacher don't sulk or pay thousands in somewhere like Leeson St without learning the notes because you're so angry with your teacher. if you're a motivated person who can direct themselves then push yourself, consult those lucky people who may have a good teacher and ask to borrow their notes. Use the internet now and again as a resourse also. I couldnt afford to pay thousands for exchange programmes in france or grinds or expensive notes etc. So for eg. when my french teacher was out half the year in sixth yr(without a sub) without having gone through any aural, oral or written with us, withuot doin any in 5th |Year either I printd stuff frm the internet (eg. skool.ie etc., francais.ie etc.) and taught myself. I also practisd french all the time with my brohtr who was also doin the lc and tried to do as much as i could thru french. i got an A1 in french in the lc this yr...a prime example!!

Oh yeah try not to stress yourself out..too much!!!

I want an A1 in French. I don't care if the rest are Cs and Ds, I just want that A1!
About what you said about printing off stuff, what stuff in particular did you focus on?

Mr. Plow

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated over and over again. My advice would be to study everyday if you can, maybe do one exam question for a subject. Also know your papers inside out.

And in my opinion you have to play the odds a bit. I'm not saying to neglect stuff but if something hasn't come up for 7 years then know it inside out.

And I know you'll hear it a million times and say to yourself yeah yeah yeah I'm not an idiot but for the love of God read the questions carefully! I actually can't stress that enough. The agony of coming out of an exam thinking you nailed it, only to go home, see the paper on education.ie and realize in the heat of the moment you misread a question I not something I wouldn't wish on anyone .

kmhenry

Coeurdepirate wrote: »

I want an A1 in French. I don't care if the rest are Cs and Ds, I just want that A1!
About what you said about printing off stuff, what stuff in particular did you focus on?

Big trouble wit french is were do i start???? Here's how I did it!!!

Readings...this was in fairness one section my teacher did focus on...do all the readings in the papers and learn ANY new vocab...not a bad idea goin on2 lemonde.fr or any of those equivalent newspapers and reading some short articles (not essential...i just did it 2 maintain my interest)

Aural...grooling, but no one said it's easy..you literally have to do the past aural papers and again learn new vocab...i found 2005-2010 tapes more realistic...dats d current standard. Edco give u the subtitles which can b used on a PC if u need it!!

Now it's the hard bit...it literally took months just to get evrything 2gethr 4 my written and i'm gonna be honest it was real hard and many times i felt like giving up and accepting a C,so b prepared. B4 i tell u i advice that evn though it may seem pointless at first what i recommend but it DOES work. i dont focus on exam papers an awful lot. When i was learning this stuff i thought my attempts were futile and i wud nevr get my A1 but around d time of d mocks it starts to fall in2 place...u begin 2 b able 2 cum up wit stuff by urself , composing simple grammatically correct sentences in french!! good luck!! The only financial investment that you'll need to make is to bye The Celtic Press's Essentials Unfolded French Oral Pamphlet....i'll get on2 d oral shortly!

www.skoool.ie...obviously ders d grammar but dat was nevr a huge prob 4 me but it is useful. There is topics such Moi Meme, École, L' Internet, La Technologie, la Drogue etc....there is gr8 phrases which are really adaptable, including complex sentences in the subjunctive. Do not just learn off and regurgitate these paragraphs...read thru dem ALL and translate all of dem...pick and choose striking phrases which you think will help you. then what youshould do is when you get exam questions look at these topics and phrases (even if they're not directly related) and think how you could use them in a paragraph without going off the point.

www.e-xamit.ie...EXTREMELY helpful...i know der all sample answers but again read dem all and translate. This can b particularly hard as u may feel u're not at a gud enough standard to try..also try not to just accept any complex constuctions you se..deal with dem as dey arise. again gr8 phrases will be available here, particularly this yr, on topics like fashion, emigration etc. Look at all sample answrs, print and type in all edco e-xamit codes. Again pick out impressive phrases in order to learn them and get good marks for being idiomatic.

www.francais.ie this is in fact a grinds orientated site but if u look around it der is a few free notes showing you how to start and end answers...it also gives you phrases you may not have at your disposle. it is particulalry helpful for the Journal Intime Q2a-Written. Learning these phrases combined with all new phrases (NOT PARAGRAPHS) that you learn from the e-xamit answers will guarantee you with marks of 25/30 + Trust me it does!!!

Blackrock College..on their french department section it has millions of sentences that you can learn for the written..it mainly gives you the essential phrases to jumpstart you with the oral!!

Go onto irish Independent.ie and look up French Leaving Cert (i think its in the exam brief sections...get d 09 one as it is now free!!!). This also has phrases which help you to structure your answers and employ A1 standard strategies

Oral Follow d order from the french oral pamphlet and learn each Unité. Think of questions for each unit urself and put them in2 french eg. Unit 1 Moi Meme, q. What's your name etc. etc. Really think about ANY questions that the examiner can ask you and adress them and by learning the blackrock and examit, skool.ie and francais .ie stuff you shud b really capable of enjoyin the oral and getting an A1!! dont get obsessive about bien dit books and all dat..get them if dey'll help but by that stage I had evrything i needed...my examiner also really loved my embrasive nature and desire to communicate..thats what you're doing...milk every f*ing straw you get for what its worth!!

Bonne Chance et travaillez dur pour que tu puisses réussir au bac!!!:D btw im gonna go do french in college nyways so dont hesitate if you want any more advice durin the yr

oh yeah evn if ur teacher is **** they're still fluent french so if u need help with translations dont b afraid to ask dem

read student testimonials on skoool.ie and all ovr d internt also on how dey got dey're A1...expensive grinds r not. I hope i was a bit encouraging...d grinds system can b beaten!!!lol

ps it does take time but it doesnt completely deny u of ur othr subjects eithr...i got 535 yday with 2 othr A grades and 4B's...d lowest a B2 in a hl paper...ur othr grades dont need 2 suffr cos of french

unknown13

Don't take the mock results to heart aswell. As you can see in the "Comparison with the Mocks" thread. Results change massively.

i like pie

if you have the opportunity do supervised study in school. i did it in 6th year for three hours every evening and i must admit it helped me so much! i was finding it so hard to study at home with all the distractions but i was able to focus when i had a teacher supervising me:) oh and don't go to a library as you will get nothing done as you'll end up talking to other people you know!

remember not to forget to get a bit of excercise everyday, i stopped all the sports i was doing in 6th year but i made sure i walked home to and from study every evening to get a break:)

best of luck with 6th year, it's not as bad as people say once you stay on top of your homework:D

JellyBeans92

Ok, first of all don't panic because that won't help anything.

Firstly, if you are willing to make yourself work/study from the first/second week.. you will be so grateful you did come June!

Ease yourself into studying, if you lay it all on too thick too fast you will almost certainly burn out by the mocks.

To make life easier, try to be in school EVERY DAY POSSIBLE, this is where I fell down and I spent so much time catching up it was stupid.

As to how to study, this really depends on your learning style and the subjects you do:

For languages such as French or German etc, one thing I found very useful was listening to 'pop'/chart music in the language on Youtube (For French I would recommend UniversalMusicFrance), have a browse and find an artist who suit you taste/style. This will help with oral and aural work A HUGE AMOUNT (It brought me up from a failing/D student to a B in the real thing, in fact I'd been told that french accent sounds amazingly natural, plus it's something different to talk about in your Oral)

For the sciences I would say make sure you're in for EVERY experiment and know them inside out!
For Physics I would say take a topic at a time (e.g. Heat) and do EVERY question both levels you can find, it WILL sink in.
For Biology I would really say the same as for Physics, it's just the simplest thing.

For English, I would say make sure you've actually read all your texts and poetry, you'd be amazing how many people don't! (I know I didn't xD) Just keep doing questions aswell, and ask your teacher to correct them, then do them again after you've been told what problems you're having.

For Irish, I'd say like English advice tbh, but make sure you've an arsenal of phrases that you can use in ALL your essays/sceal/litir etc. Listening to the RnaG and watching TG4 helps some people with their accent and listening skill too.. didn't help me really but that's because I just never had time for irish! =D

Maths, all I can advise is just make sure you know the basics REALLY well by the end of September (e.g Algebra, Geometry etc.). You'll need these for virtually everything else regardless of level so they're a definite MUST on the study calendar.

After that it really depends what other subjects you're doing?

If Accounting, just make sure you're in for the start of each new topic.. this was a major problem for me because I was out quite a bit and just floated by FAILING my mock! Make sure you do every question you can find, because they tend to repeat adjustments etc. I worked at the accounting quite hard after the mock, like in May I got where on top of all my study I was doing 2-3 questions a NIGHT, which pulled me up to a B!


To finish I'll say don't be stressing yourself out too much, enjoy the last week or so of freedom... But do be ready to work when you go back, the sooner you get working, the less stress you will have come April and May! xD
Being honest I think the most effective time to kick start the study (Not quite hyperdrive but intense) is March, once you get you Mock results back can be a real 'motivator'! =D

Oh yeah, remember to have a life, like make sure you still go out with friends and stuff, like your brain will thank you for the rest.. Just don't OVER do it like!

One last piece of advice: Keep appropriate perspective through the whole year, I've seen waay too many people get swept up by panic and stress over the year. Sure if you don't get exactly what you want at the end of it all, there is always a back door and the leaving cert is just merely a stepping stone to bigger and better things

Best of Luck

JellyBeans92

PS:
Almost forgot this one thing: I'm NOT advertising them, but if you've Eircom broadband you can get the free studyhubs online on the education link on the top bar on the website. If you don't know what they are, they're basically free video grinds on loads of topics in loads of subjects. I found them really useful for those days when I really couldn't motivate myself to study! Just pick a topic, get a pen and paper in front of you, watch the video and take notes (The notes part is a MUST even if you don't think you'll use them, it engages your mind so you absorb more (sciency stuff, don't ask how I know this. =P ) )

tomtom101

Well honestly, my advide would be not to get worked up over it... All i did realy was keep up with what we were doing in school, and anything i wasn't sure of going over it...

Make sure you understand everything, i didn't do much study at all to be honest, i was at a wedding on the june bank holiday weekend, and i got 500 points... so just keep up and keep a calm head!!

aoife005

plein de force wrote: »

hello all,

i'm going into 6th year next week and the next year seems daunting, as i'm sure it does to lots of others going into 6th year. So do any of you guys who have just got your results have any advice to give us for next year? Study tips and strategies, or things you would have done differently that you think would've helped your do better.
Thanks in advance

P.S. well done to everyone who got their results yesterday!

Seriously... don't worry too much about it. I completely wasted the year, was out every weekend, and I didn't study much at all. I was cramming the nights before all of the exams, staying up all night, nearly having panic attacks (Don't cram like I did anyway) and somehow managed to get 485. It's not that hard to do well. It's actually a really fun year, as you'll see. Just try to keep on top of everything and you'll be fine.

My only advice is in relation to english. I didn't even attempt the studied poetry question and got an A2 so try not to put too much of your time into it and concentrate on the other questions instead. I think my A2 is also down to me always relating back to the question. Do that in your answers all the time I'm not naturally good at English at all and I didn't even know it that well, so technique is very important if you're not a natural english writer. Try to make your answers quite long too. In the comparative just keep making comparisons all the time.

Gooooooood luck

aoife005

unknown13 wrote: »

Drop LCVP. Don't waste any time in Sixth year with that subject and use the time to study a higher level subject because a Distinction is actually impossible to get.

I got one and I thought I did terrible in it so I have to disagree with you. Seriously, just do it. I put absolutely no effort into it at all, it is the simplest thing you will ever do so just do it for the craic like! Even get your teacher to look over your portfolio for you so it's up to a high standard. You'll find a teacher sound enough to do that anyway. I spent the whole year asking myself why I was even doing it because I had done absolutely nothing for it but the exam is over before the LC even starts. 70 points in the bag! Sorted!

Mark2006

unknown13 wrote: »

Drop LCVP. Don't waste any time in Sixth year with that subject and use the time to study a higher level subject because a Distinction is actually impossible to get.

Don't be bitter because you didn't get one. It is very possible to get a distinction in LCVP, I got one
LCVP didn't interfere with any of my other subjects, I got all my work done in class and spent 3 days before the actual exam studying. Looking over the past exam papers/marking schemes for LCVP will almost guarentee you to do very well in the written paper.

It annoys me when people who spend the two years treating LCVP as a computer games class tell people that the subject is a waste, because it isn't. I used my LCVP points instead of using the points I got from honours Irish.

aoife005

I did the exact same thing.

You're so right there. Questions are repeated and yes it didn't interfere with my other subjects at all.

I recommend everyone to do it. Even if you don't get a distinction who cares? It's not like you're going to be spending more time time on this than others, because you will be spending no time on it, it's basically common sense.

You watch a video and then just write down what they're saying. C'mon, it's laughable how easy it is.

Love this subject...easiest 70 points ever

Of course, if you definitely don't think you will count it don't do it, but remember that taking up another subject is a lot of hard work, cos it definitely didn't work for me.

spurious

Make sure your career guidance person fully explains the so-called 'back door' (FETAC/PLC) way into courses, even if they think you won't need it.
Have it as a back up.

Otherwise, doing every homework as if it were an exam question and keeping them all to look over is a big help.

You yourself know what amount of work you need to understand stuff. Don't listen to the 'I did nothing and got XXX points, so you can too' brigade. People learn in different ways, using different methods and at different speeds. Find your own way and work with it.

Be mature enough to admit to yourself that in some subjects a certain mark is the best you are going to do. Do not beat yourself up over it if it's not 'high' enough.

tomtom101

Mark2006 wrote: »

Don't be bitter because you didn't get one. It is very possible to get a distinction in LCVP, I got one
LCVP didn't interfere with any of my other subjects, I got all my work done in class and spent 3 days before the actual exam studying. Looking over the past exam papers/marking schemes for LCVP will almost guarentee you to do very well in the written paper.

It annoys me when people who spend the two years treating LCVP as a computer games class tell people that the subject is a waste, because it isn't. I used my LCVP points instead of using the points I got from honours Irish.

Same here... I got a C2 in irish and sure my LCVP distinction only brought me up 5 points but 500 sounds better than 495... Really the portfolio just has to be really ezact, no spelling or grammer mistakes, spell organise with a 's' NOT A 'Z'... and just make sure everything looks good... Really if you have a good portfolio, you already have 50% of the total exam, so really you need 80% over all, and c'mon - Audio visual? They tell you the answers!!

tomtom101

Oh, and make sure to check all fees for the course you want to do, I've just found out i'm going to have to pay €4500 every year for the next 5 years, Make sure you are aware of all the fees! Im lucky enough in the way my parents can afford to pay, but i know this year this will prevent so many people from being able to do the course... :(

aoife005

What course is it?

tomtom101

Architecture!! :D Im lucky enough because my parents will pay it for me!

ClodaghJoan

i don't know if you're interested but i'm repeating this year and am planning on doing a blog with study tips and stuff. hoping to do my first post next wednesday, the 25th
http://clodaghjoan.blogspot.com/

plein de force

ClodaghJoan wrote: »

i don't know if you're interested but i'm repeating this year and am planning on doing a blog with study tips and stuff. hoping to do my first post next wednesday, the 25th
http://clodaghjoan.blogspot.com/

oh i'll certainly take a look when you post should be interesting

dan_d

DON'T listen to the media. They hype up the LC every year, they need something to talk about. They have the same conversations every year about the same thing, and they do not help anything.
If you're nervous, that's okay, there's loads of ways to deal with it. If you're not nervous - that's totally okay too.

Give it your best shot, keep as may options open to yourself as possible with the level of subject you do (ie, think about further down the line when you might want to change careers and might need honours/pass, etc), and most of all, keep doing a bit steadily instead of trying to cram it all in.

And do not listen to those who predict questions, or those who say they've "done nothing". You worry about yourself, and what you need to do to pass your exam - I've said it before, at the end of the day, it's you, the exam paper and the CAO system. Nobody else is involved - remember that.

Finally, it's completely doable - remember that hundreds of thousands of students have sat, passed, and lived through the LC. It's not the end of the world, it's just another exam, and you'll do many more through your life.

Good luck!

Hatred

Here's some tips that may help you:

Don't get stressed out. Everyone says its the most important year and it is but enjoy it. While its not as laid back as 5th year you can still have fun on the weekends and session.

Consistent work is important. Some study all year or start early but the real thing to do is just consistently do work even if its not much. This is especially true for subjects like english. If you try not to miss to much school and just do what needs to be done everyday you won't need to do the last couple of weeks cramming.

I didn't study the whole year and for the most part I didn't do anything on the weekends as they were my 'break'. The most studying I did was only in the last 2 weeks and before the mocks while I did no real revision or studying during the year unless a test was coming up. While this may not work for everyone it did work for me as I got 535 points.

Good luck.

l.c2010

Have realistic study goals and try to do a bit in every subject every day!

kmhenry

Coeurdepirate wrote: »

I want an A1 in French. I don't care if the rest are Cs and Ds, I just want that A1!
About what you said about printing off stuff, what stuff in particular did you focus on?

By the way my methods above for the written are officially flawless..I looked at my scripts there yesterday and I got 100/100 on the written production section. Follow my advice

lemansky

I haven't read the whole thread and I guess that this point has already been made.......but just in case, here goes:

Don't listen to other people when they mouth about how much study they do and all of that lark. Use your own common sense to work out when to start, how best to study, and how long you need to spend at it to cover enough material to keep you happy. It's all about working out for yourself what works best, and not burning yourself out.

Again, that point was probably already made, but it is worth repeating fifty times

lctake2

This is advice from someone that has done it wrong once and done it right once:
1. Don't stress yourself out! it does much more harm than good. don't worry about what people will think of your results, don't forget that there are more important things to life
2. Don't study just for the sake of studying, as in don't say I need to do 4 hours and then I'd done - do what it takes to get what you need to learned learned, let yourself take a break if your quality of study is going downhill
3. Have a cutoff time, don't stay studying until 3 in the morning in total panic mode because you won't take it in
4. Don't worry about pleasing your teachers, homework or class tests. There is no point half learning something because there's a test the next day. If you think it won;t benefit in your lc don't bother with it
5. Ignore what all your friends say! some will say they do almost no study and you'll think you dont need to while they are really be doing loads. Others will pretend to do tons and intimidate you
6. Study in different ways for different subjects, find a way that suits you
Subjects
English - i used lots of notecards to learn quotes and made myself do essays under exam conditions, i wrote 1 essay for each poet and got the corrected and rewrote them over and over until they were at the grade i wanted
Irish- make sure you understand the meaning of all the poems and can translate them into your own basic irish
German/Any other language - learn some passive vocab everyday, you only need to be able to recognise what it means when you see/hear it. Pick a few good high quality phrases that are relevant to alot of topics instead of trying to half learn lots of phrases
Biology - from testing myself often i found there were some things i consistantly didnt remember and put them all together in a copy and made sure to go over them at least once a week
Chemistry - make sure you understand what your learning. do exam questions over and over and over . . ., give yourself a definitions test everyweek
Music - do alot of active listening to the set works and be really prepared for the composing paper because it's easy to score well in it, be ready for the practical as soon as you can
Ag Science - do old exam questions, there are some things that don't seem prominant in the book but are asked very often, know the feeding regimes and weights for animals, they're asked every year. get your project out of the way at the start of the year

Most important is to be motivated, know your target and focus on it. You are giving a year of your life to this so you may aswell use it to get the best results possible! good luck

NotExactly

ClodaghJoan wrote: »

i don't know if you're interested but i'm repeating this year and am planning on doing a blog with study tips and stuff. hoping to do my first post next wednesday, the 25th
http://clodaghjoan.blogspot.com/

May I ask,why are you doing 9 subjects?

ClodaghJoan

NotExactly wrote: »

May I ask,why are you doing 9 subjects?

Because:
1)Maths is OL but more or less a guaranteed 60 points,
2)LCVP will probably only be a merit but for the sake of the exam, which I pretty much study for with business anyway. . .
3)I can't expect to do too well in physics after only one year, but I'm interested in Phys/ Chem teaching next year, so I figured I'd try and absorb something this year

NotExactly

ClodaghJoan wrote: »

Because:
1)Maths is OL but more or less a guaranteed 60 points,
2)LCVP will probably only be a merit but for the sake of the exam, which I pretty much study for with business anyway. . .
3)I can't expect to do too well in physics after only one year, but I'm interested in Phys/ Chem teaching next year, so I figured I'd try and absorb something this year

1) An A1 in any subject is not guaranteed.

2) For the sake of the exam? So your not goin' to count it but your doing it anyway?

3) Try and absorb something. You'll have to absorb allot more than that for a good grade in Physics.