Religion extra subject Leaving cert 2015

TehJoxer

Hi everyone,

I'm going into 6th year and will be doing my LC in 2015, I'm currently doing

Irish o
Maths H
Geog H
English H
Accounting H
Business H
Spanish H

The levels may vary during next year who knows but most likely not. I was wondering would it be to late to pick up religion as an extra subject, I know an 8th subject may seem a bit unnecessary but I feel as if I'm weak at accounting whereas religion is something I really enjoy discussing and thinking about everyday so I do have an interest in it. I can answer most questions on the paper but I'm a little hesitant about some questions in unit one. How do I go about teaching myself the course, any specific books that Are good for learning off in 6th year etc etc.

I got an A in higher level religion in the junior cert if that helps.

Any tips and advice would be extremely helpful!

oconnell122

Don't underestimate the work load that's involved in religion. However if you find the course interesting, it's great subject to pick up. I started RE about half way through 5th year. It was offered in my school, however the teacher was pretty clueless about the curriculum so the majority of work was done outside the class. However as a result, I know the course inside out.

I ended up getting an A1, so if you have any questions fire away.

As for section A, 'search for meaning and Value', there's a book available which is quiet usefull. I can send you a link to the website that does all the LC Rel books if you'd like.
Section A is compulsory, you must study it, however there's an option of answering one of two questions on the paper.

TehJoxer

oconnell122 wrote: »

Don't underestimate the work load that's involved in religion. However if you find the course interesting, it's great subject to pick up. I started RE about half way through 5th year. It was offered in my school, however the teacher was pretty clueless about the curriculum so the majority of work was done outside the class. However as a result, I know the course inside out.

I ended up getting an A1, so if you have any questions fire away.

As for section A, 'search for meaning and Value', there's a book available which is quiet usefull. I can send you a link to the website that does all the LC Rel books if you'd like.
Section A is compulsory, you must study it, however there's an option of answering one of two questions on the paper.

Yeah I was warned about the amount of work needed to get a good grade at higher level especially if I was to pick it up in 6th year, but with religion I'm willing to put in the work and study like hell as I love it! Religion is not offered in my school but there is a teacher that 'teaches' it if you want to pick it up after school but the situation is similar to yours he's clueless so the work would have to be done by me completely.

That would be great help if you could pass on the link!

Any other tips like how much did you study religion during 6th year, what did you get in the mocks etc. Also is the project for religion similar to the junior cert one?

Btw congrats on the A1!

josephine expi

'Any other tips like how much did you study religion during 6th year, what did you get in the mocks etc. Also is the project for religion similar to the junior cert one?'

Honestly, Theology is a lot of work but it is also very rewarding! It's nothing like the junior Cert. I loved Junior Cert religion but Leaving Cert religion isn't an easy A. I've always been good at Theology( My lowest grade from 5th-6th year was a B1) so my teacher had high hopes for me. However I was devastated in the mocks cos I got a C2! I had never gotten below a B1 but my teacher said it had been poorly marked but I was determined not to get below my usual grade. I put a lot of effort and I got an A1!!!
So I think if you're willing to put in the work, you'll be able to do it

TehJoxer

Are there any specific books that helped you a lot during 6th year for religion?

oconnell122

You should probably meet with that teacher for the beginning of sixth year anyway to get advice on the basics of the exam. But if it's a subject that interests you, you should be able to cover the course on your own no problem.

The books are available at the Veritas website. Apparently I can't post with attachments so just go on to their website and search for 'The Search for Meaning and Value' and you should find it.
Some of the books, such as the Christianity one, are not that great, so you will have to research info from other sources.

You should familiarise yourself with the syllabus also, as it is an excellent guideline for what you should be studying.

The exam papers are quite helpful too but because it's still a relatively new course, the exam is not that predictable. You should prepare yourself for everything on the syllabus even if it has never been been examined before.

I would recommend practicing essays, timing yourself and getting your teacher to correct them for you. You have apx 17 mins, I think, per answer so bear that in mind. Don't rote learn answer either as they tend to vary how they ask the questions. The last thing you want is to waste time panicking in the exam because a question came up that you never prepared an answer for. So long as you have a good knowledge of the course content, you should be able to answer any question.
They also reward big time for crossing over from different sections of the course in an answer.

You can make personal observations in an answer also. One of the great things about the subject is that it isn't so matter-of-fact like other subjects. Make sure you use quotes and source them if you can.

How much time you spend studying is really up to yourself and what grade you're looking for.

As for the mocks, I really wouldn't worry about it. I got a C, I think, but they were very poorly corrected. I found the mocks helpful for practicing the timing of the paper and also in dealing with the how to approach a question I hadn't prepared for in, an exam situation. But the grade isn't really anything to worry about in my opinion.

For me, I felt the most important time to put the work in with rel was between September and Christmas. After that the year just flies.

The project is very important, and you should put lots of effort into it. Any subject with a project element involved is a major advantage in my opinion. You should start the research for that asap if you're serious about the subject. Tbh I can't really remember the JC project so I can't compare.

Apparently religion has one of the highest rates of As and Bs so I would recommend giving it a go. However I dot envy covering a two year course in one.

josephine expi

My teacher made out sample answers for us. I must say they were extremely helpful. Especially for section A. We also had a book for all the sections. The book for Religion and Gender was superb! I gave up my books but I think I still have all the Sample answers my teacher made out for us.

oconnell122

TehJoxer wrote: »

Are there any specific books that helped you a lot during 6th year for religion?

Veritas are the only company that do LC religion books and they're the only ones that I really used. I would. Recommend going through the syllabus which can be found if you google 'leaving cert religion curriculum', and if anything isn't covered properly try and get information from any sources. There's countless websites dedicated to religion so this shouldn't be much of a problem. It's just quite irritating that the subject isn't that well covered by the books that are provided for the subject,

TehJoxer

josephine expi wrote: »

My teacher made out sample answers for us. I must say they were extremely helpful. Especially for section A. We also had a book for all the sections. The book for Religion and Gender was superb! I gave up my books but I think I still have all the Sample answers my teacher made out for us.

Is there any chance that you could PM some of the sample answers so that I can get a taste or how the answers are supposed to be written and structured? It would help a lot!

josephine expi

TehJoxer wrote: »

Is there any chance that you could PM some of the sample answers so that I can get a taste or how the answers are supposed to be written and structured? It would help a lot!

Yeah I don't mind but I'll have to find my notes. It's all over my house at the moment. I went a bit crazy after the leaving cert

TehJoxer

josephine expi wrote: »

Yeah I don't mind but I'll have to find my notes. It's all over my house at the moment. I went a bit crazy after the leaving cert

Haha. Grands thanks a lot!

Shazglaz

Hi,

I would highly recommend LC Religion as an extra subject (or a 7th) if you are interested and well suited to it in terms of essay writing and with a good standard of English etc. I personally did it for my LC just past and had a wonderful teacher (she was actually vital to my success truth be told), we had no problems with the books (as I agree that they do lack a lot of extra information ) due to the wonderful notes that our teacher gave us! She really went over and beyond! From the very beginning of Fifth year we were using exam papers and she also had a blog that she posted her prezi notes on which were useful revision for 6th year! If you are doing it by yourself I think that you need to find someone to perhaps give you grinds to help explain the course etc as it is totally different to Junior Cert! I personally loved it and got an A2 but not everybody does. The project is very important too as its worth 20% of the exam! We did it in 5th year and tweeked it slightly in Sept of Sixth year.

spurious

Consult the syllabus rather than textbooks for what you could be examined on - this applies to all subjects.