What would you do differently?

shligonian

So a lot of you have either sat or about to sit your mock exams? I'm a 5th year student and I'm just wondering if you could go back one year to where I am now what would you do differently in regards to studying for subjects like English Irish Maths & French

Thanks 😊

Saz513

Hmmm...

I wished I were as organised in my approach to study as at the beginning of fifth year. At the start of fifth year, at the end of each day I'd make notes on what we just covered and flash cards and stuff...but then I got lazy, convinced myself that keeping on top of study could wait till sixth year and stopped bothering. Looking back, a lot of the stuff we learned at the start of fifth year is still somewhat stuck in my mind because I learned it so well!

ENGLISH: For your single text, write a brief of summary of what's going on in each scene...you may think you'll easily remember it all but that's not the case :P Make a little profile for each character aswell as notes on the themes and imagery. For example, I'm studying Othello so I'm aiming to eventually make notes on imagery, the themes of jealousy and deception, Othello, Iago and the women of the play. Also, jot down any important or interesting quotes.
For poetry, identify the little parts of the poet's biography which are important to their poetry. Write a short note on each poem including the themes discussed and language techniques used. When you do this for each poem, you'll see where there's overlap which you can then link in your essay. Our teacher often photocopied famous critical commentaries on the poems which looks really nice in your answer as it shows that you've done an in depth study on the works. Personal engagement is also really important.
For the comparative, make sure you know what's going on throughout the text and that you're familiar with the characters and themes presented...quite similar to the single text but not as in depth. It's important here to learn how to link the three texts together, which is generally where people fall down.

IRISH: First and foremost, make sure you know your grammar basics...tenses, TG, masculine and feminine, claon etc etc. This will come up throughout the paper and the oral so I can't stress enough how important it is.
For the poetry, make a list of useful vocabulary for each poem and then make notes on theme and language techniques used.
For the stories, also make a list of useful vocabulary. Be able to explain what happens, the characters, the themes and how all this is presented.
Keep on top of any words you learn in class..I wished I had kept at the focloir we started in class
Brainstorm possible essay topics then piece together useful vocabulary.
For each section, there's a list of "stock phrases" which you can learn off and use often.
KEEP ON TOP OF THE SRAITHPICTUIR!!!! My mock oral is in a few weeks and I just realised that I don't know any of the ones we did on fifth year. I never made note of vocabulary and phrases used and never actually practiced them aloud.

MATHS: I'm not much help with this seeing as I spent fifth year failing higher level and now I'm doing ordinary which I don't do all that much for. Keep practicing the constructions and definitions anyways. Attempt as many questions as you can and give them time...I usually just stop trying when I can't get it out :P

FRENCH: Similarly to Irish, the grammar is key here. Know your tenses, feminine and masculine, prepositions etc
Familiarise yourself with the question words so you know what to look for. Make note of any new words you come across. Also, make a list of useful phrases which can be used in nearly every essay.


Good luck

Peg14

Learn the sraithpictiurs as you've done them. Make your life next year a little easier. In general though, I should have put in a lot more effort into Irish, I kind of abandoned the subject last year thinking I wouldn't need it but this year I decided that I actually do need it.

Blue giant

Honestly, I don't think I'd do much different at all. I did my homework well, listened in class, studied for class tests and then did a bit extra for the summer tests. By all means you could do a bit of extra study if you want but I wouldn't be going too overboard in fifth year.

Anonymagician

I wouldn't do a whole lot differently. Keep on top of your homework and the rest kind of falls into place in 5th year.

For Irish I'd learn the sraiths as they come. Still don't know them when I should. I'd also file my essays away carefully and make sure every question is labelled, same stands for English. I'm trying to find poetry notes right now for my mock tomorrow and I have no clue where they could be :O