Higher & Ordinary Level Subjects Advice.

MelaninQ

I'm literally stressed out and it's only July, I know i have a long way to go but, it's never too late to prepare, and to start revising too.

At the start of 5th year, I started doing chemistry. I found it very hard, especially with the amount of information that there is to learn. I failed both Christmas & Feb Midterm exam at HL. I decided to drop to OL after & I got an A. I was delighted because I put in a lot of work.
I'm now thinking of going back to HL, because I know that I can put in the work. That's what I was lacking in the first place. But if was to start revising now, could I catch up and still end up with a very good grade, (b or c) at the end of it all?
I don't know if I'm taking a risky choice.
I need some kind of advice!

Any advice on how to get high marks in essay writing? Particularly for HL English and Art History. I am terrible at essays. I always seem to go off topic too and I find myself repeating the same topics over and over again.
How can I improve at essay writing?

Economics is also a big problem for me. There's a chunk of information you need to learn and know off. I learned off and studied so much of it for the summer exams. I did worse than what I expected. Maybe it was the way I studied it but I really don't know.
Any tips on Economics?

I am really determined this year to get the points that I want, but I'm quite nervous due to my previous results. I'm just stuck on how to bring that about.
The people around me are constantly talking about how they want 550 & 620. It worries me a lot. It puts a huge amount of pressure on me, especially since I'm not smart enough like the rest of them.
I just really need your advice.

Please & thank you.

everesteduc

Hey,

You could try HL Chemistry again. Sometimes it takes students a while to get into the swing of a HL Leaving Cert subject. If it doesn't work out you know you can get a good grade at OL.

When writing essays, it's always important to lay out a plan either like a mind map / spider diagram or linearly. Order the paragraphs so that there is a logical progression. Try to link one paragraph to the next.

How many points do you need? If you have your heart set on a particular career is there another way of achieving this rather than getting high points? Could you do a general degree and then do a postgrad in a specific area? If the goal you are trying to achieve constantly feels out of reach then you will become disheartened and find it harder to study and retain information. But if you know you can achieve your end goal by doing a degree that needs say 350 points you will feel less stressed and end up doing a lot better. People getting 550 and above are definitely in the minority overall.

everesteduc

Hey,

No problem. You might get a few more replies if you post in the main Leaving Cert forum. Your post on my screen was tucked up in the corner under Leaving Cert Study Logs.

You're right about the new topic in every paragraph. Linking paragraphs means that the topics end up looking like they are organised. It gives the reader a smooth transition from one point to the next. One way to show this is to repeat a word in the last sentence of your previous paragraph in the first line of the next paragraph.

It sounds tricky. Like how can I be talking about a new topic but repeating a word from a different topic? If you get used to looking out for opportunities to do this in practice essays, it will become more natural as time goes on. There're good English Paper 1 books on the market with sample essays showing how this linking process works.

You'll probably need a science subject at higher level for entry to those courses. Are you doing HL physics or biology in case you end up doing OL chemistry?

MelaninQ

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know. I'm literally new to this so, it'll take a while for me to adapt to it all.

I totally understand it now, more than I did before. I definitely see where you're coming from.

It seems really tricky, but when I practice doing that in my essays, I'll definitely get the hang of it. Thanks so much, I'll definitely be on the look out for those.

For those courses, I have to have at least an OC3 or HC3 in a Science subject, Maths & English.
I'm really eager to go back and try HL again. Something's definitely pushing me to try again.
I'll go along with my instinct.

everesteduc

It's great that you're so motivated. That's a big help.

Best of luck,

spurious

Reading well written essays will help too. Lamb, Hazlitt, Twain, Woolf, etc..

Mark Twain's 'Advice to Youth' is a good one to start with.

MelaninQ

Yeah it really is, thanks a million !