The last hurdle.. HELP PLEASE

emilybreen wrote: »

I don't know how good my advice is because I'm only starting it myself, but the grades I hope to get are very similar to yours so hopefully this works :P

I have lists of all the topics in each subject printed off, you can get these off skoool.ie and places like that. I wrote a list of topics I want to cover every day over the next week, averaging at about 6/7 things a day to cover. Some of it is just to read over notes or re-write out essays and things like that. I've found this really good so far because I already know exactly what I need to do each day and it's so relieving crossing off all of the list!

I would definitely prioritise certain subjects that you feel need more work. I don't know how your timetable is but I have 6 days off in between french and chemistry (my last exam), so I plan on doing most of my chemistry in that week.

Some people say you shouldn't do this and that you shouldn't forget about your last exams but realistically I can get so much done in those 6 days so it makes more sense to focus heavily on maths, english and geography, stuff I have in the first few days

Try not to get too stressed and give yourself a mountain of stuff to do each day. A few hours looking over key topics and refreshing your memory with exam questions and things like that will help you loads

I read somewhere about a guy who got 600 points who stayed up until 4am the night before each exam going over the whole course and cramming. If that works for you, fair play but don't think I'd recommend it!

Thanks for all that! I hope you get what you want, it sounds like you've put a lot of work in

I have a really spread out time table, i have three days before chemistry and I'm planning to get the whole course revised in those three days also!

Music is my last exam.. I have a days break between that and chemistry so I'm hoping to get a good bit done in that day too!

I agree with you I'm not a crammer like that guy! I like to quickly revise a lot of things before the exam but I definitely don't plan on learning new things right before the exam or staying up all hours.


Would you mind me asking how you study chemistry? It's such a hard subject!

What are you interested in doing? And best of luck for all your exams

emilybreen wrote: »

Thank you! Hope it helped a little

Chemistry is my worst subject I find it really difficult because there's just so much to learn.
I have all of the chapters wrote out on flash cards that I've been doing since november/december time. I just read over them a lot and try to learn them as I go along.

I'd recommend knowing your definitions reeeeally well because they can add up to nearly 15% of your exam depending on how many are on the paper. Other then that I'd say just keep going over exam questions I guess because the questions can be so repetitive.

My teacher always says to us that the best way to do well in chemistry is to first of all have a good understanding which I'd say you do if you're aiming for an A2! and then to just sit and learn it off by heart (which is horrible because there's so much!)

I was hoping to do medicine but I don't I did well enough in my hpat to get it, so hopefully phsiotherapy

What are you hoping to do? Best of luck to you too!

That HPAT is crazy I always wanted to do psychiatry and of course you have to do medicine to do that so I had to give up on that dream looking at either pharmacy or speech and language therapy now!

Ace_Ace wrote: »

I cant imagine how much help i'll be but sure! im only seriously putting the study effort in atm as well..
I got 515 in the mocks but i need 570 to be safe so i hope that jump is possible!

i also have a week between history and music so im going to do that all then!

My plan is to get up each morning at the regular school time and start for nine, i plan on going at it like a normal school day and then take a break for an hour or two and starting again. I wouldnt recommend staying up past 11 as you'll be burnt out by wednesday week! Ive made a outlined study plan for the next week-ish but today i didnt get everything done that i had hoped to.. im finding it hard smart study so if youve any tips for that!
My subjects art very similar to yours unfortunately!
biology
history
music
french
maths
english
irish
how do you study for biology might i ask? i got a b1 in the mocks but id love to bump it up to the A my teacher is predicting the IAA, and DNA extraction exps in some form. He also leaned heavily on the breathing and circulatory systems as well

For irish, its pretty hard to predict the essays but what ive done is learned an interlinkable ending which involves solutions to whatever the problem is etc. Focus on the essays as the stories and poetry combined is only 10 percent. Learn good phrases for a number of topics and brush up on your grammer and tuiseal g as well.
hope i can help somehow

Hey well I got an A2 in the mocks and that was achieved by laying down groundwork and having a basic knowledge of every chapter. I also spent a lot of time doing exam questions for past summer Christmas and class tests.

Iv had a great teacher who had a huge knowledge of biology also

Lots of people say biology is about learning everything off I believe however that it's all about understanding what you are learning and relating it to everyday life!

I study biology with friends too and we ask each other questions from past pres etc.

As Emily said, try and focus on genetics photosynthesis respiration enzymes and plant biology as they tend to make an appearance every year!

Try and nail down the short questions also by practice practice practice

Best of luck!

Can I ask how you study for music?

caolan1996 wrote: »

em well i feel kind of out of place in this thread with everyone on about getting above 550 points.
i just want your advice on how to study or improve my grade in business seen your going for an A1 in it i got a D1 in the mocks and i would love a high C or B any advice would be much appreicaited thanks i really enjoy business but i find it hard to study it

No need to feel out of place your hopes are as important as anyone elses! Okay il make a list for you

1. Know units 1-3 VERY well. The hardest thing about these units is the Acts but break them down into 1 A4 page each in very short bullet points. Try and make a scenario in your head for each Act. For things like the employment equality act and the nine parties it protects, I like to take the first letter of each group and make up an easy poem to remember the whole nine of them. Make the poem personal to you ( mine is made up of my friends names ) The reason you should know these units so well is that the ABQ and two of the long questions are based on them. That's equal to 50% of your paper.

2. Do all the short questions in the exam papers and learn them. They tend to be quite repetitive with the odd new one thrown in each year. Try and get a hold of past mocks and do the short questions on those too.

3. Learn Unit 7 (EU and international trade etc.) this should enable you to answer question 3 of the long questions. This question is EXTREMELY repetitive. There is no waffling you just have to know the stuff and that will get you full marks.

4. Learn your accounting ratios as they can often make up the bulk of question 5 of the long questions. Practice past exam questions on them and I guarantee you will master them in no time.

5. As we don't have long left now try and just know the basic of basics from the other units in the book for the short questions.

I'm not saying this advice will get you an A but if you structure your study to suit certain questions on the paper I have no doubt that your grade will improve!

Good luck and let me know how it all goes

caolan1996 wrote: »

for business would it be ok to leave it out as a long question and just pick an other unit like 5 which i find easier

Yes if you feel like you can get that much done in time and you find it easier of course!

dazzy123 wrote: »

How would everyone suggest revising for English especially paper 1? I always go to study and then realise I don't know where to start!

Hey there I got an A2 in my english mock, I do believe it was corrected easily though but this is my advice for paper 1:

Reading comprehensions: know all your types of language e.g. Informative, persuasive, argumentative etc. Highlight important bits of the passage so you don't have to go finding them again. Read the questions first! Remember that the comprehension is worth just as much as the prescribed poetry! Obviously make your 20 mark questions longer than the other ones. Make a point and explain it then back it up with a quote. Try and work your quotes into sentences. No waffling straight to the point!

Question B: I got full marks in this for the mock. ALWAYS PICK YOUR QUESTION B FIRST! Be opinionated. Argue your point and give the examiner no reason to believe your viewpoint is not worthy of consideration. Try to be unique and vary your vocabulary a lot.

Essay: ONE HUNDRED MARKS! You need to do well on the essay to guarantee a good grade. I made up I short story that I can twist and adjust to suit almost any title. I can write it in just over 45 mins because I know it off by heart, I just need to work the title into it. I suggest you do the same and don't go learning off a story, make it up because you will remember if much better. Get it corrected by your english teacher before the exam if you are still able to.

Good luck!

Deleted User wrote: »

Just on the essay advice; it is imperative that you know your strengths! I was never good at short stories according to my teacher. I was on the debate team so speeches/debates were always a possibility to fall back on but I really liked the personal essays. English is a subject where you can actually let your personality shine through. I was always told that I had a comedic outlook on life and that I could make anything into a joke. I used this to my advantage all the time in my essays! And examiners love it! I got 98/100 in my personal essay for the LC because the examiner could see the student behind the exam (and I'm sure you know that this is rare in the LC).
And you can even bring it into other areas of the course (although not as freely). In one essay I remember comparing Macbeth and Banquo to Ant and Dec and it worked really well with the teachers in my school as humour is memorable and can get the audience onto your side.

Completely agree! I believe I did well in my question B because I used my own opinion! I remember harping on about how none of the lads in my school could compare to the likes of actors nowadays (harsh I know) - the article was about the stereotypes in media. Try and say the unexpected, and use your own views in each question!