Too late?

im...LOST

ANY HELP GREATLY APPRECIATED

Hello there. I would appreciate advice if possible here.

TBH I've been lazy for these past 1 and a half years. I've done the minimal amount of study and homework but I've been getting above average marks.(generally around 65%- 75%)

Now I'm feeling the pinch though. I failed one mock paper (History - HL) and did so-so in the rest.

Actually got;

Maths (OL) - 72%
English (OL) - 63%
Irish (OL) - 41%
Engineering (HL) - 75%
History (HL) - 25%
Art (HL) - 75%
Biology (HL) - 43%



Hope to get in the real thing;

Maths (OL) - 90-100%
English (OL) - 90-100%
Irish (OL) - 65%
Engineering (HL) - 90-100%
History (HL) - 50-60%
Art (HL) - 85%
Biology (HL) - 70%



Do you honestly think that I'm being over ambitious here or what do you think?


OK, so now to the real point of the thread.

Studying! What should the average study session consist of? I mean, is it too late to be doing out notes still and revising them or should I be concentrating on exam questions more? Are notes supposed to have been done ages ago?

Any help AT ALL would be appreciated because I plan to study loads over the Easter holidays and I want it to be worth while and progressive.

Thanks for the help.

Mackleton

Most definately, its NEVER too late. If you can manage good marks without work than you clearly have a very retentive mind. This would prove that with some decent graft you can improve enormously. Some tips for a timetable:

1. Start your table with a subject you like and make the first task quite easy,
eg. You like history- so start your first revision day with something simple like Hitler-propaganda and work your way up to bigger things in the days following.

2. Allow for blocks of say half an hour if your attention span isnt great because 30 minutes of effective study where you take things in is far more productive than 3 straight hours of drivel that you wont be able to remember an hour later.

3. After each block say half and hour to an hour take a 5 minute break. Its best to stay in the same room because your mind will wander if you dont. Or else steer well clear of rooms with tv's and stuff because temptation will be strong to procrastinate.

4. Golden rule: Stay hydrated, students have no idea how important how important tis is. I began keeping a big bottle of water near my study desk some weeks ago and I can see a difference in my attention span already as well as not being peckish so often.

5. DO NOT create vague lists of tasks like: Do ten chapters of maths/history whatever, you will soon lose focus and achieve little. Instead set small achievable tasks like: Revise The circle chapter and do one circle exam question.

6. Big one, get plenty of sleep, vital for concentration and information retention.

7. Keep the room comfortably warm with ample light and a comfortable chair, these things will prevent your surroundings from distracting you and you stay more focused.

8. Set specific eating times throughout the day and try to maintain the routine, ie 1.00 lunch time and 11 o clock tea break or whatever, endlessly drifting back to the kitchen for snacks is a pure waste of time.

Apart from that avoid getting bogged down with thoughts like: Il never be able to learn this experiment/theorm and dont be too hard on yourself, take it one task at a time and you'll be grand.

Good Luck!

Mushy

Its never too late. Just dont forget, its not quantity of study, its quality. Pretty much everything that was said above is perfect, except maybe eating times, cos they can tend to vary from house to house.

For Maths, keep doing past papers, and do it topic by topic, not Q.1 followed by Q.2 etc.

For Irish, I'm doing Ord level aswell, your teacher may have given you sample Scéals to learn off, or at least some phrases, same for the litir. Just learn them, as they are quite easy, and pick up easy marks.

For history, most important thing now is Special Topic, that should be just about finished, if not already done. But, it takes up time and all that, but keep doing essays. Essay after essay and you'll remember stuff; even if it is only to get you through the exam. If you know the Marking Scheme aswell, I'm sure you'll have no bother getting between your target, maybe even a wee bit more.

good luck with it all, its only a few sacrificed weeks; it'll be worth it

im...LOST

Thanks all!

My History Topic is done now so that's ok. The teacher is happy with it. I hat History though

I need to improve, big time, in Irish though.


What I meant to ask before though is is it too late to be still doing out notes for different chapters or should I have the vast majority of them done already?

Thanks for the help!

AdMMM

What I meant to ask before though is is it too late to be still doing out notes for different chapters or should I have the vast majority of them done already?

As said before, it's never too late. Making out your own notes is a vital part of studying because by putting things into your own words, you are immediately creating a connection in your brain which is much more likely to be remembered than learning from the book.

Once you have finished taking notes, you should have a fair idea of what areas of subjects that you are weakest in. Focus on them until you're comfortable and confident with them and then you should still have plenty of time left to go over everything before the actual exams.

dublad23

It is defo not too late! I started studying loads end of April and done really well - 440 points - and this was after getting about 330 points in my Mocks.

I did the minimum up to then also.

The Institute are probably holding Easter Courses in Revision - They are worth it but might be too late now to sign up. Check it out though.

Spend 3 hours a day - 1 hour at each subject

Notes are always going to help -by writing it down it will stay in your head.

I dropped History too and only sat 6 Subjects - If your not going to use it for your points which it looks like you won't be then **** it - It is stupid to do it if your guarenteed passing the other 6.

Concentrate on what you are good at - If you think your going to fail History it be better to drop it as a fail on the LC doesnt look too good for employers!

boger

i find in order to do good in exams just keep learning and learning the stuff until its all you can think about,e.g economics is a social science it studies the relationship between ends and scarce means which has alternative uses.

i dont think you have enough time to be writing out notes, just try your best.

everybody im sorry about the post that was here, i was in a very bad mood when i wrote it.

md99

boger wrote:

by the sounds of it, you havent done f all, so you probably dont have the cop on to do any work, if you waNT to get them grades get off your backside and do some work

Exactly what the OP needs, methinks.... Well done on your helpfulness.

(and good grammar)

nedward

Nope, it's never too late. Two months is still quite a long time. Good luck.

boger wrote:

so you probably dont have the cop on to do any work

Well, he's asking now, so he presumably has some measure of self-awareness. Just because you did a really good mock gives you no right to look down on people.

boger

md99 wrote:

Exactly what the OP needs, methinks.... Well done on your helpfulness.

(and good grammar)

im does this mean you are being a bit of a hypocrit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( results forum )

"Well, he's asking now, so he presumably has some measure of self-awareness. Just because you did a really good mock gives you no right to look down on people."

in the comment that was posted on this forum before i edited it i was in no way looking down on anybody.

im...LOST

boger wrote:

so you probably dont have the cop on to do any work

Actually I think that's all that I needed.

I need a kick up the b-hind to get some motivation going and to actually work.

Thanks everyone! I'm really ready to work now I think

I'm heading into the library for most days this week and when I'm not there I'm deffo gonna study at home.

Thanks (yet again)

md99

boger wrote:

im does this mean you are being bit of a hypocrit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( results forum )

Are you dyslexic or something?

carol@quovadis

I did a course with Charles Garavan of the memory academy.
He's running one off evening sessions in Griffith college which look at how to learn the stuff so you put it down on paper.

Anybody who any trouble with memorising stuff will find the course useful. It saves hours of time. Mnemonics are so out of date !

http://www.memoryacademy.com/Courses/AboutOurCourses.html
PS I'm not on commission and don't know Charles

ethernet

carol@quovadis wrote:

I did a course with Charles Garavan of the memory academy.
He's running one off evening sessions in Griffith college which look at how to learn the stuff so you put it down on paper.

Anybody who any trouble with memorising stuff will find the course useful. It saves hours of time. Mnemonics are so out of date !

http://www.memoryacademy.com/Courses/AboutOurCourses.html
PS I'm not on commission and don't know Charles

I'd prefer to understand something and try and piece it together on a large canvas instead of using mnemonics. Whatever works is the most important.

boger

md99 wrote:

Are you dyslexic or something?

all i can say md99 is this, how do you think you are to say whether somebody is dyslexic. i guarantee you that nobody else in this website would have the cheek to post a comment like that. i admit i posted a hateful comment on this forum but i corrected my wrong doing and said sorry to the partys involved.

cocoa

no, it's definitely not to late, to up your grade or to make notes. A small word of warning though, try and concentrate on earning marks you didn't already have instead of doing things you already know so you can feel good about yourself. If you feel you really have huge problems in a certain chapter, go ahead and write notes on the whole thing but if there's just one or two things which trouble you, single them out and get them done as quickly as possible. Always concentrate more on the simple things, they will earn you more marks that are also easier to get, only once you have those marks should you consider perfecting the more complex aspects of a subject. Prioritise well and you should be able to higher your marks dramatically in a short time span and maybe even reach the A1s you want come exam day.

boger

cocoa wrote:

no, it's definitely not to late, to up your grade or to make notes. A small word of warning though, try and concentrate on earning marks you didn't already have instead of doing things you already know so you can feel good about yourself. If you feel you really have huge problems in a certain chapter, go ahead and write notes on the whole thing but if there's just one or two things which trouble you, single them out and get them done as quickly as possible. Always concentrate more on the simple things, they will earn you more marks that are also easier to get, only once you have those marks should you consider perfecting the more complex aspects of a subject. Prioritise well and you should be able to higher your marks dramatically in a short time span and maybe even reach the A1s you want come exam day.

this is really good advice cocoa