Enter The Dragon

blondie07

JC 2K3 wrote:

^I got all A1-B2s, and I certainly didn't do that much study before Xmas.

Same here. i just always did my homework in english and history and then seriously crammed from february/march on

carlowboy

Well two hours a week is hardly killing yourself. I enjoyed maths tbh.

Mars Bar

I did homework form 4-5.45 then went out on my drums and then to the internet, and NO study, didn't do a tap on Saturday either(and i gave up my saturday job from Christmas) and still didn't do a thing. For a month before the exams i did after school study from 4.15 to 6.45...went up 30 points by just doing that...

So now i'm back to school tomorrow bright and early to repeat and i'm starting study...and saturdays in the library...

Listen kids:don't do what i did!! Learn from my mistakes...

Limerick Dude

tbh i did fcuk all, all year. Crammed the week or two before most exams.

350 in pre, 405 in real thing.

I just did homework and crammed before exams and that what i got.

So if your aiming for 500+, do your homework, do a bit of study most nights (doesnt have to be alot) and cram like a bítch before exams and you'll probably get it.

Mars Bar

Ya, every little bit helps as the tesco guys would say!

ec18

did sweet F*&k all...was so bad i was learning english poets in between the english papers.....And i'm goin into third year in college soo it definatly varies from person to person

PurpleFistMixer

JC 2K3 wrote:

Having been in CTYI is irrelevent.

Yeah... I don't think it has any relevance to the LC tbh, and I'm no longer a CTYIer anyway, unless you believe "once a CTYIer always a CTYIer" or something...

I'd say I'd study maths for two hours a week simply as I'd rather study it than other subjects, but I'm going to try and study whatever needs to be studied primarily. Physics definitions. Bleh.

carlowboy

If you like Maths then Physics definitions aren't a problem at all. Most of the physics definitions can be explained using formulae. Apart from stuff like the Ampere of course.

MasterSun

my school principle said for an average student who did X hours of study everynight, he would have get around X00 pts for the lc.

Naikon

MasterSun wrote:

my school principle said for an average student who did X hours of study everynight, he would have get around X00 pts for the lc.

Your Principle is wrong.
I studied very little almost every night for the LC and got around 350 which is good enough for me considering how much "study" I put in.
Cramming ftw!!!

Doffaldinho

JC 2K3 wrote:

What if the drugs in question are Nootropics?

Well played

Enemy Of Fate

OK well I did LITERALLY no study at all throughout all of 6th year, save perhaps for a few days before the mocks, and then spent the entire month before the leaving cert doing 6-8 hours study a day.....now that worked great for me, but some people may just not be able to handle it, so i'd say you should really start to study after christmas and do maybe an hour serious study a night....that should be grand.

lemansky

At the end of it all I got all A1s A2s and a B1. Weekly class tests in two subjects helped to pace us and ensure that everyone got the stuff covered in time. It also cut down on the study as you had defininte goals, ie an hour or so per week for each subject felt better than sitting down with a book and studying for a few hours. That was in 2 subjects. The rest I just paid attention in class and did the homework, with no actual study for the leaving until we graduated, so about two and a half weeks before it

The point is I didn't kill myself studying and I certainly didn't start before Christmas. I always did my homework though and studied for any tests from day one. That was the key tbh.

sd123

Pay attention in class, make sure to go home and research anything you don't understand, or ask your teacher to explain it again.

Homework is extremely unimportant for ALL subjects except Maths and Applied Maths. Studying is time better spent.

If you are planning/considering applying to the UK to study, make sure you find out all about the UCAS system as early as possible in the year because you may very well have to apply for UKCAT or other tests, especially if hoping to go into the health science sector. Talk to your career guidance councellor. Although they're not great in most schools, they are still an invaluable source of information.

Prepare all projects/portfolios/practical work early in the year. Every year, there are people trying desperately to finish theirs on the final day . Also, If you are doing LCVP, ask yourself do you really need to do it? Is 70 points useful to me and how sure am i that i will even get a distinction. Will the large amount of work involved compromise study for other subjects?

Cram for the Mocks and if that goes well, start cramming earlier for the L.C. If you're not great at cramming, you'll learn this from the mocks and it'll SCARE you into studying earlier for the real thing. Don't worry bout what your teachers think of you or what anyone in your classes think of you. If you feel that doing H.W is a waste of time, dont bother doing it, seriously.

Also, another thing worth noting is about higher preference subjects. If you decide that you will definitely not be counting a subject for points, by all means ignore it, unless of course you would like to acchieve a high grade out of pride.
Definitely don't spend an hour and a half, 5 weeks before the LC writing a comparative study essay when you know english isn't going to be one of your six best subjects. Might get you into a tiny bit of trouble at that late stage but doesn't really matter tbh. The most important thing you'll learn in 6th year is that time is of the essence.

Try to avoid caffine, although many people swear by it. It's a carcinogen!! Try to get a good night sleep before school. Try to avoid going out during the week or on sundays. If you do decide to go out, take a day off rather than going into school wrecked tired and dieing of a HO. This way, you can sleep until 1, get up and do a bit of studying/ written HW for the next day instead of going into school, yawning all day and taking in very little info.

Enjoy sixth year, it's there to be enjoyed. There was great craic the whole year, especially with the teachers. They finally treat you like an adult, and are much more leniant and understanding bout HW and things. Make sure you go out for all your friends' birthdays and your own, you only have ONE eighteenth birthday! Also, sixth year is one for pushing out the boundaries! If there was something you always wanted to do or say ( to a teacher for example ), make sure you do it in sixth year. By all means walk on the roof of the school, its your last year in school, ENJOY it! you'll miss it when you're finished.

Try not to forget why you're there though. Try to keep up with whats going on in class and with study! Help your friends if you understand something that they have difficulty with, and, with a bit of luck they can help you with some subject you're not that good at.

Try to be friendly to everyone in your year no matter how outrageously annoying they are with their stupid annoying questions in class or their pure ignorance and lack of intelligence. Remember, one day it could be she/he that could save your life!

Prepare well in advance for exams. By all means leave things out but don't assume you can do well using this method, although it DID work for me, but I was very VERY lucky. Celebrate your grad night. its the last time you'll see some people before the LC.

During exams, drink plenty of water, eat well and sleep properly, but if you have to cram, then it must be done. After the exams, celebrate. If you can, go on a holiday, and meet up with friends throughout the summer. Dont loose touch with them. Get results, be happy because you did the LC and did well just to say that you sat the LC, no matter how happy or unhappy you may feel. Remember that there are some people who aren't physically able to sit an exam.

Go to the debs, try to organise it earlier in the year, even before the mock if possible because it can take alot of valuable time that you just don't have in 6th year. Enjoy the debs, although the food is usually terrible and you get ripped off by the price of the drink. It'll still be the best night of your life if you make it that. Try to avoid confrontations and fights at the debs. It just ruins the night for everyone.

Anyway the point of this, my longest post by far, is that you can do very well in the leaving cert, enjoy sixth year ALOT, and still keep up with study. I know you hear it every year but there IS life after the leaving cert and tbh it has already been forgotton about. No one gives a flying fcuk what you got two days later. ENJOY sixth year, its your final year and, as all the older people say, school is the best days of your life!!!

lemansky

sd123 wrote:

it again.

Homework is extremely unimportant for ALL subjects except Maths and Applied Maths. Studying is time better spent.

But later on in the year when the classes are spent revising, the homework is revision and so=study that you're being forced to do rather than something that you need to motivate yourself to do.Kinda post mocks it gets important.

JC 2K3

But the classes are revising what the teacher thinks you should be revising, not what you know yourself that you should be revising.

I didn't pay the slightest bit of attention in Maths, Physics or Chemistry in the last 2/3 months. I used the time to either work on my own or daydream. Homework? pfft. I knew myself what had to be done and I did it.

Now I understand not everyone can work as independantly as I can, but I think it's a good idea to at least try and assert some sort of independence on your studies and not be blaming crap teachers/not knowing what to study/not having good enough notes etc.

Also, good post sd123. Though I'd disagree about caffeine. While you shouldn't overdo it, a cup of coffee is great for energy if you're tired in the evening.

And do many people have their debs in 6th year? Anyone I know and I have ours sometime in the Summer/Autumn...

lemansky

JC 2K3 wrote:

But the classes are revising what the teacher thinks you should be revising, not what you know yourself that you should be revising.

Fair point, but I was only pointing out that homework does have its uses, and is not pointless. Depends on who you are. I didn't need the homework, but if you were the type that did, then it would be the ideal way to make sure that you are reasonably prepared, as at least something will stick.

sd123

JC 2K3 wrote:

And do many people have their debs in 6th year? Anyone I know and I have ours sometime in the Summer/Autumn...

By grad night, i meant the mass at the end of sixth year, we all went out after it, and was a really good night.

JC 2K3

Oh wait, you meant to do the organising earlier in the year, not actually have it then.

sd123

^^ ye, like setting up debs committees etc, working out where you're going and who you're gonna bring etc. try to get it sorted out early in the year cos when it comes to april/may, no one has much time for organising things.

dan719

I decided to copy cson and do a subject by subject guide.

Firstly I will admit that I was very lazy last year, I was far more interested in booze then my leaving. I made sixth year as enjoyable as possible but paid for it at the end. Personally I still believe a person of above average intelligence is not required to become a hermit in order to do well in the leaving.

Organisation- I never had notes, and lost my books before christmas. This is neither big nor clever. I was forced to make up my own notes and hope I sufficently knew the material. On the plus side it was an effective way to revise.

Handwriting and presentation- another one of my weak points. My english exam was illegible, even to myself when I read it last week. If like myself, you have poor handwriting work on it. For example in maths my two's and beta's are indistinguishble, it cost me eleven marks in my exam.

English; C2 English was a subject I enjoyed, especially paper two. Ignoring my LC result(:mad: ) I averaged about ninety five percent in paper two over two years. The most important thing I can say about English is develop your own opinions and a critical mind. Read poetry outside the course, read a play other than the one prescribed. This will give you a grounding in critical theory and will you allow you to properly talk about the texts rather than regurgitate notes. Again in papre one, in the compositions always talk about what you know and enjoy. in my own essay I talked about 'changing the world'. This is something I am passionate about and allowed me to draw on my own knowledge of both economics and philosophy. Basically to someone who reads widely and passionately, English is not a chore.

German;A2 German was always my poorest subject in school, despite averaging an a throughout. I felt that the aim was not to achieve fluency but rather score a certain grade. As such rote learning seems to be excessively rewarded. I can still recite the majority of my oral exam. Aber waere es besser gewesen, wenn Ich die mundliche pruefung nicht gemacht haette. On a related note, I felt my oral xam was a disaster, the examiner seemed distant and uninterested. However I discovered last week I scored over ninety out of a hundred. German is a subject where work will be rewarded- in particular areas such as angewandte grammatik. A tip would be to write down all the grammer tables in the exam at the beginning, I found it useful throughout, in particular the letter.

Economics;A2 A very easy subject, it is one of the shortest courses on the leaving cert. Grounded in older theory and present day examples it is light on maths(and as such is not realy representitive of modern economics). Again I would advise reading around the subject rather then merely studying it. This allows you to get a 'feel' for theories and ideas as they were presented. I would strongly advise reading the autobiography if J.M Keynes, The wealth of nations, and also The Communist Manifesto. Of course you can get by just learning the definitions and doing exam papers.

Technical Drawing;A1 I personally approached T.D as maths but on paper, i.e I saw it not as a subject but as a branch of problem solving. It is amazing how often one can resort to using theorems in answering a question. It is a subject where individual work is rewarded- I was 'asked to leave' my class three months before the exam and still achieved the A1- much to my teacher's delight/annoyance- it's quite hard to tell.lol Do exam questions, make up your own questions and you will have no problems.

Physics; A1This year saw a lot of controversy over the higher level paper, when experiment questions were method specific. However all logical and realistic answers were accepted. It appears that the examiners, like those in maths are attempting to discourage rote learning. As such I would advise attempting to think logically about physics, to not merely accept conclusions but question them. There is some learning in physics but as someone previously mentioned formulas are perfectly acceptable substitutes for definitions, as long as the notation is explained. Avoid my personal situation and learn the experiments.

Maths;A1 maths causes more heartache and wory than any other subject on the leaving certificate. It is however very manageble no matter what your ability, as Lemansky stated above you can rote learn your way to a decent grade in maths- you just won't get an A. Concentrate on exam questions, but also try to understand the methods you wield. Learn the proofs or you could end up in my shoes - inventing them on the day. Not nice.

Best of luck to everyone sitting the leaving next year. You will be fine- and you will enjoy your sixth year too- which is far more important imho. Don't become stressed- do the work you need to achieve your aims.

As a side note, I look forward to seeing my fellow boardsies in college, it looks like many of us will be sharing maths lectures.:D

JC 2K3

I'm damn tempted to write a big advice column right now......

carlowboy

JC 2K3 wrote:

I'm damn tempted to write a big advice column right now......

Are you really? Tbh I couldn't be arsed. :rolleyes:

nedward

Do out a study timetable and stick to it. Best thing you'll ever do.

smemon

i didn't do much study.. i had a part-time job also so that can be done for those who say it can't

i just did all written homework and crammed for mocks and the real thing.

445 points without breaking my back studying, plus working for a year. Not bad :cool:

If everyone spent 3 hours studying per night, everyone would be getting 600 points. Keep up with the written homework and you should be ok.

Then just do whatever learning you feel like. Don't plan anything, it sounds good at the time but it will never work in reality.

Biggest shortcut tip i can give you is to study the exam papers and work out how much time you have per question and how many questions need to be answered/what options you have etc..

Sounds simple but you'd be suprised how many people run out of time or answer 2 questions when they only need to answer one..

jackjack555

I got 600 points ( an increase of 135 from mocks!!! )

I'm going to break it down for you:

1. MOTIVATION ( you either want to do your best and fulfill your potential or not.. simple as). This word gets bandied around a lot but just focus solely on exams in the months beforehand..make it your priority.

2. INDEPENDENCE It will only be you in the exam hall - learn to trust yourself and your own judgement. For God's sake if you don't want to study after a hard day, don't - BUT if you feel able to do a few more topics even when you have finished, do.

3. BELIEF All year long I was only managing Bs and Cs in english and accounting which I found very disheartening but I didn't give up and it paid off on results day.


Also, you don't need Leeson st. or grinds - I used neither. If you look up info. on your own it will stay in your head a lot longer than if you pay for a sheet of paper!

Regards the amount of study I did :

It is very hard to balance homework and learning but your study must take precedence..a telling off from your teacher in march is worth the A1 in august. I did about 4 hours a night from November (including hw) with roughly 8 hours on weekend. Up this from Christmas and study during your holidays - within reason. The 2 weeks before are CRUCIAL aim for 7/8/9 hours a day when you feel up to it.

Sorry this is so long but I have sooooo much to say about it.....

Best of luck everyone!!!

JC 2K3

nedward wrote:

Do out a study timetable and stick to it. Best thing you'll ever do.

That depends on the person.

I tried and failed many times to make and stick to a timetable. In the end I learnt in an unstructured, vaguely planned way and got 570.

I mean there were so many times when I went on the internet, played guitar or watched TV for 3/4 hours when I "should have been studying". I got it all done in the end, but not by sticking to a timetable.

JC 2K3

jackjack555 wrote:

It is very hard to balance homework and learning but your study must take precedence..a telling off from your teacher in march is worth the A1 in august. I did about 4 hours a night from November (including hw) with roughly 8 hours on weekend. Up this from Christmas and study during your holidays - within reason. The 2 weeks before are CRUCIAL aim for 7/8/9 hours a day when you feel up to it.

Sounds like overkill to me.....

People talk far too much about time though. I mean, I did 3 hours after school study 3-5 days a week for the whole year, but it wasn't all study. I daydreamed, looked out the window and drew pictures for much of it, so saying that I did 3 hours of study a night would be a lie.

Just get the work done and have a reasonable idea of what's involved in that.

Marshy

JC 2K3 wrote:

That depends on the person.

I tried and failed many times to make and stick to a timetable. In the end I learnt in an unstructured, vaguely planned way and got 570.

I mean there were so many times when I went on the internet, played guitar or watched TV for 3/4 hours when I "should have been studying". I got it all done in the end, but not by sticking to a timetable.

Amen to that!

I just couldn't follow any timetable in the least. But if you've got good discipline in that area its probably a good idea.

ZorbaTehZ

Excellent post by sd123 above.