Junior cert study tips.

MissCupcake

Hi, im doing my junior cert this year and i'm aiming for all A's. :P Basically can someone tell me what the correctors are looking for and how to study for each subject

I'm doing all HL
english
irish
french
maths
history
geography
science
c.s.p.e
Home ec
art

Thanks

MissCupcake

could someone please help!:eek:

Flickka

First of all don't stress yourself. The JC might seem like a daunting task now, but in reality it doesn't mean much and its not that big of a deal.
Aside from that, its great that you're aiming high and want to get the best possible results you can in the exam. Teachers tend to exaggerate the amount of study that is required to do well but actually all that's necessary (I found) was to 1. Listen in class 2. Do your homework well and 3. Understand everything you are attempting to learn.
I also found that making mindmaps were useful for revision in all subjects. Make them neat, colourful and interesting so you won't dread trying to learn the material. Even as you are making them, you are learning the content.for class tests. It is not a difficult exam if you have worked all along.
Also, don't fret about studying too much. As long you are doing what I outlined above, must of the material is already in your head. I did hardly any study up to about two weeks before the exams but always learnt topics well
Finally, on the day, my most important advice is to watch you timing, especially in subjects like English and History. I got 9A's and a B in English as I ran completely out of time in Paper 2. Stick to the suggested time for every question and don't go over whatever you do.
The only benefit as far as I can tell from getting good results in the JC is that, in our school anyway, it gets you the good teachers and it will give you more confidence as you move on from it. Good luck and enjoy it while it lasts. You will be wishing you were back doing it again when you're in Leaving Cert.

MissCupcake

Flickka wrote: »

First of all don't stress yourself. The JC might seem like a daunting task now, but in reality it doesn't mean much and its not that big of a deal.
Aside from that, its great that you're aiming high and want to get the best possible results you can in the exam. Teachers tend to exaggerate the amount of study that is required to do well but actually all that's necessary (I found) was to 1. Listen in class 2. Do your homework well and 3. Understand everything you are attempting to learn.
I also found that making mindmaps were useful for revision in all subjects. Make them neat, colourful and interesting so you won't dread trying to learn the material. Even as you are making them, you are learning the content.for class tests. It is not a difficult exam if you have worked all along.
Also, don't fret about studying too much. As long you are doing what I outlined above, must of the material is already in your head. I did hardly any study up to about two weeks before the exams but always learnt topics well
Finally, on the day, my most important advice is to watch you timing, especially in subjects like English and History. I got 9A's and a B in English as I ran completely out of time in Paper 2. Stick to the suggested time for every question and don't go over whatever you do.
The only benefit as far as I can tell from getting good results in the JC is that, in our school anyway, it gets you the good teachers and it will give you more confidence as you move on from it. Good luck and enjoy it while it lasts. You will be wishing you were back doing it again when you're in Leaving Cert.

thanks, that is so helpful! can you give me some advice on english? I'm really struggling

gaeilgeor

MissCupcake wrote: »

Hi, im doing my junior cert this year and i'm aiming for all A's. :P Basically can someone tell me what the correctors are looking for and how to study for each subject

I'm doing all HL
english
irish
french
maths
history
geography
science
c.s.p.e
Home ec
art

Thanks

Writing out important things out of my book helps me understand the chapter in depth

dee_mc

For English, practice writing: do a little bit every day, and try to practice each type of question several times. Ask your teacher to correct this work periodically (using the marking scheme) and ask him/her to explain how you can improve and progress.
Get familiar with what's required for the various types of essay questions, and decide which ones you prefer and which ones you are best at. Focus on these. For example, a lot of students ALWAYS go for the short story questions, but don't necessarily score well at them. Figure out where your strengths lie, and build on them. Check out the past papers and marking schemes on examinations.ie for some guidance.
This doesn't apply just to English, but know your basics: work out your timing (x number of minutes per question, don't exceed it, move on to next question, go back at the end if you have time), including a few minutes to read the entire paper and choose your favourite questions, and reading time after answering the paper (to ensure you've answered each question to your satisfaction).
This is an absolutely brilliant resource for Junior Cert English: have a look, it's really helpful http://leavingcertenglish.net/category/junior-certs/

DublinArnie

For CSPE, do the poster question for the long Qs.

Look around the JC forum, you'll find more than enough help.

Bazinga_N

MissCupcake wrote: »

Hi, im doing my junior cert this year and i'm aiming for all A's. :P Basically can someone tell me what the correctors are looking for and how to study for each subject

I'm doing all HL
english
irish
french
maths
history
geography
science
c.s.p.e
Home ec
art

Thanks

I'll help you as much as I can, with the subjects I did!

English - It's been said on here a good few times that one of the best ways to improve English is to read more books, of various different types - and it's very true! I got an A in English and I honestly think it's because I read quite a bit. It really helps for creative writing (personal and functional) and will help when it comes to your novel as well! Make sure you use the PQE (Point Quote Explain) method at answering every question on the paper (and in most exams really!). It really helps focus the question and keep you on track, making sure you achieve maximum marks. For paper two, it's really important to know your novel, play and selected poetry inside out. Make sure you have a copy of your play, novel and all your poems available to you to read over any chance you can! Understanding them is really key to answering questions on them! If your school was like mine, and copies were scarce, I'd really advise buying them, it does help to read them a few times! Other than that, like all exams, practicing a few past papers so you know how to answer the different types of questions is key!

Irish - Even though I got a B in Irish, I really don't want to advise you to do what I had to do, but at this stage it may be your only option. I rote learned my studies poetry answer, my studied prose answer and my short story from a copy my teacher made. It really doesn't do any good for your Irish but apparently it does work! Practice is key on the unseen stuff! There's really no other way! Learn the basic grammar rules off by heart (AC, AL, AF and MC), because honestly it helps in all sections of the exam paper!

French - Practice as many Reading Comprehensions and Listening Comprehensions as you can! They're worth so much of the exam! Learn off any of the vocabulary that comes up, and you'll know it in future! Again like Irish, learning grammar is so useful all over the paper! French music, tv, films and radio are really good to use to try and improve your french! I personally liked french music and found it quite enjoyable! For the written, the same stuff comes up a lot of the time! Learn off the formula (the layout of notes, posts cards, formal/informal letters) and try to learn off some handy phrases you can throw into any piece! Bonne chance!

Maths - For me anyways, maths really didn't start coming together until we finished the course and started doing exam papers! Practice is the only way to do it! Keep doing as many papers and sample papers as you can and get your teacher to correct them! You'll soon get the hang of the questions and should be able to tackle most problems!

Geography - Geography isn't an overly different subject! By doing all the short questions in your exam papers you should be fine for the exam! Then you can focus on which type of long questions you want to do (this doesn't mean you neglect other parts of the course!). Personally I focused on the map questions, economical and social geography - not overly studying the physical geography. Only enough to pass the short questions (which came back to bite me in the butt on the day of the exam!). So don't neglect any sections of the course but pay slightly more attention to the questions you will prefer to answer on the day!

Science - you really can't neglect anything in the course! You kinda just have to study everything! You really need to get a grasp on every concept on the syllabus and know the experiments inside our! Lucky for me I loved science so I never really had to fret too much about it but really answer every exam question ever, because anything might come up, I personally never really found any 'patterns' to be very useful in the exam! Also, give lots of effort to your investigations! They're worth a lot of marks and really not overly difficult, as long as you do then right!

CSPE - ah the easy A, so many people assume to achieve, but don't! Don't assume you'll get an A. Do exam papers and try to pay some attention to the news. It's not a subject you need to worry about but ignoring it, won't help you get an A. Also try your best to do a really good Action Project Report! Don't copy down exactly the same stuff as other people in your class because that doesn't really get an A. Try to be creative and unique about how you describe your project! Don't lie though, because if someone is correcting multiple papers from your exam centre and all of the other papers are similar but to different to yours, it's not going to look well - that's just my opinion though!

That's all the subjects I did! Best of luck!

Irishgirl1998

Art - you don't need to study but practice drawing faces and still life objects

FifaPlaya

In English when you answer essay style q's use ORE(Opinion Reason Evidence), just practice drawing for art, watch documentries for history, for science look at every chapters summary + practice q's by going on examinations.ie or using exam papers or summarize every chapter for your subjects

IrishLassie26

MissCupcake wrote: »

Hi, im doing my junior cert this year and i'm aiming for all A's. :P Basically can someone tell me what the correctors are looking for and how to study for each subject

I'm doing all HL
english
irish
french
maths
history
geography
science
c.s.p.e
Home ec
art

Thanks

Heya I`m aiming for all As too hopefully!
For English I found paper 2 the struggle. I`m reading through my novel and writing out important quotes or notes from each chapter. I`m going to select a few poems that cover questions that have come up in the past to learn and learn them really well. For the drama I think I will write out notes from each scene and quotes, covering all answers in past papers.

Irish I have an essay written about a fire that I can work around for any topic that comes up. I`ve picked two poems and two stories to learn that cover the majority of the themes.

For french I think if you just keep revising words it really helps. I learned nearly all the words we have done so far for the mocks and I flew through it. Our teacher has also given us letters to learn off for the written work.

All I think you can do for maths is make sure you know how to work with all the methods given in each chapter. Practicing exam papers really helps.

For history revise short questions in the exam papers, learn off the people in history and write out answers for the accounts in Question 5 & 6. They are easier to learn and revise this way.

I have Revise Wise for Geography and by just reading it over and over (its quick to read too) I have the majority revised. If you are going to use your book for revision just keep reading over it and make sure you know the first ten chapters I think which are usually about the earth rivers seas rocks etc.

In Science I have learned the glossary at the end of each chapter and the experiments. There`s no short cuts for science really. Exam papers help too.

For C.S.P.E I never looked at the book the last two years as the teacher has our books. She never gave them out because we are doing our projects. Honestly, I dont think I will be studying for it either when I seen how easy the Mocks were!

Sorry, for Home Ec and Art I cant help as I do Business and Music!

When you`ve revised something make sure you keep reading over it, writing it out whatever works a week or two after or you will forget it. By the time June comes you`ll definitely be ready! Best of luck with all the study

Irishgirl1998

Home ec - make sure you know your nutrients because question one on the long questions is a food label mostly . You have to state the nutrient , given amount and function e.g protein 12.5g used for growth and repair of cells.

You also need to know

Food storage
Types of stitches
Functions of clothes
Consumers rights
Hygiene
Safety
Mental health e.g sun protection
Consumer studies .
They're just a few. Hope it helps. Use flash cards

Emlie

Art -> I drew the figure in my exam and I prepared for this my drawing people around my house whenever possible i.e drawing them sitting down watching tv. Yeah they got annoyed at times but they didn't bother me! Its really important you really do put in the time and practice these things. As with your project, if your looking for an A in art I'm sure you probably have this all sussed out. You probably don't need me telling you this but you must keep focused and always on top of it. I did a bit a couple of times during the week at around 9pm and then ofcourse a good bit at the weekend. Its when I do my best work really as I could just really take my time. I was pretty happy with my project overall except my 3d model which was awful imo but hey, turns out that didn't really matter. For the practical exam, practice practice practice for it nearly every single night if possible once you get the brief. It will quicken up in the exam as you will have nearly learned off the shape and so you will then have lots of time for shading and getting the detail.

History -> Well..........I definitely learned off a lot. Our teacher gave us SOOO many handouts and notes. I made some of my own notes too but really at the end of the day, I had learned the history book off my heart. For q.1,2 and 3 I really just practiced for those with my exam papers. For q.5 and 6 I made a bit of a prediction and it did work out well for me. I didn't go learning off EVERYTHING that was exaggerating a bit...but just the things that hadn't come up the year previously. I'm not really sure what better advice to give but than to really really know your stuff! (at least most of it) But for q.6 you don't need to know 4 sections in detail - probably 3 as question A can ask anything so you'll need to be covered just incase.

Irish -> I didn't expect this at all as I had never once gotten higher than a B since 2nd year. Some of the things I did coming up to the exams were learning off some 'nathanna cainte' as they definitely add a richness to your writing. They also help you for getting your brain thinking and also filling up some space. Other things to do are practice Irish listening at least once a week (I was dreadful so practice is the only way really only to improve it.) I also learned off an eachtra which worked out well for me on the day. Some people are good at writing essays and that's fine its just a learned off eachtra suited me because I couldn't really think on the spot.