Junior Cert Essentials?

Fifii

Hey guys! I am so worried about tomorrow, like the questions and that but more importantly what I should bring myself;) Are we meant to bring a plastic bag ? What stationary will you be bringing and most importantly what hard sweet will you be sucking on?! My brains are totally scattered at the moment so I think I just need to see what everyone else is doing:)

S_Hick12

Plastic bag? For what?

Fifii

S_Hick12 wrote: »

Plastic bag? For what?

I heard that you aren't allowed to bring in your pencil case so you need a see through plastic one? Maybe not:)

S_Hick12

We were told nothing about tomorrow. We don't even know where our exams are on and what stuff we can/can't bring in.

Xgracie

S_Hick12 wrote: »

We were told nothing about tomorrow. We don't even know where our exams are on and what stuff we can/can't bring in.

Same gah

Fifii

Xgracie wrote: »

Same gah

I know that I should bring colors for CSPE:)..Also that Higher Level papers are white...Well I am certainly going to enjoy tomorrow morning;)

spurious

You can't bring any stationery into the exam hall.

Get a clear ziplock bag for your pens/pencils/calculator.

Bring a bottle of water, not fizzy drinks.

Leave your phone at home. It's only a few hours.

spurious

S_Hick12 wrote: »

We were told nothing about tomorrow. We don't even know where our exams are on and what stuff we can/can't bring in.

You should be in at least a half an hour in advance tomorrow, to find your centre, find your desk and get every thing sorted.

emersyn

Are we assigned seats (do we have to sit in alphabetical order) or does anyone know if we can pick our own seats?

ElmW13

emersyn wrote: »

Are we assigned seats (do we have to sit in alphabetical order) or does anyone know if we can pick our own seats?

We're all assigned seats in my school. Really hope I'm not in the room where the seats seem really high off tge ground

Fifii

ElmW13 wrote: »

We're all assigned seats in my school. Really hope I'm not in the room where the seats seem really high off tge ground

Fingers crossed I get a window seat!:)

Chris Martin

Can barely remember my JC now except I got one of the easiest questions ever wrong in it and have been taunted about it ever since... :P
"What is the famous Irish symbol used in most legislation? H____"
Something along those lines, I guessed heart anyway and realized afterwards there were harps in the top corner and front of every exam paper. :P
Still an A though thanks to my top notch poster about Martin Luther King :P

In relation to the to's and fro's, you're assigned a seat as to your Exam Number I believe, back in my day you were allowed to (it's what I did) bring in a couple of pens, pencils, a ruler and a calculator without the cover. You were provided with log tables in there as well and extra paper to work things out if necessary.
I used to bring my pencil case in and leave it on the floor but I think they're cracking down on that now so if you want to bring one stick with clear one, I think you can pick them up from Tesco for around a euro.

Lastly, don't worry about the exams now. At this stage you either know your stuff or you don't. Try and get a decent nights sleep beforehand as well. Hypocritical of me to suggest as I never did but you'll feel the benefit on the day of exam, especially if you want to go on after the exam and study for the one after.

Good Luck btw :P

thetalker

emergency question?!
are we allowed to bring a desk clock to check how much time is left?
i have one and id like to use it but I'm not sure if its allowed.

emersyn

thetalker wrote: »

emergency question?!
are we allowed to bring a desk clock to check how much time is left?
i have one and id like to use it but I'm not sure if its allowed.

I'm not sure but I'd say you'd be allowed as long as it doesn't tick too loudly, although a wristwatch would be more convenient. They usually put up clocks in the exam centres anyway.

Eims14

Also if u have.a normal.pencil case what happens do u just.bring.the stuff you need in and leave the pencil case outside?I know i shud be focusing on english right now but knowing whats what will put my mind somewhat at ease tomorrow.

emersyn

Eims14 wrote: »

Also if u have.a normal.pencil case what happens do u just.bring.the stuff you need in and leave the pencil case outside?I know i shud be focusing on english right now but knowing whats what will put my mind somewhat at ease tomorrow.

Most people have been saying to bring stationary in a transparent plastic bag so that the examiner knows you haven't written notes on your pencil case or anything, but my sister did her Junior Cert a couple of years ago and she said she was allowed to bring in her normal pencil case. It probably depends on the examiner and how strict they are

spurious

You are not allowed bring stationery into an exam centre.

Pens yes, paper no.

dee_mc

A zip lock bag is handy instead of a pencil case, as you and the examiner can see exactly what's in it, and it saves the annoyance (for you and others!) of rummaging in a pencil case to find what you want.

Another question that came up last year was about coloured inks: stick to black and blue biros, as the people who correct your script will use red and a second correcter may use green, so it's best not to use these colours yourself.

Tipp-ex is a no-no: if you make a mistake, cross it out with a single strikethrough and draw brackets around it. Absolutely no need to obliterate a mistake - if what you've crossed out is in fact correct, if the correcter can read it they may be able to award you marks for it.

Bring a spare pen or two, a ruler to underline headings if you wish, a highlighter to mark important points on the exam paper, a bottle of water, and maybe a few glucose sweets for a wee sugar boost.

The room will have a clock - this is a requirement - but most examiners will be ok with a small personal clock that doesn't 'tick', if you feel it's necessary.

Bring a little pack of tissues too, in case of a dose of the sniffles

emersyn

For maths/science/business etc it's a good idea to bring a spare calculator if you have one at home, just in the off-chance that your calculator stops working in the exam.

VG31

I presume you are allowed to use Tipped-Ex?

emersyn

VG31 wrote: »

I presume you are allowed to use Tipped-Ex?

It's a waste of time to use Tip-Ex or any kind of correction fluid, if you make a mistake just cross it out with one line and put brackets around it.

spurious

Dee_mc's post reminds me - yes, under no circumstances use red or green for your answers. They are the colours used by examiners and advising examiners when correcting the papers. Do not write anything, particularly numbers, in the right hand margin.

Use blue or black biro - pencil is prone to smudge and can get very faded, so apart from diagrams, avoid it.

Watch those gel pens. Some of them can leak through to the back of the page and make your answers illegible.

Tippex - does you out of marks if what you wrote was in fact right, sticks pages together and annoys examiners. Absolutely no need for Tippex - put a line through something if you think it's wrong. Do not obliterate it, as if it was in fact correct and the examiner can read it, you can still get some marks for it.

pizzamad

Can you write plans on the exam paper? Like when you go straight into an exam like geography could you write a few facts down so you remember? And for business will you get ruled paper for ledger accounts?

Liordi

pizzamad wrote: »

Can you write plans on the exam paper? Like when you go straight into an exam like geography could you write a few facts down so you remember? And for business will you get ruled paper for ledger accounts?

Yes, you can write on the exam paper - you don't need to hand up the booklets where you've not answered any questions (i.e English paper) but you could always ask for a piece of paper which is what I intend on doing.

For business, you may to have ask for book 1/2/3 paper but they will most likely hand them out.

VG31

spurious wrote: »

Tippex - does you out of marks if what you wrote was in fact right, sticks pages together and annoys examiners. Absolutely no need for Tippex - put a line through something if you think it's wrong. Do not obliterate it, as if it was in fact correct and the examiner can read it, you can still get some marks for it.

I only use it if I write something which I am sure is wrong or if I spell something wrong.
I use a Tipp-Ex mouse not the liquid so that won't be a problem.

spurious

pizzamad wrote: »

Can you write plans on the exam paper? Like when you go straight into an exam like geography could you write a few facts down so you remember? And for business will you get ruled paper for ledger accounts?

Yes by all means write a plan. The supervisor will not let you do it before the exam officially starts, but once you have been told you can start, write away. Best place for outline plans etc. is on the back page of the answer book. Just write 'rough work' on the top of it. If you have an outline of an answer done in rough work and run out of time for a question, you may still get some marks because of your plan.

Yes you will get ruled paper for accounts.

Liordi

VG31 wrote: »

I only use it if I write something which I am sure is wrong or if I spell something wrong.
I use a Tipp-Ex mouse not the liquid so that won't be a problem.

In exams like English, it's a severe waste of time since a lot of people don't even finish the paper.

spurious

VG31 wrote: »

I only use it if I write something which I am sure is wrong or if I spell something wrong.
I use a Tipp-Ex mouse not the liquid so that won't be a problem.

I cannot say it enough - DO NOT USE TIPPEX!!!

There is no scenario in which a simple line through an answer would not do to cancel it. The benefit being it is still visible so can be used to give you marks, which is what JC examiners are trying to do.

dee_mc

Re rough work, mark the question number beside each piece so that it can be considered for marking.
Same goes for answers in general - make sure the question number and section number are clearly marked, and if you use a second answerbook or continue a question on a separate page (i.e. not on the next page!) make sure it's marked clearly, for example 'continued on page 2 of answerbook 2' and 'question 3 (b), continued from page 4 of answerbook 1',
Makes things easier for you when rereading your script, and of course for the correcter.

spurious

I'm recalling bits and pieces now.
If you are more comfortable writing only on the right hand page of an opened answer book, do so. There is no shortage of paper in the SEC. Do not feel you have to jam your answers in to fit the answer book.

Check and double check that you have written your exam number on each answerbook, or loose page you use. It's not so much a problem if you are the only person in your centre leaves out the number, it becomes much more fun when there are two or three unnumbered papers in your centre.

For History - make sure you put Qs 1, 2 and 3 inside your answerbook. The supervisor is supposed to check, but every year there is at least one candidate takes theirs home. Likewise, the other subjects that have a separate section - I'm thinking Geography and Science - there may be others.

VG31

Liordi wrote: »

In exams like English, it's a severe waste of time since a lot of people don't even finish the paper.

spurious wrote: »

I cannot say it enough - DO NOT USE TIPPEX!!!

There is no scenario in which a simple line through an answer would not do to cancel it. The benefit being it is still visible so can be used to give you marks, which is what JC examiners are trying to do.

I would only use Tipp-Ex in exams like Business, if I make a mistake in the Budget for example and I have to change lots of figures. It looks very messy if you write in new figures above. I would never use Tipp-Ex in an English exam.