Advice for 2016 LC student

LCBanter

Ever since I started secondary school, I have always pitied the leaving certs! I find it hard to believe that it is "my time" next year..

Just wondering whether I could tap into the minds of stressed sixth years for advice!

I do English,Irish,Maths,Geography,History,German and Business if you want to help me with subject specific advice

All help appreciated!

AlfaJack

Irish: actually learn those bloody picture sequences and don't just wing it on the day (like me )

Anonymagician

Learn the Irish and German picture sequences. Learn them. Just LEARN THEM.

For history don't be lazy with your homework. I was and now I have to redo lots of essays as they weren't all good standard for revision.

For business just keep up with it. Read over chapters when you've finished them and study for class tests. Business can be really rewarding once you have the terminology and exam technique down.

Good luck!

IrishLoriii

LCBanter wrote: »

Ever since I started secondary school, I have always pitied the leaving certs! I find it hard to believe that it is "my time" next year..

Just wondering whether I could tap into the minds of stressed sixth years for advice!

I do English,Irish,Maths,Geography,History,German and Business if you want to help me with subject specific advice

All help appreciated!

I know that this sounds like the most boring and stupid thing to say but seriously try and do some study over summer..You'll come into school in September and hear all the scary leaving cert talks and think pfft that's not going to be getting stressed and then youll be outside your maths class and hear of people who did grinds all summer to help them revise the course and you will be panicked! Do NOT let this be you..it doesn't have to be grinds but seriously you now have 3 whole months and when your in leaving cert you will give anything to have 3 months of no homework or school to study!!

For history start your research project now..its all on the internet how to do it and your teacher isn't allowed to give you much help with it I honestly would start doing it now..I was the first in my class finished it and it was just pure relief..even have an idea of what you want to do it on.

For English go over and make out notes for what you did in 5th year. Make these proper notes- I suggest flash cards- exam worthy so its not the day before your leaving cert English exam and you have crap notes you made in a rush in fifth year ( ) If you did your comparative don't let it go out of your head..keep watching the movie you might actually come to like it! You will have so little time next year you have loads now so use it!!

For Irish I cannot state the importance of learning your Sraith Pictiurs now..they are something that is impossible to cram..the oral is 40% and generally its not practised enough in classes. Make Youtube your best friend there is so many Irish and French Orals online! Know your basics inside out so you can prepare yourself for the harder topics to know them easier next year

For German- I did French but I think there is a thing like in French where you have a document for german?? Pick this now and start to learn it..know your basics- there where students fall down the most and they give the examiner an overall impression of you

I don't do any of the other subjects that you mentioned above but can honestly say that if I could repeat fifth year I would do it so much differently. Buy exam papers- get to know the technique and make yourself the student who is confident going into the exam!! You might not be aiming for 625 or even 400 points but why not give yourself the chance to try?! You have a whole year right now and a whole 3 months before sixth year please use it to your advantage!! Good luck

Digital Solitude

Bollocks to study over summer, you'll be well sick of it by the time you get to the mocks. Start geography study early, don't stress out over it

BlueWolf16

Do your homework as good as you can. When the LC comes near you will be scrolling through your copies day in day out. Nothing worse than learning of a history essay that you got a C/D in. Ofcourse if you are good at coming up with material on the day, then that's fantastic and I would encourage you do to that, though most likely your old essays will be your source.

Don't overwork yourself. Did it myself this year - Started study everyday since the Mocks, by the time it was late April, May, I couldn't stand to look at books. I'm fine now, and hopefully will be okay, but stay normal. I don't mean this as "Don't bother doing it if you don't feel like it", discipline is important, but taking one cheat day a week is better than cramming in essays every single day for months.

EoghanIRL

Couldn't have picked a worse time to start this thread.

LCBanter

EoghanIRL wrote: »

Couldn't have picked a worse time to start this thread.

Yes but it is the best time to see what people are worried over or what regrets they may have!

Casio123

Do all your homework it will really stand to you long term.even just learning homework! As much as everyone says 'the pres don't matter' if you even just lightly study you are building your foundation for the bigger exams in June.

qweerty

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Bollocks to study over summer, you'll be well sick of it by the time you get to the mocks. Start geography study early, don't stress out over it

Respectfully put. I do agree, though - summer study is overly ambitious and almost certainly doomed to fail. I'd recommend doing some work - a short story or two, a book review, etc - in the weeks leading up to term, just to get yourself back in the habit.

currooney

I'm in the same boat as you LCBanter, the dread! All I'm doing over the summer is reading my English comparatives and hitting up duolingo every so often. After reading this thread I think I'll make a start on my history project too. School is not a priority for the next 3 months though, no point in burning yourself out!
How do you even study for history without learning off essays? I'm absolutely hopeless at it.

LCBanter

currooney wrote: »

I'm in the same boat as you LCBanter, the dread! All I'm doing over the summer is reading my English comparatives and hitting up duolingo every so often. After reading this thread I think I'll make a start on my history project too. School is not a priority for the next 3 months though, no point in burning yourself out!
How do you even study for history without learning off essays? I'm absolutely hopeless at it.

History is a tough one to study for alright! Basically I create plans under paragraph headings and try to stretch it out from there

ShaunDaSheep

Study 5 poets well for english

I studied four and none came up yesterday

Magnate

ShaunDaSheep wrote: »

Study 5 poets well for english

I studied four and none came up yesterday

Alternatively, don't study the one poet that has already come up two years in a row! :P

...(sorry)

Tables

ShaunDaSheep wrote: »

Study 5 poets well for english

I studied four and none came up yesterday

You mean 3/3 poets that came up last year were 3 of your 4, and you banked on them? Then you deserve it.
Everyone knew that at least one of either Ni Chuilleanain, Montague or Frost would come up.

With regards to advice for the leaving cert, I'm repeating by the way, here goes;

Get over this "it's finally my time" mentality. I fell to this mentality and failed to overcome it and was never able to accept that I was one of those people doing that bloody exam, but I was. It absolutely nailed me in terms of my ability to study and my motivation never reached the levels I needed it to hit. So just accept it now and get over it, I'm not trying to sound as mean as I do but the reality is hat mentality is a cancer, and you don't want to be a victim of it.

General advice would also be; worship the exam papers and their accompanying marking schemes. These f***ers are to be your God for the next 12 months or whatever. Do exam questions for every subject. Also for subjects that have short questions don't be one of those people that neglect them. They are designed to be 'easy' marks. Make sure you can nail them. Also a word on the marking schemes; when an answer was accepted one year and not after that year remember that that answer is no longer valid, forget about it. Also, if ever a teacher over rules what a marking scheme says, disregard what they say. The marking schemes are what your corrector will use, not your teacher's opinion.

For business I recommend that you learn everything by headings and use them to stimulate your memory, don't try to remember the 2 line definition that accompanies them actively, you should just remember what the heading means and be able to explain it. Business doesn't require word by word definitions so use that to your advantage. Where certain definitions are to hit certain points e.g Delegation, learn what you need to hit, but don't learn the English around those points. It sounds trivial bit lightens your load a bit, and that is always a good thing, believe me.

For English I recommend you don't fall into that "you can't study for Paper 1" mentality. If you do, prepare for a C1. Know your techniques of writing, which funnily enough looks like it will be thoroughly rewarded this year. Know what it takes to evoke setting and characters, know types of conflict, how to drive plot etc. For paper 2 don't spend 10 hours studying Poetry and nothing else. The studied poetry is 50/400. So is the B question on paper 1, which no one bats an eye at. With that being said; know your texts for paper 2 in and out. You do this by knowing the quotes. Know the quotes. Know the quotes. Know the goddamn quotes!!!

For Geography know your options question like the back of your hand. I presume you are doing the biome or soils. In which case there are 7 possible essays they can ask for soils and 3 for the biome. It's nothing compared to those 60+ 30 markers that everyone frets about. Remember this, it's a good thing. The short questions in geography are 16%, A questions altogether are 12%, the Biome is 16% and your project is 20%. Thats 64% before you touch a 30 mark essay. Then don't forget some topics are guaranteed every year, let's say two, thats 60 more marks that's 12 more percent. 76% of the exam is very very very achievable before any truly arduous study. Use this to your advantage. Just make sure you practice your short questions and PRACTICE the A questions too often do students get 12/20 on them, which puts pressure on their essays to be good because if they drop a single SRP the A1 is gone.

ShaunDaSheep

Tables wrote: »

You mean 3/3 poets that came up last year were 3 of your 4, and you banked on them? Then you deserve it.
Everyone knew that at least one of either Ni Chuilleanain, Montague or Frost would come up.

i cant help what my teacher teaches me ?

we did ENC but i couldnt understand her poetry. Wrote 2 pages on her and made it look like i ran out of time

Tables

ShaunDaSheep wrote: »

i cant help what my teacher teaches me ?

we did ENC but i couldnt understand her poetry. Wrote 2 pages on her and made it look like i ran out of time

Your teacher is an idiot. Not your fault that you found her difficult, her poetry is typically seen as difficult by LC students. I personally loved her poetry and found it really easy to study and read, but I guess I was just lucky.

Tables

ShaunDaSheep wrote: »

i cant help what my teacher teaches me ?

we did ENC but i couldnt understand her poetry. Wrote 2 pages on her and made it look like i ran out of time

Your teacher is an idiot. Not your fault that you found her difficult, her poetry is typically seen as difficult by LC students. I personally loved her poetry and found it really easy to study and read, but I guess I was just lucky.