Nervous for exams

hasdanta

Hi guys, I'm a JF doing General Science and I just want to get some advice on how to approach the exams because they seem a lot different than Leaving Cert.

Should I be studying like crazy for them? I haven't really knuckled down and done revision yet so should I get started, or can a lot be accomplished during the April break and I should just more-so focus on assignments and lab reports?

Is it enough to go by just the lecture slides? Most lectures seem to have a lot in the slides already so I'm unsure, or should I be disregarding them and going from the textbooks?

Can you tell me about your experience studying for them and stuff, even if you don't do Science? I do Biology, Chemistry, Maths Methods and Geology if that helps.

ubisoft5

You are only JF, exams cant be that hard.
I suggest you look at past papers,make sure the same lecturer was teaching back then because exams can be quite different with other lecturers.
Some lecturers tend to repeat some of the same questions each years, check if you see a patern for starters.

Look at slides and tut questions to study.

My experience varied: some lecturers asked in exams general questions,some asked very specific questions, some would repeat to some extent some past exam questions.

I think u will be okay as this is just a JS exam as long you put some effort.

Conchir

If it would make you feel more comfortable, then start studying a little bit now, but you'd be surprised by how much you can get done in April alone. The main thing to do now, in my opinion, would be keep going to lectures and labs, and do all the work for them. There's no point studying hard for exams now if it means you fall behind in coursework. Also take decent notes in lectures and keep them organised! Trying to sort them out if they're all a mess and mixed up can be a huge waste of time. I made that mistake in first year, but haven't since.

From what I remember, my revision in first year consisted pretty much of just the lecture slides and my notes, with maybe a bit of reading in the general textbooks, but that was only if that particular lecturer's slides were bad (or non-existent).

You should also have a look at the past papers, they're all online and will give you an idea of the type of questions and what you'll be revising.

I'm in Science (Geography), but I didn't do the subjects you're doing. Maybe if you're taking a physical geography module through geology but I think they're completely separate.

stealinhorses

You'll burn yourself out if you start too early. JF Science exams are generally easy enough, but there is a lot of material to be covered. I'd suggest starting slow about 2.5-3 months before exam time with the topics you find most difficult so that they get plenty of attention.

Then slowly ramp up the intensity so that you peak about 1 week before exams. Do not do all-nighters the night before and don't start new topics you haven't studied yet 2 days before the exam and you'll be grand.