#lc 2017

yes you read the title - here are some tips to ensure that you don’t end up repeating the leaving cert like i am :-)

firstly you’re probably thinking ‘why would we listen to you, you’re repeating?’ -and that’s exactly the reason why you should listen to me.

(disclaimer that obviously i’m repeating for my own reasons and i’m not a complete failure - honestly, just read)

these tips can also be useful to anybody doing any exams, not just the leaving cert

self care - it may not seem like a priority but it really should be. in life in general, there is nothing more important than your mental health and during the leaving cert (or any year with important exams) your mental and physical health can really suffer. there’s so much pressure involved in this year and it’s so easy to get lost in the stress and study. it’s so important to take some days to yourself to relax, have a bath, go for a walk, watch a movie, or just lay on your bed and do absolutely nothing. it’s also very important to remember that some days if you don’t do that much study - it’s okay !! don’t punish yourself for having a slow day - every once in a while you’re not going to have a good day and that perfectly ok. it’s also important to try and keep active, even if this means taking a five minute walk every day; it helps.

water - staying hydrated is so so so important during stressful times in your life.(and all times in your life) not only is water beneficial for your health, it’s very important to keep your body hydrated. also if like me you’re prone to headaches or migraines, drinking plenty of water is very important to try and avoid those dreaded headaches that usually occur from stress.

stay organised - you’ve no idea how much being organised will pay off to you. when you know exactly where everything is it’s so much easier to get things done.

study plan - having a study plan is also really helpful, when you know exactly what you’re going to do when you get home it’s easier to sit down and actually do it.

now for the nitty gritty ruin your life stuff - honours maths - HONOURS MATHS IS A LIFE RUINER!!!!!!!!! ok no, but seriously. if you’re doing honours maths purely for the extra 25 points and you’re finding that you’re really struggling, please think wisely about if you think it’s worth keeping up, this was my mistake - there were things that interfered with my leaving cert such as a family a bereavement which meant i didn’t put in the work i knew i was capable of, however not dropping to pass maths is one of my biggest mistakes to date. my grinds teacher always said “if you’re aiming for 40% then it’s not worth your time” and he was right. the amount of time and effort honours maths requires (especially if you’re struggling) isn’t time you can afford as a leaving cert student to throw away. for me, honours maths took up so much of my time that my other subjects definitely suffered and in the end it didn’t even pay off. after the mocks you should have a fair idea of how you’re doing (but in saying this the mocks are definitely not a reflection of your actual results due to spoilers, being poorly corrected etc) but it really is something to consider if you feel like it’s taking up a lot of your time and you’re still struggling.a benefit to dropping to pass (if it makes you feel better) is that when you’ve done the majority of the honours course, you will find pass maths to be a breeze.

exam papers - exam papers and marking schemes from now on should be your best best best best friend. a mistake i made last year was not completely depending on the marking schemes especially for a subject like biology. the marking scheme for biology is incredibly specific and doing exam questions and following the answers from the marking scheme is going to be so beneficial to you because what better way to study than knowing exactly what the examiner wants from you.

oral exams - most schools around the country i believe have started their oral exams so this tip may be a little late - but the best advice i can give you for the orals (from doing them two years in a row) is speaking aloud. sitting in your room for 15 minutes an evening just speaking the language really is the best way to learn; who cares if no one is listening? you’re getting used to saying it aloud and when it’s time for your exam, you’ll be much more comfortable speaking the language on front of your examiner. another thing everyone will tell you (but it’s so true) is that the time in there will FLY by. you genuinely feel like you’ve been in there for five minutes. and your examiner is there to help you, she/he isn’t there to catch you out and they’re going to help you out as much as they can if you’re stuck.

practice for your aurals - as boring as it may seem sitting at home doing tape work, it’s so beneficial. tape work in my opinion is something i always seem to do the worst in and i put this down to the fact i just don’t do enough of it. your exam papers come with a CD, use it. 5 minutes an evening doing one section of your tape work will help you more than you can imagine. like your orals, your aural is worth a significant amount of your overall grade and it would be such a waste to not prepare yourself for them.

re-writing notes & flashcards - it may seem like a pain, but re-writing your notes is a very useful method of studying, not only will writing them again help store the information, it’s also much easier to learn from your own handwriting. flashcards are also essential for studying in my opinion, especially for definitions; writing a word on one side of the flashcard and the definition on the back and giving the cards to someone to ask you is a really easy method of studying.

keep motivated - lastly, it’s important to try and keep yourself positive and motivated. set your goals and work towards them. it’s important to surround yourself with positive people and even on the worst of days, remember that in the end it will all be worth it.

good luck guys n gals, i hope these tips somewhat helped and remember everything works out in the end. we gon’ be ok !!