Exam preparation for me necessitates a tightly regulated routine and effective time management. It’s far more valuable to have high-quality study time, rather than a large quantity of it.
Having to study nine subjects necessitated meticulous time allocation for each one throughout the week. Developing a weekly study schedule proved tremendously helpful when exam time rolled around.
The optimal time for me to study was in the early mornings before school began. With an early start at 4:30 am, I aimed for a minimum of three hours of studying daily. In order to sustain this early rise, it was crucial to adhere to an early bedtime. I even maintained this routine during weekends, wrapping up study sessions post-lunch.
Such a regime inevitably required certain sacrifices. I was heavily involved in hockey and held a part-time job as a barista. However, it didn’t compute; there simply wasn’t sufficient time for my studies. Consequently, I cut back my hours at the cafe and ceased working altogether during Christmas. It became impractical to commit to various school, club or provincial hockey trainings, so I switched to running which allowed me periodic recesses from my studies whenever an opportunity presented itself.
Concerning my Irish exams, engaging with different dialects essentially eased my aural comprehension. I regularly watched Irish TV shows with subtitles on, and tuned into popular Irish language podcasts. I initially began with aural exam papers at ordinary level to grasp the basics, before transitioning to higher level post-Christmas during my fifth year.
As for the oral exam, I meticulously prepared answers for every conceivable question that might be brought up during the conversation section, and seasoned myself with every picture story. Future and Modh Coinniollach verbs hold crucial significance in the oral part, which is why I invested extensively to revise and ready related questions.
In preparation for the conversation part, I initially learned basic phrases and subsequently enriched my vocabulary with phrases that would ready me for challenging topics such as technology, environment, or current affairs. My grandmother, who is fluent in Irish, was my practice partner.
I suggest making numerous pages of notes comprising key phrases that showcase your Irish accent and are versatile across any essay subjects. Learning a set of approximately 20-30 proverbs that could be incorporated into any essay can potentially elevate your grade. Instead of rote-learning entire essays, I found it beneficial to focus on learning key sentences relevant to a myriad of essay themes.
As for Chemistry…
Chemistry primarily necessitates comprehension; in contrast to alternative disciplines, if the principles aren’t grasped, responding to queries accurately can be challenging, since the examination papers test your grasp of the curriculum. Patience is vital when grappling with chemistry as it may require some time for ideas to online; my own experience was that everything started to make sense after the Christmas of my penultimate year of school. Watching YouTube tutorials that decipher vital theories indeed provided substantial assistance. Once the understanding is in place, turning to past examination papers for study, instead of merely memorising textbooks or notes, is beneficial. The questions, after all, are formulated in a specific style, and ability to tackle examination papers is crucial. For the laboratory exercises, I recommend preparing a collection comprising of each experiment with steps, equipment, findings, and exceptional questions from earlier papers. Repeatedly drill the mathematical component, concentrating on titration since it appears yearly. Regularly revising topics like stoichiometry, pH, and mole calculations is also advantageous.
A solid grounding in grammar for German is crucial, so from my fifth year, I maintained notebooks dedicated to syntax notes like conjunctions, sentence structures, and verbs. Maintained concurrently was a vocabulary book featuring current topics like environment, sports, and technology, given their routine appearance in comprehensions. To prepare for the oral examination, I constructed a Google Document featuring possible questions regarding hobbies, Germany’s culture, future plans, and practised it with my teacher. Having a comprehensive oral piece handy also provided an advantage during the composition phase of the examination, as I could draw on what I had previously learned. Audio listening wasn’t my strength, thus I practised listening comprehension from past years, supplemented by German podcasts to accustom myself with various dialects. For reading comprehensions, I referred to many German educational websites and got into a practice to extract crucial facts from Goethe Institute examination samples.
Mathematics was assuredly my preferred discipline. I constantly practised the questions at the conclusion of each chapter, initially solving them one day then revisiting them several weeks later for another try. By thoroughly understanding the worked examples in the textbook, I comprehended the strategies to respond to each question.
During my fifth academic year, I thoroughly grasped all formulas and theorems and proceeded to review them on a monthly basis in year six. I analysed test questions to discover any recurring patterns, acquainting myself with the style of writing used for them. On occasions where I was unable to correctly answer a query, I compiled comprehensive answers and revisited them consistently. I always sought similar follow-up questions to assess whether my error had led to greater understanding. Practising question papers were of tremendous help to me. I added fun to this rigorous routine by coupling it with music and treating each question as an intellectual riddle to be cracked.
By the time I sat for my Leaving Certification, I had accumulated a notebook brimming with quotes from various poets, including my comparative and dramatic texts. Pertaining to the composition portion, I gravitated towards two formats that I felt were comfortable – the personal essay and a brief narrative. Much like maths, I pored over exam documents from the past 15 years, first laying down a preliminary draft before timing myself on how long it took to pen down an entire piece, until I hit my stride. My English educator preached the virtues of organised planning. She encouraged spending a minimum of a quarter of an hour structuring each response meticulously, and roughly half an hour for the composition task. Whenever I faltered on a question, I would revert to my meticulously created plan, which detailed each paragraph, comprised of quotes, character analysis, and highlighted critical elements.
I found economics to be a relatively compact and enjoyable syllabus, but the coursework consumed a considerable chunk of my time. I stayed ahead of the curve by focusing on accumulating as much information as possible through diligent research and then compiling it. The written examination can be straightforward, provided one has a sound understanding of the course. In the final academic year, I committed to staying informed about the latest developments, especially in relation to Ireland’s economy, as it could potentially come up in the exams.
Physics posed a formidable challenge as the content was voluminous, with a host of formulas and experiments to memorise. I took to creating simplified notes and revisiting each chapter’s content after we had covered it in the classroom, resulting in a significantly less stressful revision process. With a notable part of the examination being earmarked for experiments, I structured all my experimental findings in a portfolio, consisting all the relevant information, past as well as potential questions, and provided solutions for possible calculations.
When facing complex subjects such as electricity, magnetism, and mechanics, I concentrated on previous examination papers since these more tricky areas often recycle the same queries every couple of years. Particularly helpful for boosting my understanding of magnetism and electricity were YouTube channels like “bitesizephysics.”
Applied Mathematics
Just like with regular mathematics, the key to scoring well in this examination is regular practice repeating questions. Regrettably, there weren’t many previous papers accessible so I invested in the two course textbooks and worked through as many questions from each chapter as I could, making sure to extensively grasp the solutions for each example provided.
I also examined questions from the old course’s papers that remained applicable to the new syllabus, in addition to this, I signed up to AM Online for a wider range of practice questions. Applied mathematics now incorporates a project to be completed in the final year. Attempting to find online examples of these projects was futile; however, I am confident about obtaining substantial marks in the project through thorough understanding of the course.
Accounting
The most constructive method of learning this subject is, unquestionably, routine practice of examination questions. As with Maths, patterns can be identified within past papers. Templates play a crucial role in accounting – inadequate templates for each account can lead to errors. I dedicated time to continuously sketch out blank templates for each account until I could effortlessly recall all of them. This exercise also assisted me when answering questions as the templates provided cues for some calculations.
Substantial learning of accounting theory wasn’t my primary focus until the final year, as a firm understanding of the accounts is more critical than memorisation.
Allocating time correctly in accounting can be challenging, so I meticulously divided the exact duration I could allocate to each question. During my studies, I strived to beat that time by a minute or two for a margin of comfort.
Robin Caren (18), who graduated from Scoil Mhuire school in Cork, is currently pursuing medicine at UCC.