With just weeks to go to the Leaving Cert, here are some techniques and tips on how students can use the time remaining to maximise their performance in the all-important summer exams, writes BRIAN MOONEY
WHAT’S MY main advice to Leaving Cert students at this time of year? Firstly, use your mock results to focus your study. There is no point in saying that you will simply work harder. Identify exactly how much you need to improve in each subject to reach your CAO points target in August. Once you have identified the gap to be bridged in each subject, take out your mock paper and discuss with your class teacher the areas you need to improve. Next, identify specific areas that are causing you to lose marks. List those areas on a to-do list and put it on your bedroom wall.
FOCUS ON THE PAST
Study past examination questions carefully. The only way to improve performance in the Leaving is through tackling individual questions on the past exam papers. Always compare your answer against the marking schemes. These marking schemes are available on the State Examinations website at www.examinations.ie.
You should by now have prepared answers on a whole range of past and possible 2009 examination questions. Ensure that you cover all sections of each examination paper, so that your improvement over the next six weeks is balanced across all your subjects and get your teachers to look over your work.
STUDY GROUPS
There are major benefits in organising study groups. Having to present the answer to a particular topic to a group of students is by far the most effective way of building your own understanding.
It can be very useful to have a regular once-a-week revision session involving two or three friends where everyone agrees to prepare and present the answer to a question or series of questions.
The real trick is to immediately present again the questions your fellow Leaving-Cert students have just presented, to test your understanding. This consolidates your understanding of the material, and makes it far more likely that you will be able to recall it accurately in the examination in June.
This technique is also very useful in keeping your morale high, as each person in the group, acts as a spur to each other’s work.
STUDY GROUP RULES
Do not attempt to cover too much material in one session. One presentation from four participants is more than enough. Agree that each student prepares four copies of their presentation, so that each person leaves with four questions covered, which they have had to explain to the group.
Always have a parent on the premises when you are working. It ensures that you will remain disciplined and that they can deflect any distractions, such as phone calls from friends or disruptions from other members of the family.
GUIDELINES FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD
The next six weeks is not a 100m sprint. It is a marathon, so you must pace yourself and your work, to ensure that you enter into the examination fortnight mentally and physically prepared for the series of long days of writing ahead. You must maintain your personal fitness, through regular exercise and involvement in sport. Such activity is a very effective method for balancing the three to four hours of study you will need to do each day, from now until the examinations.
YOUR PERSONAL STUDY REGIME
Have a study planner on your bedroom wall with each day marked out, over the 42 days between now and the first examination, and check your performance against it on a daily basis. Identify when you intend to study each day and allow yourself the occasional day off, to reward yourself for the work undertaken to date.
Try and do your after-school study early in the evening; avoid late-night study sessions at all costs. They are counter-productive, in that your brain is probably too tired to absorb anything.
A TYPICAL STUDY DAY
Set out a specific set of topics or questions each day for study or revision. It will help to focus you on your work. Start with the subject you least enjoy studying; do not avoid the questions you really need to focus on.
Always write down the keys points after reading a maximum of 10 to 12 lines of text. After completing a chapter, organise your points into a simple graphic presentation, such as a spider’s web or mind map to consolidate your understanding of the topic.
Take a short break between each topic of no more than five to 10 minutes, and never study for more than four hours – anything undertaken after that will not be retained.
FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE
It is inevitable that a certain level of stress builds up as the examinations approach. This is healthy as it spurs you on to give the examinations your best effort.
If the stress begins to overwhelm you, do not bottle it all inside. Talk to those closest to you, especially your parents.
Time crisis How to make the most of the next six weeks
Learn to manage your stress levels In the run-in to the Leaving Certificate, natural stress builds up, and this can can be a positive factor. But if you allow it to build to too high a level, it will leave you unable to think and write clearly and concisely.
Consolidate what you know
Use your remaining study time to consolidate what you have studied and prepared over the past two years. This should involve three hours of revision and examination preparation after school each day, and at least five hours per day at weekends. But you must balance that study with sufficient rest and relaxation to enable you to work effectively in school.
Revise and review
It is essential that you give at least an hour per subject to reviewing your week's work in each of the exam subjects. By now, you should have a revision plan.
Trigger-happy
If you are using your week-nights to prepare notes or mind maps, you should use the weekends to review the past week's work in each subject, by quickly reviewing the revision cards. These should contain no more than six or seven short points, which are the triggers for the information required to answer specific questions.
Revision cards
Look at the revision cards for the likely exam questions for two to three minutes every day.
Strike a work-life balance
Get the balance right between academic work, physical health and fitness, psychological well-being and recreation. Don't overdo it.
Hobbies are crucial
Apart from the five hours spent reviewing the past week's work, the weekend should be a time for relaxation and recovery. You should not feel guilty for engaging in your favourite pastime, unless it leaves you exhausted on Monday mornings.
Eat well, learn well
Maintain a healthy die. It is very easy when stressed to live on a diet of junk food. Take the time to eat regular, healthy meals.
Don't become a night owl
Resist the temptation to engage in marathon study sessions late into the night. They achieve little, other than to impair your capacity to work effectively in school the following day.
