How to get your A1: Geography

The former is commonly associated with a year of misery, locked in the confines of your room meticulously pouring over every iteration of every question asked for the past 20 years. The latter usually strikes an image of a resourceful student who has managed to procure the study notes of some mysterious genius who got eight A1s last year and plans to absorb it a marathon three day cramming session just before the exam.

In reality, success in higher level Leaving Cert geography, or any other subject for that matter, means you have to work hard and work smart.

By this I don’t mean trying to somehow combine the two extremes mentioned above but rather the recognition that getting an A1 requires both a strong and consistent work ethic and the ability to use your time effectively through forward planning and prioritisation.

During my final year studying for the Leaving Cert, I was also training with UCD every second day. Although this initially seemed like something that might negatively effect my grades, I quickly came to realise these time and work pressures taught me some valuable lessons, which hopefully you too can apply.

From the outset, it is imperative that you pay close attention to what your teachers say in class. Your teachers should be considered as your greatest resource because they possess a wealth of both knowledge and experience and can therefore offer great advice for exams. My teacher was Jim Carberry, and much of my success in geography is attributable to the help that he gave me. Students should not feel reluctant to raise questions and seek advice from their teachers, whose assistance can make all the difference.

It is important to get a lot of work done before Christmas, as this will give you a strong foundation to build upon. Planning ahead, and keeping your notes organised from day one, will save you so much time in the long term. Cramming will not work in geography because there is too much to learn in such a short period of time. When you study regularly, the information will stick, and when it comes to June, you will find it easier to write down the answers.

Although reading over the notes is essential to your success, it is important not to be blinkered by the information that you have memorised. A simple way to protect against this is to develop a thorough understanding of the exam paper. Familiarise yourself with past exam papers, and identify questions and themes which appear regularly in a recurring pattern. It is important that you read all the questions very carefully and think about what the examiner is asking you. Once again, your teachers are a great asset that can help to clarify this for you.

Lastly, it is important that you take regular breaks. Go for a walk or meet up with friends. Training for UCD meant that I was forced to take regular breaks to get fresh air. Being physically active also helps by increasing your energy levels and serves to break up the monotony of studying, making the task much less arduous. In this way, my training commitments were not detrimental to my exam results but were in fact key to my success.

Conor O'Donnell
UCD
Business and Law
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