Galway Advertiser 1992/1992_05_21/GA_21051992_E1_018.pdf 

Extracted text

M A R Y

0

C O N N O R

As students prepare for the Leaving Certificate, Mary 0' Connor gives a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for and pass it.

SUCCESSFUL STUDYING
burn the midnight oil and try to make do with four hours sleep, you may ease your worries about one ex am but you will reduce your concentration levels greatly. Fatigue can cause you to make mistakes and mis judgements that you would not make if you were fresh. Experts maintain that fit and rested pupils do best in exams.

FORMAT OF EXAM
* Check the exact for mat of the exam beforehand. Establish how many papers there are in the exam and which topics are covered in each paper. * Identify how many questions you must answer on each paper, checking out which questions are compulsory and the topics to which they relate. * Know how many marks are allocated to the whole e x a m , each paper and the individual questions. * Know the time allow ed to complete each paper, and bearing in mind the relative marks, decide the length of time you will be able to spend on each question in the exam.

* Know precisely how many marks are needed to pass the paper and secure your target result.

CONCENTRATION
* You can improve your concentration. * Follow your timetable. * T a k e two or three minutes relaxation bet ween each 4 0 / 4 5 minutes subject study session. * After about 1 h hours take a 10 minute break. * D o n ' t let your mind wander. It will help if you write notes relevant to the subject.
x

AVOID WORRYING TOO MUCH

Leaving class, for the under the watchful eye of Mr. M. Hanniffy. exams Mention thei Leaving Cert A s the preparing approach, English S. paper mock exams at Sit you may find it wor Cert and most pupils home under the conditions and indeed parents will thwhile to increase the as much like the real thing automatically groan and time you spend on this as you can arrange. If you are fresh, fit and reflective revision. say "Oh, no". rested you are more likely Moneenageisha

FITNESS

It spells w o r r y , fear and w e e k s of a n g u i s h for many. But the most crucial thing is not to panic. Worry achieves nothing, it only wastes what little time and energy you have left. So knuckle d o w n and use your spare time fruit fully from now on and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.

REVISION
In his book " L e a r n how to s t u d y " Derek Rowntree says there are two chief elements in preparing for e x a m s , (1) Revising. (2) Practising doing what the e x a m requires of you. Revision literally means " t o see a g a i n " . F e w of us can grasp a complex issue just from o n e encounter. W e need to study it again preferably from different t a n g l e s and in different contexts before it becomes etched onto our memories. An essential element in r e v i s i o n is r e f l e c t i o n . Think back over the course so far, try to recall the main ideas and issues and consider whether you are m o r e hazy about s o m e than others and what you might need to d o about this.

Indeed you may need to spend practically all your study time on revision. For the final weeks you may want to w o r k out a revi sion timetable. That is: * Make out a list of the subjects you plan to revise. * Decide in which order you will tackle them. * Space out the revision for each topic and make a note of the areas you in tend to work on each day. * Should you revise more than one topic each day to ensure variety and interest? * Be sure to leave plen ty of recreational time.

MOTIVATION

* Decide you are in terested in the subject on hand. * Decide you like study - a positive attitude is a great help in learning any subject! * Set realistic goals, both short-term and longterm and work towards them. * Set out clearly what you will cover in any 4 5 minute session. If you do not finish it in the set time, put it aside, keep to your timetable and return to the unfinished topic later.

* Limit study sessions to to be calm. A relaxed stu an hour, then get up and dent always fares best in walk around. Have a drink or snack and and then exams. It is essential that you resume work. Y o u ' l l feel ensure regular sleep and refreshed after the break. exercise in the build up to * Reward yourself for the e x a m s , and especially your efforts. Treat when you are actually do yourself to a read, bath or ing them. just put your feet up for A good eight hours sleep half an hour. will certainly help. If you

* This is easier said than done but worry only saps your energy and muddles your brain. * You can avoid it by planning well in advance. Plan your study calmly and d o n ' t try to master masses of information at the last minute. * If you can, pack all your books away the day before the exam and spend your time doing something entirely different. It will take your mind off the big event and help you put things in perspective.

TRAINING FOR THE EXAM PLACE OF STUDY
If you prepare yourself for the exam then you will not be overawed when you receive your first paper. Five stages of this approch are as follows: 1. Analyse past exam papers. 2. Choose questions and plan answers in outline form. 3. Outline and then write complete answers. 4. Write complete answers within the time limit you would expect to h a v e for e a c h a n s w e r within the e x a m . * Choose somewhere quiet in which to study. Avoid distractions like television, radio and peo ple talking. * W e a r w a r m , comfor table clothing. Arrange good lighting and ventila tion with only adequate heat. * Have a good work sur face with space for text books and writing paper and a firm, straight back ed c h ' i r . * Be sure to have a clock o r watch.

T h e

m o s t

c r u c i a l

t h i n g

i s

n o t

t o

p a n i c ,

w o r r y i n g

a c h i e v e s

n o t h i n g

Photos - SOLARGRAPH1C