ISSU 18/06/2012 ISSU 18/06/2012

Leaving Cert Review

Katarzyna

The Leaving Cert could be a nightmare, but it doesn't have to be that bad if you approach it the right way. Firstly, you really need to study regularly. It is very important that you learn from class to class and always keep on top of your work. Take small breaks between studying. Keep away from Facebook, etc., because they are a huge distraction. Try not to completely abandon your work over the summer. Try to study things that you enjoy so it doesn't feel like studying, so if you like drawing, perhaps practice drawing diagrams or maps etc.During the school week, try to do your homework but also find some time to study. Look up resources online for the subjects you do. There is plenty resources for teachers to use, but these could be very helpful to students too, eg. slss website or ncca. Read examiner's reports to identify common mistakes and avoid them. Work with exam papers, even if the teacher doesn't give you them to do for homework. Don't be afraid to move ahead and work through the exam papers at your own pace. Get familiar with all marking schemes to see what answers you are expected to write and how marks are distributed. This is important so that you write enough information, particularly for your factual subjects, e.g. Biology.During the week before the exams, make sure that you get enough sleep. You can't be tired going into the exam, because you won't perform as well as you could. You should get good rest particularly before subjects like English, Geography and History, where you have a lot to write, because if you’re tired you might not write as fast as you can and you don't want to run out of time.Timing is very important in the exam. Bring in your own watch. Know exactly how much time to spend on each question. A good way of figuring this out is by looking at how much marks are given for each question. It is obvious that you should spend more time on a question that carries more marks.In the exam always read the questions very carefully and make sure that you understand them. This is particularly important if you have a choice on the paper. You need to read all parts of questions carefully to make the right choice for yourself. Avoid jumping in at a question, doing half of it and the realising that you can't do the rest and you waste time. However, don't be afraid to take a moment to think.Eating good food is super important. By good food I don't necessarily mean healthy food. I mean food that you like. You are going to be stressed out and anxious, so you should eat your favourite foods to make life a bit easier for yourself. Forget about diets, etc. Just focus on doing your best in the exam, because then you will have plenty of time to loose the extra weight, if any even appears...Try to be positive about this whole experience. Think about what you know and answer the questions as best as you can. If you work hard, it will pay off and once the leaving cert is finished you will be free for good. No more uniforms or school. There really is a life after the Leaving Cert!

Aoife

So I’m finally finished the leaving cert. As I sealed my exam booklet closed this morning I felt the freedom! No more uniform, no more of the listening Irish tape, no more secondary school (Hopefully). I never thought that after 6 years in secondary school it would all come down to this, it doesn’t matter who your friends are, what you’ve done in the school just simply how you perform on the day.Looking back on the exams it was only maths paper 2 that I was thrown by. I am content with how I performed in the others knowing that there wasn’t much more I could have achieved by an extra day or extra cramming. The papers that I did were mostly rounded and gave everyone an equal chance. 2012 definitely was the year of surprises however with many people’s predictions not coming up in English, the Maths Paper 2 difficulty and the Irish Paper 1 change.During the mocks the tiredness wasn’t really a factor, however during the leaving cert it really hits in, the build up and doing the actual exams are physically draining and a good nights sleep before every exam is needed. There’s no point pulling an all nighter, it won’t do you any good the next morning when you’re tired and find it hard to concentrate. A final word of advice for any future leaving certs, revise, revise all year, start as you mean to go on. If you start the year on a good note you’re more than likely going to finish it the same. As my principal often used to say “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” Even though it’s an important year still remember to have a good time! I wish everyone who still has exams the best of luck! Aoife :)

Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates

ISSU 18/06/2012 ISSU 18/06/2012

Leaving Cert Physics

Katarzyna - Higher Level

It was a long night of studying before my most important exam. I had a strategy to first do my three experiments, and then do Question 5, followed by Question 10 part A and after those, the two parts of Question 12. Later I was going to decide what other two questions I was going to do. Overall I have to say that the experiment questions were very fair. I did Questions 1, 2 and 3. I heard that many people hoped for Joule's Law and the Simple Pendulum experiments to come up. Joule's Law wasn't there; instead we had the variation of current with voltage for a semiconductor diode. The Simple Pendulum experiment came up, where we had to use a graph we were given to calculate the acceleration due to gravity and it was quite a nice question to start with. Then a question on finding the focal length for a converging lens and variation of frequency with length were also straight forward enough. Nothing really surprised me in this section, which made me worry if the other section was horrible. Question 5 was more difficult than usual. The questions were new and quite detailed. I managed to answer my best eight and moved on to Question 10 (a). The particle physics question was about positrons and pair annihilation. I thought that it was one of the easiest questions on the option I have seen. I didn't have problems with it. In question 12 I did parts (b) and (c). Again it was more difficult than usual. I didn't like any part, but these two suited me best. Part b was about refraction and part c was about latent heat of fusion. The other parts were about circular motion, which was difficult enough, and the photo cell which I didn't revise in the detail that the question required. Then I looked at other questions and Question 8 about fission and fusion jumped out at me. I scanned through the questions and was really pleased. However there was one down side; the quantities were not given at the bottom of the questions. I had to go and look for the required quantities in the log tables, which I have to say was time consuming because I had to keep on flicking back and forth from the quantities to the formulae and it was a bit tedious. It was the first time ever when I noticed that. My friends complained about this, because sometimes the quantities gave you a hint about what formula to use, whereas here you had no help. I really liked that question so when I solved everything I had one more question to do. I looked at question 11 and 9. I didn't like them and I doubted if I could answer them well. Then I looked at 6 and 7. The choice was easy because question 7 was a bit weird and the mechanics question was actually really nice compared to other years. Apart from the very last part of this question which I couldn't do, everything was fine. I am really happy with the paper because I expected it to be much worse. Last year's paper was horrifying and I was afraid that we will get something similar. I was glad that I didn't have to do any electricity questions, which I don't particularly like. I was ecstatic when I saw a whole question on modern physics which I really find interesting. I hope you found it okay as well. For all those who are finished today I wish a nice, long, sunny summer and for those who still have some exams to do, I wish you the best of luck!
ISSU Commentary

Today Leaving Certificate physics students were tested on applying their knowledge to everyday scenarios. Rote learning would have been of little benefit, as has been the prevailing theme with most of the exams this year. Some teachers were full of praise for the more practical examination that their students encountered. The physics paper is split into Section A and B. Section A, at higher level was ‘as expected, and typical’. However some highlighted that students should have been given prior warning, to include their exam paper with the answer booklet, if they answered question 1. This had never happened before, and could have ‘thrown’ some students. That was not the only difference as students were given a graph, rather than being asked to draw one. The rest of section A was described by many as ‘fine’, some even highlighting question 4, and calling it ‘lovely’.Linking physics to real life was continued in section B, where questions were challenging but clearly phrased. Some found the first question particularly difficult. Some described the first question in Section B, question 5 as a ‘mixed bag and parts being more of a geography question, overall it was ‘testing’. Part G was commended for being realistic. The final question on the paper was ‘really nice according to many. The ordinary level paper held ‘very few surprises’ and the paper, like higher level required students to apply their knowledge effectively. Many singled out the Fukushima nuclear disaster as particularly topical. Overall both papers were generally good, but challenging in parts.

ISSU 16/06/2012 ISSU 16/06/2012

Leaving Cert German

Hugh - Higher Level

Text 1: Someone in the SEC was clearly having a laugh with this one, a story about a German in Greece. How ironic........and how very not German! The story was basically about a German lady who travels to a small town in Greece to visit her Greek "friend", who works as a waiter in a local restaurant. This piece contained vocab most students would have been unfamiliar with words such as "stairwell" and "awning". So a bit more difficult than in previous years. The extract was also excessively long and unbelievably boring, holding very little relevance for those students who aren't middle aged German ladies madly in love with workaholic Greek waiters. From a linguistic perspective this was challenging in parts and from a literary perspective it was just awful! The questions were fairly basic until the infamous question 4 which asked for indications as to the Greek man not having space in his life for the German lady who had come to visit him.....?Text 2 was an equally potent cure for insomnia, being an article about a Swiss chef who roams the foothills of the Alps in search of ingredients for his dishes. While more accessible than the first piece again it contained some obscure words such as "hay-soup". The questions weren't as bad as the article itself and most students would have done well here.Applied Grammar: This question caused quite an upset as the two elements asked, filling in prepositions and converting indirect to direct speech would have been unfamiliar to most students. This was so unusual that I don't recall having ever done an exercise on it.The two written production questions were fairly manageable, however there was very little room for those students with pre-learned material on the Olympics as sport played only a minor role in the letter and none in the Auserung. (Don't know how to do Umlauts! If anyone does please tell me!)The Listening Comprehension was certainly the fastest I've ever heard, requiring native or near-native fluency to keep up with it! However for those who kept pace the items were quite accessible, with material on schools/film and concerts plus the usual news items. So that's my lot, best of luck to everyone with their next few exams!

ISSU Commentary

Leaving Certificate candidates who took the Higher Level paper endured a challenging morning, with a paper that was described as ‘difficult’ by some. Countless students described the first comprehension as ‘long and extremely testing’ in parts, when compared to recent years. The section examining grammar had not appeared in an astounding ten years. Students were requested to amend five sentences from ‘indirect speech’ to ‘direct speech’, this assignment would have been unfamiliar to many students, and was allegedly ‘slightly off putting’ for some. The written section required students to ‘think in their feet’ rather than simply regurgitate what they had learned. There was no opportunity for pre-prepared responses. Some of the topics would have challenged the most capable of students according to some, and required specific vocabulary.The ordinary level exam was topical, covering the environment school and travel. Although the tasks in the letter were more challenging than recent years, and some of the vocabulary needed for comprehensions was difficult.

ISSU 14/06/2012 ISSU 14/06/2012

Leaving Cert Business

Emmet - Higher Level

Oh wow, the business exam wasnt too bad at all! It started at 9:30AM & finished at 12:30pm. I was really happy with this paper overall. the short questions were generally easy with a break even chart thrown in, handy marks may i say. The ABQ was realy nice, it was about RIM LTD which was kind of a community development project which did really well, where it facilitated market stalls in a factory vacated by a GMNC. Questions included, choosing suitable finance for the local business people in financing the project and for stall holders, and another on evaluating their promotional campaign. It must also be pointed out that it was the easiest ABQ to get relevant quotes from, which was a help. the ratios question was very easy and gud for catching up on lost time on the ABQ! Q1 asked about proceedures an employer should take when dismissing employees, and evaluating role ofthe NCA. Q2 looked at how reduction on public expenditure and taxation impacted on business, which was tricky enough and Q7 looked at factors to consider when choosing channel of distribution, evaluate product design/packaging etc and reasons for an Irish toy company wishing to expand. I did find however that this years paper had very specific questions, which did make the paper challenging. but i was quite impressed to find mini case studies to help you answer the question as it helped ground your answer into real life. Hoping to come out with at least a B3 fingers crossed, we were very tied for time in exam. Nearly finished now, economics and thats it!

ISSU Commentary

The tendency of Leaving Certificate exams demanding students to simply regurgitate what they have learned seems to be a thing of the past. They now are being asked to apply their knowledge, this was especially obvious in today’s business examination according to many teachers and pupils. Some parts of the higher level exam were challenging, which was expected to a certain degree. The choice element was again a major positive, and there were no immense shocks to be found. There was a change in thee ‘ratio’ question. The short questions were ‘typical’. Question 1 (A) of the long questions were very specific and challenging which focused on a fairly precise area of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 – 2007. Question 5 (B) the ratios were satisfactory. However some had difficulty with the Return on Investment (ROI) calculation. Students were asked to compare the ratio with industry averages, this might have surprised some, as it was the first time for such a question to appear. The paper was overall ‘absolutely fine, consistent with past papers, with plenty of choice’. Students reaction with the higher level exam was mainly positive, while the ordinary level had a more varied response. Many higher level students found the Applied Business Question (ABQ) to be particularly challenging. Some ordinary level students found the short questions to be difficult.

ISSU 13/06/2012 ISSU 13/06/2012

Leaving Cert History

Hugh - Higher Level

Ok first things first, document based question, as anticipated we had the Indian independence case study thrown at us. Questions 1-3 contained fairly basic questions on the accompanying documents, which consisted of an extract from a Cabinet Mission report on the situation in India and a Daily Mail cartoon. The questions tested students ability to comprehend, compare and critically analyse the two documents, with the 40 mark (out of 100 for the section overall) question asking about the difficulties associated with British withdrawal from India. Overall this section was, as usual, very student friendly.The second Irish topic, Movements for Political and Social Reform, 1870-1914 was generally well received, with questions on the Suffrage movement, the strengths and weaknesses of Parnell as a leader, an interesting two part question on the Ulster Question and the development of Unionism, and a question on the contributions of the GAA, the Gaelic League and the Anglo-Irish Literary Revival to Irish cultural revival. I had a go at the Ulster Question/Unionism 1870-1914, which was unusual in that it asked for an explanation of a concept-the Ulster Question in conjunction with an element. This type of question is rare but regardless shows that the key political concepts on the course can't be ignored.The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition section was absolutely off the walls, opening with a question on the impact the threat and use of physical force had on Ireland, this question was unusual in its format and had a very broad scope, including the formation of the Ulster Volunteers, the formation of the Irish Volunteers, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil war. All of which would usually form a question in their own right! I tackled the most straight forward question there on the significance of the 1932 Eucharistic Congress, though I was tempted by the question on the security policy of the Northern government 1920-1945 which could be combined with economic policy. Anglo Irish relations 1923-1949 was also asked.For the Dictatorship and Democracy section I did the question on the extent to which Hitler's foreign policy 1933-1939 was responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War. There were also some straight-forward questions on Stalin's rule in Russia, the challenges facing France 1920-1945 and a slightly unexpected one on Anti-semitism and the Holocaust, 1920-1945 something most students wouldn't have had an awful lot of material on.Overall this was a very mixed paper, with some straight-forward questions coupled with some surprises. As in all History exams timing was very difficult. The amount of material expected from candidates in such a short space of time is a bit unreasonable, an extra ten minutes on this exam would have been very welcome!

ISSU 13/06/2012 ISSU 13/06/2012

Leaving Cert French

Aoife - Higher Level

After 6 years of studying French it all came down to today. When I got the written paper and I first looked through it I was happy enough with the paper overall.The first comprehension was about a young man from Paris. It was relatively understandable and the questions weren’t too bad on it. The literary comprehension was a bit more difficult as usual, there was a bit of “je ne sais pas” going on in my head.When I then came to the first written question I was happy that I could have attempted both parts, the first part was about how Irish young people have plenty of reasons to be happy and to discuss this. The second part was that you had just gotten a surprising call from your friend; write what was surprising and what you did after that. I chose to do the first part as I had a bit more to say about that topic.I then read carefully through the other 6 options, there were reactions, journal intime and an email. I chose to do the journal intime about how your first day on a part time job went badly and I also chose to do my reaction on how holidays in Ireland and their price. I liked the range of options that they gave within the paper and how they gave them, they were understandable for the most part.It was then our 10 minute break to prepare ourselves for the last “read the instructions carefully”. I find this part of the exam more difficult than the written or comprehensions. The tape covered a wide range of topics, it covered school, and speeding while driving excuses, parent-child relationships. It was an ok tape there were a few guesses but I was happy after it. This leaves me with just one more exam left until the end of all this madness! I hope that everyone is getting on ok, best of luck in the rest of your exams. Aoife :)

ISSU Commentary

Pupils and teachers today described the Leaving Cert higher-level French paper as "very positive". Many students could have been perplexed by the composition question explaining why young people in Ireland have many reasons to be happy. Many students were thankful for the choice element here! The essay about the shiny happy Irish youth was part of well received written expression section on the paper. Variety was a major positive overall. Many students who had learned off essays were left bitterly disappointed. The themes were straightforward, but were not predicted. Rote learning is fast becoming a thing of the past. There were plenty of interesting topics such as an email from a French friend inquiring about the reasoning of learning the Irish language, as well as a discussion topic about street protests and their importance in fighting against bad political decisions and injustice. Many sports enthusiasts would have been overjoyed to see Euro 2012, but this turned out to be about the level of sports programmes on television. The comprehensions that start the paper were challenging but not impossible. The first one was highlighted by many as being very topical and realistic. It was about a young male, living in the suburbs who can’t afford to move out of his parent’s house. Parts of the vocabulary in the listening section were difficult according to many. Ordinary level students sat a ‘typical’ paper which had ‘well practised and predictable topics’, in the opinion of some teachers. The integration of French culture was emphasised by many as a major positive. Overall there were few complaints.