35 Don't listen to the poetry tips. Prepare your favourite poets well and you will be rewarded.

The more you have to say about a poet's work the better, so have a view which you can back
up by referencing the poet's work.

Maths

36 Practising past exam papers is a very important part of developing good exam technique.
Start now if you haven’t already.

37 You must know the proofs and theorems and the explanation of the vocabulary used.

38 Use the official marking schemes. They often show more than one acceptable method of
solving a question. The marking schemes also show you how marks were allocated by the
examiners across all parts of all questions in previous exams, but there’s no real need for you
to analyse this. It is not possible to predict the allocation of marks within a question – the
allocation can vary hugely and in unexpected ways.

39 Suppose you decide to give five hours a week to maths, a reasonable amount at this stage
of the year. Break this up into five 35 minutes slots each week-night giving you just about
two hours at weekend.

40 Maths is the only Leaving Cert subject without a choice on the paper. Therefore you must
keep up with the material covered in class.

41 Weekend study ideally should be used for attempting questions from past papers and
sample papers. It is vital to know the exact set-up of your exam, how many questions, the
wording used, etc. Time yourself to get used to the time restraints.

42 The project maths marking scheme is quite different from the marking scheme used in the
past. There are five marking scales, with up to six categories per marking scale. It’s a lot
more complicated than the previous system.

43 Begin with your favourite question. It will help settle your nerves on exam day. Of course
if you prefer a sequential approach, do that.

44 It sounds obvious but get used to reading questions carefully. Make sure you’re not
missing any information.

45 It is vital to practise and be comfortable with the basics before attempting the new word
problems in maths. These questions have to be read very carefully. Try to understand the
problem. Look at the information given. Jot down all the quantities given and what is being
sought, ie, translating the English words into mathematical sentences. Often there is an
equation that links the data you have with the data you require.

46 Sometimes you think you know a topic, but along comes a question which can be phrased
in a way you have never seen before. Don’t let this throw you. The more practice you have
from tackling different questions, the more confident you will become when you face a
strange looking question.
47 If stuck, don’t look up the solution too quickly. You will often learn more by tackling it on
your own for a while, even if you have to read the solution in the end.

48 Show all workings within your answer – do not do rough-work on a separate page. Don’t
use Tippex, instead cross out any errors with a single line. You might get marks for the work
you have crossed out, but not if it’s Tippexed. Also, if you solve a problem using a calculator,
write out some or all of the steps taken. Don’t just give the answer. This is to ensure you get
marks even if you make a slip.

49 Drawing a diagram or even a basic sketch can often be very helpful to get started in
tackling a question, and may gain marks for you.

50 Get familiar with your formulae and tables booklet. It provides a lot of useful information.
Use it.

Irish

51 Homework is actually study. It is recapping on what was taught on that day in the
classroom and is more often than not, directly based on an exam question: ie, poetry
questions or a léamhthuiscint or a character from a prós story.

52 Students often go home and learn a teacher’s answers on either filiocht or prós off by
heart. You don’t need to do this. You should perhaps study how the question is opened – the
structure of the answer – keeping an eye on relevant quotations used.

53 In the filiocht sections, if you can translate the poem you have virtually every answer
required on the day as all poetry will be printed on the actual exam paper. The only areas that
should be learned off by heart are the grammatical terms that will be asked in question 6A in
the léamhthuiscint section – terms such as aimsigh and so on.

54 Past exam papers are vital. They show the layout of the actual exam and how questions
may be subdivided in various sections. It is good practice to study a certain topic and then do
out exam questions, keeping an eye on time constraints and sticking rigidly to them.

55 Keep re-reading the question over and over to ensure you are actually answering the
question asked. No marks will be awarded for information that is not relevant. In the filiocht
section, if you are asked on theme, only on theme and not feelings or emotions.

56 At this stage, you will have completed your mock exams and will have sat through two
full papers in Irish. Whatever mistakes you may have made, will not be repeated in June.
Remember, you will always learn by your mistakes. If you ran out of time in Paper 2 – a very
long paper – you will need to adjust the length of time you spend on the various sections.

57 Don’t neglect the importance of the oral Irish examination which carries 40 per cent of the
total exam mark. Know the picture sequences well as there are 80 marks going for this
section. Practice asking questions. Students are generally better at answering questions than
asking them. Also practise reading the poetry on a daily basis – with 35 marks for reading a
mere 10-12 lines it is worth more that the entire poetry or prose course.

Languages
Oral exam

58Remember that this is a conversation, not an interview. The examiner is there to help you
reach your highest potential.

59Marks are awarded for structure, communication, vocabulary and pronunciation, and
vocabulary is really how you phrase your responses. Don’t use slang terms too much. Rich
vocabulary is all about using a different way to say something.

60 Pronunciation is very important and accounts for 20 per cent of the exam. Listen to
French, German or Spanish radio and record yourself to perfect your accent.

61Try spending 10-15 minutes a day on your oral work. Once you have learned a topic,
practice it out loud on your own. When you are more confident, practise with a friend or a
relative.

Aural exam