Exam Advice!

With the 5th of  June just around the corner we decided we'd give you Junior Certs some advice for the exams. (We would give you advice for studying, but it's a bit late for that really)

We, having already gone through the stress and read all the articles bursting with exam tips in various Teen Magazines, have decided to compile a list of the best advice we received before the exams.

1. Accept the fact that you will get at least one paper that you hate, but remember that you will then get at least three that make you want to sing they’re so easy. They’re just papers, try not to dwell on it if you feel you did awfully, it’s just the Junior Cert.

2. DON’T ANALYSE THE PAPER AFTER THE PAPER! Once you finish the paper put it in your bag and DO NOT LOOK AT IT. If you do, you’ll start to notice and recall and stress over every tiny mistake you think you made and you’ll just be more panicked for your next paper, not good.

3. Don’t compare your answers with friends afterwards, especially maths paper answers. If your friend gets X=5 and you get X=4, you’ll start to freak out and think you’re wrong. If this occurs after Paper 1 Paper 2 will not be your friend as you’ll go in with the mentality of ‘omgomgomg I'm wrong I'm awful at maths I'm going to fail ahhhhhhhh’.

4. If you chose not to listen to 3 and compare answers anyway just remember, just because you and your friend have different answers, doesn't mean your answer is wrong.

5. They say bring water to drink during the exam as it ‘keeps you fresh’ or whatever, don’t do this. If you want to bring water to sip occasionally ‘cause you know you’re going to get thirsty that’s fair enough, but I really wouldn't advise downing a litre per exam.  If you drink lots, you’ll need to go to the bathroom lots, which will waste time you could be spending answering that essay question or defining guerilla warfare or whatever.

6. If you have a chance to study before the exam, take it. You’d be surprised what you can learn in that half an hour that you think is useless.

7. For goodness sake get enough sleep. You can’t get an A on three hours of sleep, no matter who tells you otherwise.

8. Eat properly during the exams. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of the exam, surrounded by silence, and hearing your stomach make THE LOUDEST SOUND EVER. Not only will it distract you and everyone around you, but the hunger will ruin your concentration.

9. Remember, even though you might feel you did awfully in a certain exam, you may have actually done really well.

10. If you do music, those 4-5 days before the exam are an excellent time to do last minute revision.

11. Here's a list of things to remember about certain subjects that should calm you down if you start to feel panicked:

• You can get a pass (that is, 40%) in German before you even write a single word of German.
• You have 35% of your Science exam done before you even look at the paper.
• You have 25% of your Religion exam done before you even look at the paper.
• You have 60% of your C.S.P.E. exam done before you even look at the paper.
• You have 25% of your Music exam done before you even look at the paper.
• You have 50% of your Home Economics exam done before you even look at the paper.

12. Blue pen is better than black pen, it looks neater and more presentable (don't ask us how or why).

13. Bring lots of pens, and make sure all your pens are the same colour. True story: I was using a clicky pen for English paper 2 when my blue pen ran out, luckily I had another nearly used up blue pen with me, but then that ran out, so I resorted to my black pen, then that ran out so I had to use pencil. The moral of that anecdote? BRING SUFFICIENT PENS.

14. Lastly, just remember, it’s only the Junior Cert, it’s not life or death, it’s not the end of the world, soon enough you’ll have forgotten all about it, so try not to worry and stress too much. DO NOT PANIC!

Ok, so that’s it (for now). Good luck everyone!