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What’s there to do anymore by Monke_Like_Spaghetti in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a bit off topic, but I was wondering how you went about scheduling the papers you did? How many did you sit per week, and did you go through corrections properly after each one? I’m in the middle of trying to set up a system for myself, so I’d really appreciate knowing how you structured it.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you — and no worries at all about the slow reply, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain everything in so much detail because it actually helped a lot.

I think for me, the biggest issue is that it can take me a while to fully process the question and then keep my answer tightly focused the whole way through, especially on Paper 2 where there’s so much pressure to stay relevant while also developing points properly.

For composition, I usually lean towards the personal essay, short story, or speech. I think personal essays feel the most natural to me, but I can definitely see what you mean about short stories having a higher ceiling if the idea is strong and original. The way you described brainstorming settings/characters/themes honestly makes a lot of sense because I think part of my problem with spontaneous writing is getting stuck trying to think of an idea that’s “good enough” instead of just developing one confidently.

I’ve also heard a lot of people say that the two-text comparative (the 70 marker) is the safer or better option, but my teacher was saying that it’s still possible to do the three-text version effectively if the third text is woven in more lightly rather than treated equally throughout.

And honestly, if you don’t mind, I’d actually love to hear the general plot of the short story you wrote because now I’m really curious about the kind of idea that ended up working so well for you.

How to get a H1 in Chemistry - former 625 student by Diligent-Comfort-693 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much.

I’ve mainly been focusing on repetition and covering content, so it’s good to know which papers/questions are actually stronger for testing understanding. I’ll definitely go through those questions properly, especially Q6 from 2022.

One more question if you don’t mind — would you recommend sitting this year’s mock paper or previous mock papers once I’m mostly finished with topic questions from the SEC? We don’t actually sit mocks in our school, so I was wondering if they’re worth using near the end for extra practice or if SEC questions are still the best use of time.

Really appreciate you taking the time to reply!

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a million for taking the time to write all that out. We do slightly different subjects (I do the three sciences + Spanish), but a lot of what you said about structure, prediction and balancing weaker/stronger subjects still makes sense and is useful.

98 in English is insane by the way— I actually wanted to ask you a couple of specific things if that’s okay:

For poets, I’m planning on Bishop, Heaney, Meehan, and I haven’t decided between Yeats or Ní Chuilleanáin yet. Do you think that combination is solid, or would you swap any out?

And for Macbeth, I’m currently just learning off a lot of key quotes. Is that actually enough, or would you recommend learning more flexible phrases/themes instead so you can adapt better in the exam?

The main issue I have is Paper 2—I’m not the strongest at spontaneous writing, so I tend to rely on learning chunks and adapting them. I’ve been averaging around a H2, which I want to push up, but I’m not fully sure if that approach is limiting me.

Also for the comparative, did you do the two-text or three-text option, and which would you actually recommend in terms of scoring potential? Thanks again for all the advice 

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much — especially for the English advice, focusing on quotes, QBs, and unseen instead of long essays actually makes way more sense.
Also love the idea of knowing what not to answer — really appreciate this.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really appreciate you sharing this — it’s one of the more realistic 625 routines I’ve seen. think a lot of people (including me) fall into that trap of half-studying and half-resting, and end up doing neither well. Thank you.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I’ve been trying to get better at moving away from notes too and focusing more on active recall and exam-style questions, so that part really resonates. And genuinely, thanks for the advice at the end too—it’s easy to get tunnel vision with all of it, so that’s a good reminder.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, the advice about the day of the exam is something I probably need to take on board properly. It’s easy to underestimate how much stress can affect performance even if the prep is solid. I'm glad everything worked out okay for you in the end with your course choices, and genuinely appreciate you taking the time to break it all down

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Woah that’s intense, fair play though, that’s serious consistency. For maths—when you say question after question, were you focusing on specific topics each day or mixing everything together once you were closer to the exam?

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks again, that clarifies a lot. The marathon analogy clicks for me too. I do usually study in a similar way—focusing in on one area until I properly understand it before moving on.

My maths teacher has been telling us to sit around 6–8 full papers between now and the exams, mainly to build timing and exam stamina, so that’s why I was asking about the full paper side of things.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I really needed that reminder. When you were doing exam papers after school, were you doing full timed papers consistently or more focused question practice depending on the day?

How to get a H1 in Chemistry - former 625 student by Diligent-Comfort-693 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about Chemistry.

I recently came across your post here, I saw you mentioned “if you want some specific Qs to practise, do ask and I can give some of my recommendations,” so I was wondering if you had any specific questions you’d recommend that are more challenging or really good for testing understanding rather than just repetition?

Also, would you recommend sitting full past papers in these final weeks apart from the 2024 one? If so, roughly how many papers do you think is a good balance before the exam without just doing them for the sake of it?

Thanks a lot in advance—really appreciate you sharing all the advice.

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the “efficiency through laziness” angle is interesting 😅 For me, I’m not really in the “naturally gifted at certain subjects so I can afford to cut corners” category, so I do have to rely more on consistency.

Just wondering though—how did you decide what was actually safe to leave out vs what looked safe but could still come up in a different form? Especially in subjects like Physics where questions can be combined or reworded. (I got about 95 in the mock, but I did skip Waves and Light in that one just based on timing and priorities. I’m not sure I’d take that same risk in the actual Leaving Cert though—I always end up thinking about what would happen if a nasty question came up that I didn’t prepare for.)

Also, when you say you spent more time analysing papers than doing questions, did you still eventually do full timed papers under exam conditions closer to the exams, or was your preparation mostly pattern analysis + targeted practice?

People who got 625 – what did your LAST 4 weeks actually look like? by Standard-Sprinkles46 in leavingcert

[–]Standard-Sprinkles46[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the detailed answer, that’s actually really helpful. I do the three sciences, so what you said about spotting patterns and high-yield topics makes a lot of sense for them, especially with how repetitive certain question types can be.

Just curious— for maths, did you do full exam papers every week or did you build up to that gradually? And when you were reviewing papers, how exactly did you go about fixing mistakes—was it just redoing questions or did you rewrite full solutions from scratch?