Leaving Certificate German
Rob - Higher Level
My final language exam! I had prepared what I could going into the exam, revising some vocabulary for each topic. German has a habit of being notoriously difficult to predict, and this year was no different by any means.The first comprehension was surprisingly accessible, describing an old woman who has a dream of flying. Usually this is where I lose marks, however I was quite happy with it. On reading the second comprehension I was surprised to find it harder than the first, I couldn't translate all the vocabulary for the English questions. The grammar question was straightforward enough and a repeat of what we've seen in previous years.I chose the Außerung sum Thema about your friend wanting to be a pop star. I said he should follow his dream but maybe get a part time job too! The follow on questions I linked into what I had learned about engineering for my oral, so I'm happy enough with how I did here.The letter. Where did those topics come from? I found myself borrowing a lot of vocabulary and verbs from the letter itself, especially about the second hand clothing. The SEC really did choose random topics, bringing in a bit of feminism to the sports question and asking which country out of Germany, Austria and Switzerland I'd prefer a language assistant from and why. I have never seen a written paper like that before, and so am not sure how well I did.The listening test was completely different to what I've heard before too. I was shocked to find myself with just 3 answers written down in Section 1 after the second listening. Thankfully the other parts were a bit easier than this one, but overall I'm a little disappointed with the aural.It'll be interesting to see how they vary the marking scheme!Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Certificate Art History and Appreciation
Joanna - Higher Level
When I opened the art paper, I panicked. No Raphael and an Iron Age artefact that I didn't like. To top it off, an art gallery question about a local gallery, so basically the two visits to the national gallery and knowing the Carravagio in there inside out were all worthless! Not to mention the mini biography on Raphael that I had drilled into my head that morning, which felt beyond useless. What now?I took a few deep breaths and looked over the paper again. Okay, the Iron age question had a trick about 'a change' during the iron age, so they were looking to compare Insular La Tene to Ultimate La Tene in relation to the Petrie crown, and although that wasn't my favourite piece of Pre-Christian metalwork, the question itself was actually grand. Then the Renaissance question was about Leonardo da Vinci who I normally skipped during revision because he's more of an ordinary level artist (I was told) which essentially means he's too easy. But now, I could turn that around and use all the fancy words I had prepared for Raphael, like chiaroscurro and contraposto, and just sub them into a nice essay about how talented Leonardo was in relation to his famous 'Madonna of the Rocks' and then a bit about the Mona Lisa. Grand. I can honestly say, it was pretty easy, although the sketches took ages.For the local gallery question I had an epiphany about the time when. During the Polska Eire festival, a Polish artist was displaying his and his friend's work in Raheny library. Perfect! I used the bones of that experience to draft an essay and then fleshed it out with a bit of personal creativity. I have to say, my sketches were not bad at all compared to how badly I usually draw under pressure, so by the end of the two and half hour session I was really happy to seal my paper and hand it up.In the end, there was no need to panic. Now I have four days off before Chemistry and Polish and that's it, woo!Have a good weekend everyone, I'm off to catch up on this weeks sleep :)
Isabelle - Higher Level
I was really tired today after History yesterday, and I didn't get to study last night at all, and so this morning was quite stressful for me! I hadn't really studied properly for art history since before the mocks so it was quite a shock this morning trying to cram everything in! It was touch and go as to whether or not I'd even be able to attempt an answer at a question but luckily Gothic architecture and Early Christian metalwork which were two of the 5 topics I had covered that morning came up (seriously lucky). I always answer the art appreciation on the museum, with an answer learned off about the national gallery and 2 paintings in the European exhibition, but I was extremely disappointed when I saw it asked for a 'local gallery' specifically. However, I was much too tired to attempt to think of a design for a roadside sculpture, so I insisted on making my essay work and discussed how wonderful it is to live in Dublin and have such great museums in my locality's! Hopefully they'll buy it, but even if they don't, it's only 5 marks out of 50 for naming the right gallery according to past marking schemes, and the whole exams only worth 37.5% anyway, so I'm not too worried!Now for a lovely (very necessary) 4 day break until Spanish.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Certificate History
Lorraine - Higher Level
Well I'm just out of History and thank god! First of all I have to say I think it's crazy only giving us an hour break between French and History. I really think that could be time tabled better. I was so determined to do well in French this morning that I kind of neglected History a little bit last night! I was really apprehensive and thepanic stations did set in after French. I was trying to just recap everything going through all the notes I had made out..so so many notes! The history course is a huge course and I really am glad that there is a project in it!When I got the paper I saw the Document question was on the Eucharistic Congress, not what everyone had thought but still quite a nice question. I took a flick through the paper and panicked a little bit at the Dictatorship questions but made myself do the document question just to calm down. When I finished them I decided to start with the American topic because I saw the Montgomery bus boycott and I was delighted. I figure if I can get everything I know out of the way first in exam I give myself time to search around in my brain bits of what I know about the ones I'm panicking about (weird I know :P). When I finished that I went back to the Dictatorship and Democracy question and realised in my mind I had definitely imagined a question that wasn't there! After rereading them I was delighted to see propaganda and terror in Russia and/or Mussolini. I was like BOOM! In the exam although I have to admit I would have loved a nice chunky propaganda question on Germany but sure look it. When I finished that I went to the Irish topic- my most hated topic by far. I really hadn't prepared as well as I could have for this I had learned bits on everyone but nothing solid completely my own fault! I did the question on Lemass and T.K Whitaker.I only squeezed out 3 pages on it but I can say its completely my own fault and in my sleep deprived state I was proud to even get 3 pages out! Its weird to say I'm finished History now! I only have Economics left which is next Wednesday so I have an entire week - thank god because I have completely neglected it!! :)
Isabelle - Higher Level
I think the majority of the country went into today's history exam expecting the treaty negotiations, but I have never been a fan and so was praying for the Eucharistic Congress. Not only did it come up but it came up with the same context question I have answered at least 4 times before!I was really happy that the Montgomery bus boycott came up, and even happier that it didn't even ask for anything else about the civil rights movement! Both The bus boycott and Hitlers foreign policy came up in my mocks and I did quite well in them so I was over the moon to see them again! Northern Ireland has always been my tricky section, so I was quite nervous, however one of the essays that came up was easy enough to fit both my welfare state and Brookeborough and O'Neill essay into!Overall I couldn't have hoped for a better paper, I hope you all felt the same about it too! Thank god its over!!Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Certificate French
Rob - Higher Level
I know for some people this was their last exam, while for me it was my fifth last. I'm not sure whether I'd prefer to be finished my Leaving Cert now, or whether I like having more time to study between subjects.It was strange starting a French exam with the comprehension, for the past 6 years we have always done the listening test first. Both of the texts were straight forward enough I found, especially with the final questions in English. The multi choice questions, however, weren't as obvious as in previous years. Asking about the meaning of a paragraph, I could find two options in one of the texts.I moved onto the written comprehensions and did the first option in question 1 as I cannot for my life write stories. I had revised certain topics the night before, trying to stay topical with topics such as healthcare (Ebola), politics (the referendum) and terrorism (Charlie Hebdo) being my focus, as well as drugs and technology. I was quite happy with the options that came up, especially with the final option on Voting at 16, something ISSU is working towards! I had done my document on Malala Yousafzai and youth politics, so this was really handy for this essay.The listening comprehension started well for me, however on the last section (maybe because it is only played twice) I missed two answers completely, which is annoying. French was okay this year, I have heard easier listening comprehensions but I'm happy with how the topics fell for both the written task and comprehensions (even the one about the wolves!). Now on to German!
Joanna - Higher Level
Getting out of bed was tough, but once I got to school, looked over notes and settled down in the exam hall, it felt grand. I always do the composing section first and quickly write out all the phrases and vocab I had been revising before the exam so I wouldn't stress and pause for too long when writing. It really helped when developing points on the different topics, and I found the choice really good this year. I chose to do a diary entry about a new school uniform, an opinion piece on homelessness and a piece about mobile phone addiction. The comprehensions were okay, although I found the first one a bit more challenging than usual. The second required some manipulation in the answers, and it was really odd (about a couple who had werewolf neighbours) but I got on okay. I was delighted that the last parts (where you answer in English ) were easy enough as well.Having read over my exam paper twice, I was still finished early enough so I went to get some air before the listening exam began. I was delighted that we could have a look at the paper for five minutes before the exam started (if only we could have done the same for the Irish tape test) and everything looked okay. The listening tests is one of my favourite parts of the French exam, so I got on grand.Overall I found this years paper really manageable and although quite a lot of my friends dropped down to ordinary level on the day, the ones who stuck with the higher seemed to get on well too so I'm really happy about that.
Lorraine - Higher Level
Well that's my third long day done and dusted thank god!! Ill start off with French! I went in at half 8 this morning to go over some last minute verbs stuff from the comprehensions with my teacher and I have to say I was glad I did because it was actually useful in the exam! I thought it was a really lovely paper although the comprehension (second one) was just a bit weird about neighbours being wolves!! I didn't have a problem with either comprehension thank god and then I went to the questions!The journal in time was actually a really nice question about your school bringing in a new uniform and your refusing to wear it that was fairly nice. The questions themselves were also lovely! I had been trying to predict topics and had it wittled down to water charges, ebola, emigration, unemployment, racism, terrorism, voting, gay marriage, role of women in the home, the points system, pocket money and obesity with sport..very wittled down. I was delighted to see the question on voting at 16 and the question on pocket money was lovely too! Oh and the first compulsory question I did was on how to solve he problem with homelessness which I was also really happy with.I got 40% in my premocks in French and 61% in my mocks in French and I can honestly say I worked my ass off at French since Christmas. I truly felt today that it paid off. I will actually miss speaking and studying French a lot. All in all, a lovely paper!! :)Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Certificate Biology
Lorraine - Higher Level
Hi all! :) Well I'm just out of Biology and I have to admit I am fairly disappointed. As someone who has never been mad on Biology but gotten good grades after the mocks I really kicked myself even though I got a B and I attackedBiology properly. I did every exam paper, repeatedly went through on line videos, wrote out notes and flashcards and really tried to drill it into my head but that exam was awful. First of all, I didn't even know where to start with the short questions!! The last one, Q6, was literally 2 definitions that I have never seen before! I made a stab at them but I know my answers were wrong. I'm normally a big banker on Section A and Section B to pull me through Biology but today, I was really let down. The section A questions just seemed very different than other years and I was really disappointed.Section B was ok enough, although I completely forgot about the diagrams for fungi reproduction! :P Section C though I can honestly say I found really really hard. I always try and skip genetics because me and the crosses just do not work together but today I actually had to do genetics question because I was lost on the paper.After the exam from talking to everyone else, everyone thinks that we were really unlucky with a really horrible paper. I have to say I'm really disappointed as I had started to enjoy Biology but at this point in time, I'm hoping I at least got a D-C because that was an awful paper!I'm going to go cram some History and French for tomorrow- I think only an hour break betweenthese papers is ridiculous!
Joanna - Higher Level
It was a long paper and although parts got me stuck, thankfully there is always some choice, so I think I did well in it. The time in Biology is not tight at all, so it's grand in terms of taking your time with everything and then reading back over it.I found the first section easy enough. The second one, I answered the questions that were needed and then I did one extra in the last section. The paper seemed a bit different to me than papers in previous years, but maybe its just the sleep deprivation from the last two nights. There was a picture e of a dogs teeth on one page and a reflex arc (my favourite) on another. I don't know, I was so tired going in to the exam, all I can remember is writing answers and then cycling home... Thank god these last two days are over. Two exams per day, twice in a row should not be happening! Well, I'm finally over half way there (7 exams out of 11 done) so I'm delighted that the end of these exams is near :)
Isabelle - Higher Level
Biology has always been one of my better subjects, but due to being overwhelmed and and overtired as well as a lack of preparation my mock result didn't reflect that at all, and so I made sure I was prepared for today! I left Irish a bit early and went to cram as many definitions as I could!I thought the paper couldn't have suited me any better to be honest, everything I had crammed came up and everything I had avoided was avoidable (and also that guy who predicts papers on YouTube got the experiments spot on, shout out to him for saving me today) I came out of the paper feeling pleased that I had done as much as I could have done, and I know I certainly improved on my mock grade!However, the majority of my friends didn't feel this way at all, and I certainly can see how many people came out unhappy! Weird topics came up together (reproductive system with nervous system) and some of the questions were phrased really oddly too! I guess with such a big course it really is the luck of the draw and you can't learn everything, but seeing as so many people found it difficult lets just pray for a nice marking scheme.
Leah - Higher Level
Oh lord. Where to even begin with Biology. After that thrilling and soothing morning with such a beautiful Irish Paper, I will admit that I may have gotten too laid back. Biology brought me right back to the terrors of exams though. I am not even ashamed to admit that I wanted to cry over the paper.My entire paper was nothing less than a train wreck; partially because of the paper and partially because Biology is my worst subject. The Paper made me feel like I had done no study all year - not effective study anyway. The only consolation in that entire question were the Ecology sections. Apart from that though, I spent at least an hour and a half of the three hour long exam staring at the blanks on my paper. I feel like Irish Paper II worked against us to trick us into a sense of false security and then Biology showed up and shot us all with gamma rays or something. I was even contemplating on whether to take an Ordinary Level exam or not. Maybe I should have.All in all - Biology was a bit of muck. 0/10, would not recommend. It's all over now though. Now I get the sweet bliss of 9 days exam-free, until the 19th where I will have Religion and Japanese. I will of course be back here then to let you all know how they went but, until then, I wish you luck. Catch you on the (almost) flip side.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Leaving Certificate Irish Paper 2
Rob - Higher Level
Rumours had been going around that we would get a poem or prós that had already been examined, so I spent all this morning learning the facts about the poets of Mo Ghrá-sa and An t-Earrach Thiar, as well as Coldcaradh and Géibheann. I was banking in either Cáca Milis or An Gnáthrud to appear for Prós, it had been a long time since we had studied the other 3 options. I studied A Thig Ná Tit Orm for my Litríocht Breise and I always liked it, except the question in the mock had not been very clear. I was apprehensive going into this exam, as just like English Paper 2, my result would come down to pure chance.I was delighted to see the options come up as they did. I found both of the comprehensions relatively clear and easy to understand. Even the grammar questions were not too hard to find. The topics were interesting and I had followed the "One Young World" conference when it was happening last year, so I knew what the topic was about.The question for Cáca Milis about Catherine was straightforward, as were the three for Colscaradh. While I found the question on Maidhc's interest in football and music to be a bit limiting. In "A Thug Ná Tit Pen", I'm fairly satisfied with the answer I wrote.Overall I'm quite surprised how straight forward both the papers in Irish were his year. Since it seems most people feel the same, I'm wondering now how strict the marking scheme will be. We're past the halfway point, only five more exams to go!
Joanna - Higher Level
I woke up with my stomach in a knot this morning. I was tired and had two tough exams to get through. Thankfully, it was early enough to eat, do some revision and then cycle peacefully to school, so by the time I arrived I was a lot calmer. Many thanks to Rob for his tip on Pros and Filiocht, it saved me a lot of nerves in the morning!I was hoping for a nice character question for "An Triail" and it came up (woo) so I did that first. Then Caca Milis and Colacaradh. I left the comprehensions till last and just highlighted answers in the texts, then re-wrote them in the answer booklet and had just enough time to write out good long answers for the question 6 (b) parts. I was also delighted to see Aimsir Laithreach and Aimsir Fhaistineach in the grammar sections, nothing completely strange or impossible to figure out.Overall, it was a really manageable paper and I was relieved when it was done, although my hand was kinda sore and I was starving!
Lorraine - Ordinary Level
Hey all! :)Sorry I wasn't on yesterday-crazy day! I woke up feeling really sick and not from nervous unfortunately :P Anyway I thought the papers were really nice yesterday exactly what we deserved so today, naturally enough, they had to be horrible, and I think they were! Irish Paper 2 wasn't an exam I can say that I was worried about but I, like many other ordinary level students, only studied the stories and poems that didn't come up last year. In my blissful ignorance I thought sure why would they trick us into putting last years stories this year? And as usual, I was wrong!:PI had spent a long time going over gnathrud last night because our teacher had warned us it was looking like a likely question and it did make an appearance on both mock papers! I wasn't too worried about the poetry and the reading comprehensions. The first comprehension was about Rory McIllroy and I found it easy enough. Next there was a comprehension on Hilary Clinton which was all grand. I couldn't believe my eyes though when I turned the page and saw Oisin IdTir na nOg and Hurlamaboc...I'm not going to lie I actually did check to make sure my paper was 2015. A cruel trick SEC, a very cruel trick! I decided that I'd come back to it when Id got my head around the fact that I had wasted valuable time cramming the wrong stories and I continued onto the poetry. I found the poetry fine- An tEarrach Thiar and Mo Gra Sa Idir luibini- my other prediction! The questions were very straightforward the usual themes. I turned back to the story section after I was finished the poetry and I started Hurlamaboc, I knew my Irish was bad trying to explain it but I did remember the story. Oisin was another problem though and I feel sorry for the examiner correcting it. At the end of the day, they aren't worth enough marks for me to be super upset about so you win some you lose some!! Once I don't start writing Irish during French tomorrow Ill be fine :D
Isabelle - Higher Level
I found myself quite nervous going in to Irish as, like the majority of the country, I was going in with only 2/5 covered for the prós and poetry! But thankfully, paper 2 had been just as nice as paper 1 and everyone was pleased to find colscaradh and cáca milis just had they had suspected! With very nice questions, might I add.For my studied text I did "A Thig na Tit orm", and I found the question a bit tedious. It didn't leave much room for elaboration, but I did my best with what I had prepared! The reading comprehensions were a bit repetitive, although I found the one on "One Young World" quite interesting as I had followed the story of Yeonmi Park before! I had half an hour to spare so I packed up my stuff and ran off to cram as much biology as possible!Overall, I found this years Irish papers very approachable (and predictable thank the lord).
Leah - Higher Level
Well, wasn't today just completely jam packed! My morning began with Irish Paper II, the same as many people. I was forced to rush my way out of my house when I realised I was almost late for my exam after some intense, last minute, frantic revision.I arrived at school in the nick of time and I proceeded to hesitantly open my exam paper, as I had my doubts that I expressed in yesterday's blog post on Irish Paper I. Anyway, as I opened the paper and began to flick through the paper, my smile got bigger and bigger again until I was beaming.The Léamhthuiscints were each dreamy. They were so easy, compared to my mocks! I didn't even mind the Question 6(b)'s - they were the nicest questions of those kinds I've ever seen. Even better than that was that I, for once, could actually comprehend the comprehensions.I continued on to do the question on Cáca Milis and, let me tell you, I breathed a sigh of manic relief. If the question had turned out to be on Seal i Neipeal, I would've walked out of the exam centre. And don't even get me started on how Colscaradh came up! Of my god, we were definitely one of the luckier exam years :)Finally, I went onto the last page and I wasn't too thrilled about the question on An Trial but it wasn't horrible. I was only sorry I ran out of time. Other than that though, I am absolutely delighted with Irish Paper II. Now I only have Japanese to get through in the language department and then we'll all be free to enjoy our summers! Cheers to that.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.