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How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert DCG

By Megan Thornton - 2 minute read

DCG is a subject that lets you explore your problem-solving and creative side! In this blog, DCG teacher Val O'Connell shares his top tips on how to get an H1 in the exam and the project

How is the course structured?

DCG is examined in two parts: 

The Project is worth 40% and the exam is worth 60%.

 

What is involved in the project? 

This is a design-based project that involves an investigation of how an existing object is designed. The project gives you an opportunity to modify or come up with a completely new design for the object in question. In addition, you create a computer model of the existing object and your new/modified object. The object in question changes each year and the design brief is released by the state exams each year.

What is involved in the exam? 

The exam consists of three sections. Section A,B,C.

 

Section A includes:

  • 4 short questions

  • Examines 'core' aspects of the course

  • You must answer 3 questions

Section B includes:

  • Three long questions. You must answer two. 

  • They are drawn by you from scratch on A2 paper

Section C includes:

  • 5 drawn long questions

  • You must answer 1

  • This is answered on A2 paper

Top Tips for the project

Start the project immediately-stay back after school every week and work at it. It can be very overwhelming in November/December if you leave yourself with too much.

Pick a simple object to model in Solidworks-it will gain as many marks as an object with extremely difficult geometry

Keep all your sketches fully defined from the beginning.

Use Output 3-your electronic model to help you improve output 2 if needs be.

Get your hands on a physical example of the object you have picked to model in Part A-don’t use pictures from the internet

For more tips on how to do well in DCG, read Val's full guide below: 

Read guide here
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