By Eimear Dinneen - 2 minute readIf you're in 5th or 6th year, you might be feeling a bit lost and don't know where or how to start studying. Ask yourself these simple questions to get your head around the whole thing and get on the right track!
Students who establish a place of work and make it their ‘go-to’ place to study tend to study more consistently and settle into a pattern of study more easily. Some students just cannot study at home for a variety of reasons. In this instance, they may have the option of going to after-school study, to a local library/library in a third-level college close by, or to a relative’s house. Choose what feels right for you and make it a daily practice to do homework and study there.
I tend to think of the week in three parts: Monday – Thursday, Friday, and Saturday/Sunday. Monday –Thursday students tend to be tired after the day at school, followed by homework, so the quality of study tends to be poor. I recommend studying subjects like maths, accounting, etc – subjects where you are actually working out solutions rather than subjects with large volumes of theory. Friday I recommend for weekend homework only .so that you have Sat/Sun free for good quality study. I then recommend those days to study large volume theory subjects.
You need to get specific about what you will study in advance. It is not enough to decide what subject you will study but you really need to get specific and decide what topic within that subject area you will study and don’t be too ambitious. The rock most plans perish on is expecting too much of yourselves. Study less content but more deeply!
The six million dollar question! The ‘how to?’ question is a very individual thing. I tend to work with students individually in this area. However, there are some things every LC student should be doing at this stage. Once you decide on the topic you are going to study, specifically the many large theory subjects, you need to summarise it! Imagine you have to give a class presentation on that area. Make clear bullet points, etc. Then, based on your summary, try giving an imaginary presentation in your room. There is no better way to imbed the information. Followed by that, it's critical that you look at a cohort of past paper questions on that topic to confirm how well you know the information. This is where Studyclix can come in handy as you can go over questions by topic.
So remember these 4 questions and good luck getting started on the study!
Berni Sheridan has been working in the area of career guidance for almost 10 years with particular emphasis on the senior cycle process. She is passionate about helping students gain clarity on their career of choice - setting goals and a program of work to enable them to reach their goals. You can find out more about Bernie at her website thestudentscoach.com
