Hello Students,

I don’t need to tell you how many weeks are left to the start of your exams. At this point, you should have much of your notes and summaries in order in your subjects. It is important to deal in summaries now, as pages and books of notes are too much to remember and recall on the day. Ensure you are getting whole foods into you and not ones from the freezer aisle that go straight into the microwave. Whole foods are those in their raw state in the supermarket that you usually have to chop before cooking. This will improve your energy levels and give you focus, not the temporary high those rancid energy drinks give. Increase your intake of water now also.

Sit down someday and note the best advice your subject teachers have given you over the last few weeks. They are experts in their field, so any advice or notes they have given you towards the end will be keynote stuff. Don’t hesitate to e-mail them about any fears or questions you may have in relation to the exams. If you don’t get a chance to do so, feel free to contact me through my Facebook page or website below and I will certainly try and advise you as best I can. ☺

I believe that practicing past exam questions is the secret to success. Take a past question from 2012, 2013 or 2014 and do it under time pressure just like a real exam. Many students are brilliant at Maths, but not so good inside the exam hall. You must replicate exam conditions before you actually go in there to perform. Try a question in your exam papers, setting the clock for the given time. Remember to divide the amount of the marks by two to get the time allowed. For example, you have twelve and a half minutes to do a twenty-five marker. This rule of thumb only applies to practicing past papers up to 2020. The timing is different for exam paper 2021, due to the choice on the paper this year.

When doing exam questions, once you have attempted the question to the best of your ability, refer to my ACE Maths solution book to see how you got on. This will clarify where you may have gone wrong and indeed the steps you have made in the right direction. Learning by doing and maximum effort is really important in Maths. Get stubborn in Maths, challenge it head-on and don’t let it beat you. Remember, that there can be several ways of doing questions; so if your method is sound with the correct answer, you are on track. Any step in the right direction will pick you up some marks.

For those of you who are a little panicked in the subject, start by doing part (a) of questions, checking them against the solution, then move on to part (b) etc. This will build your confidence in the subject. Never leave blanks in Maths. Start listing out the keywords that appear on the papers and find out what they mean. If you are unsure where to start, go back and relearn the Algebra you did in your second or fifth year. This is the bedrock for both the Junior and Leaving Certificate Maths courses.

In all of your subjects, stick to your guns. Do not drop down from the level you have been preparing for. Believe in yourself and go for it. Leaving Certs, good luck in your future careers and Junior Certs, I look forward to advising you in the near future.

😊 Joe.

◆◆◆◆◆

© Joe McCormack 2021

More details about Joe’s ACE Tuition (Maths and English), ACE Career Coaching, and his ever-popular ACE Maths Solution Books for the Junior and Leaving Certificate can be found via the links below. Be sure to pick up your copies today!

• Website: acesolutionbooks.com

• Facebook: JoeMcCormackEducationalExpert

• Twitter: #JoesJotter