The mocks are fast approaching, and this can be a very stressful time for students. From deciding what to study to sitting full-length LC exams, it’s tough. In this article, I’ll share how I prepared for the mocks and my overall approach.

Disclaimer: I’m not claiming that if you follow everything in this article, you will ace the mocks. This is a comprehensive overview of some of the things I did. This worked for me. Feel free to take whatever inspiration you’d like. Happy reading!

Understanding the purpose of the mocks

Before I dive into my strategy for the mocks, we need to understand their purpose. This will make setting goals and expectations clear.

The mocks are only practice. That’s it. They have absolutely no effect on your final Leaving Certificate exams.

The purpose of the mocks:

• Practise timing
• Understand your strengths
• Understand your weaknesses
• Give you more questions to practise from when studying for the actual LC

The mocks give you a chance to learn exam strategy, and for self-analysis of where you stand in the run-up to the LC.

Do not let the mocks stress you out. They are important, but not the real thing.

Setting realistic expectations

First things first, points in the mocks do not guarantee points in the LC.

If you get 625 points in the mocks, that does not affect your final score. If you get 300 points in the mocks, that does not affect your final score.

So, set realistic expectations.

My expectation/goal:

1). My main goal was to ensure I’m able to finish every exam with time to spare, so I can check my work. This meant that I could use a similar exam strategy in the real thing

2). Secondly, I wanted to be confident that I could secure marks from topics I was already strong in. I wanted to ensure I make no silly mistakes, and I actually understand the concepts I think I understood.

3). Lastly, I knew that there would be some questions I wouldn’t be able to answer. I set a goal of being able to answer the entire mock paper correctly before the actual exam.

Set realistic expectations/goals for yourself.

The mocks should be a learning opportunity, not a disappointment.

Creating a focused study plan

To make sure you get all the important content covered, you need a clear study plan. Here’s how I made mine very simply:

1. I first made a list of all the chapters that I need to study by subject. This is essentially the entire course.
2. I would then highlight key chapters you can’t afford to miss.
3. Then, every morning, I would make a list of what I’m going to study, ensuring I’m completing different parts of the course.

Making notes

Making notes was one of my biggest saviours, especially closer to the exams. I can’t stress enough how important making and using the right notes is.

To help you out with this, I have compiled notes on the different topics below. These are made from my preparation for these chapters.

The first notes on Dickinson are completely free for a while – no catch, I promise. This is just so you can get a feel for whether the type of notes I make is useful or not.

Notes on Poetry:

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Emily Dickinson:

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W.B. Yeats:

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Notes on Question A (Comprehensions) Paper 1:

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Do consider checking them out. To convince yourself that the notes are useful, you can download the first few pages as a preview from the link, too.

Can you leave chapters?

For the actual LC, I would recommend covering as much as possible. I personally only left out two or three chapters combined in all my subjects (they were all from chemistry, and I just couldn’t get my head around them).

For the mocks, you can afford to leave out some chapters, since covering everything is tight. But remember, that’ll mean you’ll have fewer choices. So, that’s a risk you’ll have to decide if you want to take.

How to revise effectively?

Closer to the mocks, you’d want to spend as much time as possible going over chapters you already know. Here’s how I’d revise effectively:

• Read over your notes: So, the key is to make good notes in the first place. The notes I’ve provided above could be a good start.
• Read over answers: Any PPQs you have done, go over the answers again.
• Watch videos: A good way to study, which doesn’t feel like studying.

Using Past Papers

Doing as many PPQs (past paper questions) is key. The chances are that a lot of questions in your mock exam could be taken from PPQs.

How would I do PPQs?

I would try to solve 2-3 PPQs (at least) for each chapter that I’m studying. And then I would have dedicated study sessions where I’m only doing PPQs.

Closer to the mocks, I would try solving a full past paper for certain subjects, and time myself too.

Dealing with burnout

I fully understand that this is a stressful time. Burnout is normal. There are some simple things I did to deal with (and avoid) burnout.

I don’t want to make this article too long, so you can check out my full article on dealing with burnout here.

But to summarise: Take regular breaks, have full ‘fun’ days, sleep well. Most importantly, don’t take the LC to the heart.

Block out the external noise

Throughout your LC cycle, you will meet different people employing different strategies. It’s human nature to get swayed towards the paths other people are taking, especially if it’s our friends.

In my case, some of my friends were studying 9 hours a day. Some were leaving stuff out. Others just stopped coming to school nearer to the exams (I do not recommend that, but more in a follow-up article).

Of course, at the time, I was slightly influenced by them. Luckily, I didn’t follow their footsteps. And that’s my advice to you as well.

Take inspiration from others around you, but at the same time, trust that you know what you’re doing.