A study plan is a great way to be as prepared as possible for Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams this year.

Plan to succeed this year

With schools now poised for a full re-opening, both Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert students will no doubt be thinking about the next ten months and how they can best prepare for those all-important exams.

Creating an effective study plan can be challenging at the best of times, and with students having missed out on so much school time last term, it’s important that they make the most of the coming year.

A study plan is an organised schedule outlining your study times and learning goals. Having an effective study plan in place is considered a great way to map out your revision plans week by week and hold yourself accountable for your own learning outcomes.

Online study support service ExamCast.ie, which offers past-paper video solutions for exam questions across a range of subjects, has put together a definitive list of exam tips to help students make the absolute most of the coming term.

Use a weekly study template

Using a weekly study plan template is a great way to help with exam revision and there are plenty templates available online right now. Visit examcast.ie/resources to download a free weekly study planner today.

Write down all your activities

Each week, make a note in your planner of all activities you must do, for example, attending training or music class. Once this is done, you can then plan your study sessions around your activities. This way, when you attend these activities you will not be worried that you have missed valuable study time.

Study blasts

Research suggests that 25 minutes is the optimum time to study for optimum focus and concentration. This may vary slightly from person to person. Studying in short sessions such as this and giving yourself a break between each one is highly recommended.

Focus on tasks

Instead of just writing down a subject name such as ‘maths’, give yourself a specific task to do. This will give you more direction. For example, you may focus on geometry or trigonometry for a specific study session.

Order

When deciding the order of what you plan on studying, it is a good idea to put the more difficult tasks first in order to make best use of your focus and energy.

Do not get stressed

Like any good plan, it’s important to allow for some flexibility. There will be weeks when you are busier with other chores like extra homework after-school activities. If you do not get everything done, do not stress out. You can catch up on what you missed out on later that week or spread it out over the next few weeks.

Practice past exam papers

Practicing past exam papers allows you to get used to the structure of the paper and enables you to work on your time management skills. It will also help you understand the allocation of marks and the marking scheme. ExamCast.ie offers a comprehensive amount of video solutions to past exam papers.

For more visit examcast.ie.