Advice to students on Mock Exams from Career Coach Joe McCormack

Within the first couple of weeks of your return after your Christmas holidays, teachers will begin speaking about exam papers, exam solutions, timetables, revision and more especially about the upcoming Junior/Leaving Certificate mock examinations.
Many of my students get quite anxious about the mock exams as it is usually the first time they must sit down and attempt a full paper in the subject. These nerves are normal, but remember it is an experience all exam students go through in Ireland, so try to enjoy it. For Leaving Certificate students, you have all been through a similar process for the Junior Cycle and that should help greatly.
Prior to the start of the mocks, you will have endless questions about the whole process. Questions like: Has the quality of my study been good so far? How will I match up against my friends? What will my grades be like? Will I be able to manage my time properly for each paper? Am I doing the correct level? How am I supposed to complete an exam paper if we haven’t finished the course? What will happen if I fail a subject in the mocks? Are the mocks harder than the actual state exam? All of these are normal questions to be contemplating at this point.

Mocks vs State Exams
As useful as the mocks are, it is important to understand that there are some fundamental differences between the mock and the state exams. Here are some observations for you to think about across all your subjects:
• You more than likely have not covered the full course in your subjects, so consequently may not be able to attempt the full paper competently. This is not unusual.
• You probably have had minimal exposure to past exam questions, so you may not be fully familiar with the style, wording and layout of the exam questions on each paper.
• You more than likely have not sat a full exam paper in the subject at this level previously. You and your parents need to have realistic expectations about the mocks as a result.
• In general, the mock exam papers tend to be quite testing in relation to the actual standard of the state exam papers later.
• The difference in the knowledge and vocabulary you will have at ‘mock’ and ‘exam’ time are poles apart.
• The mocks will show up deficiencies and gaps in your subject knowledge. Your experience and confidence will be so much better when the state exams come along.
• You will have a much better understanding of how the marking scheme operates on all your papers by June time.
• Your result in the mocks will provide an incentive to put in extra revision, especially if you are nowhere near the grade you require. From this point of view, the mocks should be viewed as an opportunity to find out which are your so called ‘weaker’ subjects and topics within them.
• The timing of the mocks doesn’t tend to be ideal for students, as they can come very quickly after the Christmas break. Knuckle down, remembering you still have several months to improve grades in all your subjects and further familiarise yourself with the course.
• Think of the mocks as playing a league match in the winter as you prepare for the championship later in the summer. As Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) folk will quickly tell you: “It’s the championship that matters”.

Lessons Learned From Your Mocks
When your mock papers are assessed, the correctors will also give you some written feedback on them. However, the best feedback gained will be the experience of having sat down and attempted each paper under exam conditions. It is difficult to replicate that level of pressure at home, no matter how much you try. After you receive your mock exam paper back, complete the following actions in relation to the experience:
1. Bring your exam paper to your subject teacher and ask them to give their view on where you can improve and pick up marks in the future.
2. Record the written and oral feedback from both the examiner and your teacher somewhere.
3. Act on this feedback to learn from your mistakes, so as not to repeat the same errors again later.
4. Have a think about what angle each question on the paper was asked from.
5. Consider how well you did with the timing on the paper.
6. Make a note of topics that came up which you hadn’t yet covered in class.
7. Make a note of why you lost specific marks in certain areas.
8. Make a note of anything that stands out for you from the marking scheme. Each teacher will have a copy of the said marking scheme, so feel free to ask them to have a quick look to gather more information.
9. Make a note of sub topics that you performed badly in and add these to your upcoming lifestyle study timetable.
10. Make a note of what you did well in the exam, so that you can carry these positives forward. Above all, use the mock examinations as a useful learning experience, noting where you made little errors and where you think you can improve going forward.

More details about how to purchase ‘How to ACE the Leaving Certificate’ for all subjects and Joe’s ever popular ACE Maths Solution Books for the Junior and Leaving Certificate are on his website www.acesolutionbooks.com and Facebook page. Pick up your copy today!