Leaving Certificate History
Craig - Higher Level 
I'm pretty sure it says somewhere in the UN Declaration for Human Rights that putting a 3 hr history exam and a 3 hr French exam on one day is in fact - wrong. History was exhausting. Once I opened that paper I was straight in - highlighting, as Liam does - highlighting everything. The document section was lovely - Nuremberg ! The contextualisation was nice too regarding propaganda. Then it was into Ireland Topic 2 - I did the paper back ways so this was actually my last question. I was so exhausted by this point I couldn't remember who founded the Gaelic league but I had plenty of quotes and dates so I was off and then with just 11 minutes to go I fitted in the Anglo Irish Literary Revival too - Yeats all that. Lovely choice in that section!Then bam! 1916! Lovely! Not sure how I did in this question, in fact the whole exam is a blur. You're not allowed, nor are you able to time wise think about "how you did" during this exam - toilet breaks are for the very brave! I was jumping with joy when I saw the USA question though, to be fair - the choice between economy or Johnson/Truman - I chose the presidents and said Truman was a better leader! Job done!I'm exhausted now at this stage - business tomorrow , then I'm done for four days thank god!
Ellen - Higher Level 
I almost cried with happiness when I read the faint outline of the Nuremburg Rallies on the exam script cover. By far the easiest DBQ to write about! The rest of the paper was quite nice, with lots of choice. At long long last 1916 turned up when it was most needed, even throwing Yeats in for the craic. They couldn't have done that in English paper 2 now could they? Anyway, I answered on the Treaty Negotiations and struggled to come up with as many different ways of saying 'contentious' as possible. For American history, I was torn between Truman & Johnson or the Moon Landing & Star Wars, but I settled on the latter. For Northern Ireland, I saw Coleraine and Apprentice Boys and launched straight in, realising 3 pages in that it only asks you to discuss one or the other. Oops.Although my hand is well and truly dead, I survived the LC 2016! That's it from me now, best of luck lads with everything xPlease note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Leaving Certificate Biology
Emma - Higher Level 
Biology. Words can not describe the pain I have endured trying to make this subject less difficult! All of my time was spent the last three months completely on biology for seemingly absolutely nothing. The paper can only be deemed as fairly random and with a nice examiner I'd say I'd be lucky to scrape a D1 or C3. Half of my exam time was spent adding up marks I could get to scrape the grades needed for my course next year. The questions were an odd mix of everything with little digestion, little plant reproduction and little human reproduction, which was disappointing as that's what I had focused on for the last few weeks. The question on the eye, and the ear was manageable with the ecology being fairly handy with a couple of hard parts involving the grazing food chain. I completed all of the short questions, all of the experiments (which were fairly ok!!) and 5 long questions because I made a mess of the respiration question. For all of the study I put in, I'm thrown that nothing I learned in huge detail came up. However if you knew each part extremely well, like everything, I'm sure you would have done fabulously. The exam papers are in the bin and I cannot wait to leave behind the bane of my life- biology!
Ellen - Higher Level
What can I say about that biology exam? Cruel is the first word that springs to mind. No genetics long question? I'm heartbroken to be honest. I even said it going in, 'this better not be the year they decide not to put genetics in the long questions'... so I feel like I may have jinxed it. Sorry guys. The short questions were manageable- if you could call it that. I thought it was very cruel to put plant reproduction in there when that is a difficult chapter most people (myself included) would avoid like the plague. The experiments were cruel in that it relied on your knowledge of the circulatory system to draw a graph for the experiment - not an easy thing to do if you ask me- and everyone I asked coming out of the exam hall went about it differently. With no genetics I was left to answer Q10 (ecology), Q11(photosynthesis & respiration) Q14b&c and, the horror of horrors Q12- the ear and eye - definitely not something I had anticipated doing. I am truly exhausted after these two exams but only one more double day left, then it's all over!
Cárthach - Higher Level 
Beannacht dé ar aoinne a shuí sin!Absolutely sickening paper, ruthless in it's approach.For example in the short questions, I had previously used the same 'give examples' examples for questions, they opened questions 2 with 'Name an non metallic element apart from C H N O found in proteins' ...I had not expected they would specify to this detail. The same in 2 (f) , my example of an element was Iron, and they asked 'apart from Iron'.This wasn't the worst, but yet again it was harsh.Other questions were stricter and not much chance to avoid anything you don't like.I hadn't spent much time studying this because of honours maths, But I didn't think it would be this bad :(Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Leaving Certificate Irish Paper 2
Liam - Higher Level 
Questions that I did: 1, 2A, 3A and 4A.That was weird. The lack of both Géibheann and Gnáthrud was unexpected, I thought one of the two would make an appearance! The no 'saol & Saothar an file' 9 marker was different. But the no seanra litríochta was nice!I started with my question on 'An Triail' because I liked it least and it was worth most. Don't get my wrong, who doesn't like the aul "Mallacht Dé anuas ortsa, a striapach"! The question was straightforward enough, about Máire's life after meeting Pádraig so it was grand.Next I did the question on Oisín i dTír na nÓg. There were 3 questions and you had to do 2, I did the one on Oisín being loving and loyal and the exaggeration. They were grand like, I thought the only question they'd ask is the tréithe béaloidis. But sure it was alright!Then it was poetry and an tEarrach Thiar. In fairness , the questions weren't bad, owing to the fact one of the questions wasn't the 'guaranteed' one.The léamhtuiscints were actually easy enough. I highlighted the answers in the text first , then copied them into my answer booklet. It was the most efficient way I think. I was delighted that no seanra litríochta came up either. Never really liked them !I'm happy enough with it! I wrote enough for them anyway and it could have gone a lot lot worse. At least we're done with that!!
Emma - Higher Level
Irish paper two, good lord!! I had expected some sort of difficulty in the exam but not to that extent! However my trauma was short lived when I realised the questions were quite nice on both Oisin and An Tearrach!I began with the them to get them out of the way and wrote tonnes for the poem but a mere 2 pages for the pros! Onto the leamhthuiscints, the part B's were extremely different than other years there was no deciphering types or genres, which was nice. I found I overwrote a lot on those, there was so much to say!! The themes for the leamthuisicnts were very topical and interesting and I nearly forgot I was in an exam! UNTIL that awful Maidhc question came from a "Thig na Tít orm"! Everyone had expected his family life to come up but of course the SEC wouldn't make it that easy!! However with some breaking down of the question it was easy to put together some paragraphs based around key events of his life!! I'm so sad that my battle with Gaeilge in secondary school has ended, but overall the exam as a whole could have been a lot worse!! (Imagine caca milis!)
Cárthach - Higher Level
One of the nicest papers in recent years, despite the two predicted Prose and Poem not making an appearance. A huge shock to many I imagine, luckily our year had prepared for all of them, since we knew the LC focus was noted on the website to be about losing the LC's predictability. A right kick to anyone who chanced to only study 'Géibheann' and 'An Gnáthrud'...My heart goes out to you!Dom fhéin mar chainteoir ó dhúchas, cheap mé go raibh an páipéar bog a dhóthain do gach duine, in aineoinn don gheit a baineadh as daoine faoin bprós agus filíocht ainmnithe. Bhí na léamhthuiscintí intuigthe go maith agus ní raibh na ceisteanna (6) deacair i comparáid le blianta eile.In comparison to other years, the reading comprehensions and grammar questions were much gentler on the student who struggle with languages in general, in my opinion, as the topics were recent and also covered by essays people learn for Paper 1's composing.This nice paper 2 contrasted greatly what was to come in the afternoon; the absolute slaughter that was the higher level Biology paper!
Ellen - Higher Level
It's hard now to think of that lovely little Irish paper after the events of this afternoon's Biology. The Leamhthuiscints were extremely manageable I felt in comparison to other years, except I felt the q6b's required a lot more comprehension than before. My class was doing the Cúrsa Roghnach and wasn't I delighted last night when I only had 3 poems to study. Even better, in the exam I had a choice of dán nua aimseartha and chose Jack by Máire Mhic an tSaoi. Bhí sé go hálainn. I was even happy with the prós- scéal bealoidis for me meant an Cearrbhach Mac Cába and there was a choice within the question - traits of the main characters, importance of the minor characters and traits of béaloideas, which was also an deas ar fad. Even Gafa (my least favourite part of the whole course) was manageable with a general relationship question between Eithne, Eoin and Breandán. Ní raibh sé ró olc ar an iomlán, but I'm just thinking now, I'll never need to know that much Irish ever ever again...!Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Leaving Certificate Maths Paper 2
Craig - Ordinary Level
For those, like myself depending upon "construct a triangle" to come up - today was a blessing!What a relief! That paper was lovely! I was quite tight on time today as I had Irish paper 2 to study for! I'm pretty happy with that paper, they were kind to us in maths this year to be fair - there was plenty of opportunity to show off what we knew!
Ellen - Higher Level
Was it just me or were those long questions a blessing? Seriously I was braced for one of the worst exams of my life after those short q's and then along came that beaut of a lantern. I have never loved pythagoras' theorem so much. I actually love sin and cos graphs so I was in my element with that port question (even with a shneaky bit of differentiation thrown in). Stats has never been my favourite but even I could do the final question. With 40 minutes to spare I could go back to those impossible short questions. I was as heartbroken as anybody to find that none of the constructions or proofs we had spent so long learning off by heart came up. I answered all of them, even though I had no clue what to do for some (the cos question anybody?) and how to do the raffle question is anybodies guess.Overall though, I'm quite pleased with that paper, especially in comparison with Paper 1.
Liam - Higher Level
I must say, paper 2 could have gone a lot worse! I've always been a paper 1 kinda guy, owing to the fact I'm not the biggest fan of Stats, Probabilty or even the circle side of Geometry but aside from all that, I'm reasonably happy with maths.The first section was reasonably okay. There were some parts that were reasonably tricky and needed some time, such as the geometric circle question 2 or the Venn diagram in question 5. Those things I never really had much interest to begin with so I forgot that I didn't know them... oops.The long questions. The place where even the SatNav would get confused and lost at times was actually okay! Usually Stats always put me off but this time they were quite easy. The questions were straightforward and for once... as you'd expect to see them in the textbook!I never seem to time myself for maths, it's usually a case of doing what I like first and then.... the rest. But I figured it best to get the disgusting statistics and probability out of the was as quick as possible too, even there wasn't too much of it there!It wasn't too bad, in saying that, it could've been a lot worse!
Emma - Ordinary Level
Maths paper two was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be!! For a girl with little mathematical capability I flew through the easier parts and like everything the harder parts took more time similar to paper one. Although it would not be right to say that it was EASY, I found it more manageable than the past few years exam papers!! Perhaps it is being in the exam hall which makes you concentrate more than at home when you are trying to figure out difficult parts!The questions on the line, the circle and the triangle caught me because it is something I failed to revise properly, but I attempted everything. I found section b much more manageable and had severe trouble with drawing that pie chart, which took me over half an hour!! Classic pass maths.Overall my final experience with maths was positive, but I was thrilled to dump the exam papers and put the maths set away!!
Cárthach - Higher Level
Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Leaving Certificate Irish Paper 1
Cárthach - Higher Level
Nach álainn a bhí sí! (Dar liom)!Cheap mé go raibh an cluastuisint cóir, níor bhraith mé go mbeadh fadhb ag éinne le foclóir srl. Bhí cúpla ceist a chur brú orm claoninsint a úsáid, ach ní raibh sé seo éigeantach!The listening comprehension was nice, nothing too technical I don't think, however two places I thought you had to use indirect speech, which is uncommon, but it wasn't necessary!The essay titles were very good, there really was a wide variety of open topics to interpret in different ways and pretty much everyone I talked to before the exams were hoping for some topic in particular and some essay suited them!Bhí dóthain seansanna ann dóibh siúd a d'ullmhaigh ábhair ar 1916, fadhbanna an lae inniu agus gnáth aistí a bhíonn ar fáil i ngach téacsleabhair agus fós a thug deiseanna do lucht labhartha na Gaoluinne a gcaighdeán a thaispeáint!Best moment is when you know the band in the listening and knew how they were busy last summer before the speaker said it, hup An Crann Óg!
Ellen - Higher Level
Finally my prayers have been answered - in the form of an aiste on imirce, would you believe it? Imirce is my jam and the nathanna deasa were flowing. Unfortunately, I had a few mishaps with grammar which I know even now- let that be a lesson kids, don't use the modh conníolladh if you actually don't know how!Even the listening was quite doable this year, with all of the SEC's favourite focail getting a mention - ina measc feachtas, deontas, míle and eagraíocht. Irish paper I was lovely and relaxed, in complete contrast to what's expected tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm off to watch the Euros!
Liam - Higher Level
Táim croíbhriste lads. No more "Léigh anois go cúramach ar the scrúdpháipéar na treoracha agus na ceisteanna a ghabhann le cuid A" or that reassuring beep that prepares you for the banter that's about to unfold. I thought the cluastuiscint was actually pretty okay! Delighted the Donegal only made an appearance in Fógra a hAon too, no offence muintir Dún na nGall! It was a good cluastuiscint. Anyone else like the big where Clíona seemed a big p'd off at Seán for not doing TY..? Only me...? Oh well, at least I enjoyed that cluastuiscint!It took me a good 10-12 minutes to decide what Aiste to do, it's alright guys, you can afford the time on Paper 1. I eventually went with 'Cultúr na ndaoine óga' and planned and wrote the essay about different aspects of a young person's life. I kept an eye out for the grammar when I writing it because again in Paper 1, you've got the time for it! 5 pages later and a last grammatical read-over and 4:20 pm showed up.I'm happy with Paper 1, who doesn't like a good aiste like! Tomorrow is where the fun'll happen, cannot wait! Ubh agus chips to celebrate!
Emma - Higher Level
Irish paper one!! Another dream paper for me!! The listening was very, very simple compared to previous years, with little Donegal accents evident, which is always a good sign! The topics were interesting and relevant like TY, Conradh na Gaeilge and so on!Onto the written paper. I only prepared two essays but a wide range of topics so I felt ready for whatever could have been thrown. Surprisingly the titles were extremely relevant and matched predictions- 1916, imirce and of course the most chosen essay - Daoine Óga! I, like most people, picked the young peoples essays and discussed it with regards to a couple of main topics- the education system and point system, alcohol and drugs, mental health and the implications of suicide, weight issues and unemployment! This essay title was wide open to a lot of interpretation which is always handy! Overall I tipped the 5 page mark and stayed until the very end reading it over and over again. I also did a rough draft of the essay on an extra sheet of paper to ensure everything was word perfect and that my phrasing made sense. Time flies rewriting the essay! I also spent about 30 mins planning the essay, making spider diagrams and signposting each topic back to the title. It is key to ensure your essay is relevant!I can't WAIT to see what's in store for paper two tomorrow! Go bhfóire Dia orainn!
Craig - Higher Level
I don't know why exactly I'm doing this but today I jumped from Ordinary Level of two years to Higher Level. Today's listening test was insane, I'm not sure what happened there. I did the essay on wonder. I fitted the typical gardai sa teach story in and brought in the wonder as to who they where because they'd masks on.Candles welcome of course to pray for what could be joyous or revolting tomorrow. I'm not sane.
Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Leaving Certificate Geography
Cárthach - Higher Level Geography
Not fully functioning at 5:30am, I looked at YouTube videos which really helped recap on things that I had forgotten, with loads of videos on Regions-type questions...This made the early start easier!!Luckily, the last few points I had looked over in the exam regarding the geo-ecology were useful, as I decided to do a question on A Biome and choose the three aspects, Fauna, Soil and Climate.I did feel panic when I felt blanks coming, but I kept breathing, which helps...and I managed to keep writing and continued to the next questions...as I always struggled with time (like in English).I felt it was unfair to put several air photograph and map related time consuming short questions, that I had no choice but to skip over, and made significant ground by doing so.However, time was still against me, and I had to rush my last two questions, and didn't manage to get back to do the last 5 short questions apart from one...but I think overall the paper was much nicer than I had presumed it would be, nicer than the pres/mocks, take note 5th years!It could have been better, could have been worse. It was draining and slowed me for Maths Paper 1, but that's a different kettle of fish writing-wise...Not as straining on my painful (painfully slow) hand, maybe a bit more straining on my head!
Liam - Higher Level Geography
Questions that I did: All the short Qs, 2, 4, 12, 16.Geography, geography, geography. The paper wasn't actually too bad, you'll be sad to know Mr Highlighter didn't make much of an appearance because after the mocks, I knew timing would be an issue.I did it kind of awkwardly, from the back to front. Our teacher give us Geo ecology essays and I knew the cramming I did 5 minutes before the exam would wear off, so best to do it ASAP. Soil characteristics and general composition came up. Brown soil it was.I figured after this I'd keep the good mojo going and do the short questions, cause everybody knows getting one short question out of the 12 right gives as much satisfaction as getting the A1. They weren't too bad, in saying that, I could have made a complete balls of it and never know! Thanks SEC!12 was next because I wanted to get my human population out of the way because it's the bane of my existence. I choose not to think of it because the SRPs certainly weren't flowing there!Then I went into question 4, regional geography! They were mad into Brazil this year. I figured I'd compensate for not doing a sketch map and draw out Brazil. And by that, get the general idea of what Brazil looks like from the world map on question 12. Overall that question wasn't too tricky.Then there was question 2. Who doesn't love talking about a good delta. The colouring pencils came out ladies and gents and I've never seen the "Mississippi Crow Foot Delta" looking so magnificent.Overall I thought it was grand, but with geography, one doesn't really know cause of those SRPs. Little buggers!!Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie