The day before the Exams

• Think positive –examiners want to give you marks not take them away from you
• Focus on what you already know –now is not the time to look at new topics
• Allow at least an hour to unwind and relax before going to bed
• Get a good night’s sleep –you will often have 6 hours plus of exams the next day and need to be alert in the afternoon too.
• Pack all pens, equipment, calculators or whatever else is needed for each exam
• Allow plenty of time to arrive early and unstressed
• Avoid exam post mortems at lunch hour

Use past exam papers

Use past exam papers when you are revising. Don’t wait until the exam itself to familiarise yourself with the general layout of the paper, compulsory questions, options and marks allocated for each section
Check previous questions on a subject topic. Note any trends in the questions asked   Draft short plans for important and recurring questions.
You can also check out the marking schemes for past papers e.g. Higher Level English the percentage of marks awarded for clarity of purpose (30%), coherence of delivery (30%), efficiency of language (30%) and accuracy of mechanics (10%)
Past exam papers and marking schemes are available on www.examinations.ie