by Site Admin
March 26, 2011 in Study
Yesterday, i posted a question to Facebook mainly as an experiment to test out Facebook’s new ‘questions’ feature. Within an hour of posting, we’d gotten 80 answers from 80 different people. I thought to myself ‘wow’. Little did i know what would happen next…
October 2, 2010 in Study
So I survived the UKCAT but researching it was a pain and finding decent practice questions was next to impossible. With only a week’s practice I can assure you I was looking for all the extra advice I could get. So here are my recommendations for anyone who’s sitting the UKCAT in the next few days or will be in 2011.
First of all the only practice material that’s any good is:
Nothing after that is worth looking at in my opinion, although more links to practice material can be found on forums like thestudentroom.co.uk.
Now that that’s over and done with the BMAT is next on my list of Aptitude tests to do. Ironically one of the great books out there on the web for the BMAT is called- “How to Master the BMAT” which is also downloadable as a pdf (free btw). Who ever published that series of books is getting royally screwed over because they are virtually the only books you can get on the internet hassle free.
There’s also a book called “BMAT and UKCAT” but looking at it it doesn’t seem to great. The other one covers everything from biology, physics, and chemistry revision to the essay writing section (which I think will be the most difficult section). The great thing about these books is that they’re full of practice questions, answers and explanations.
But if you’re looking for practice questions for the BMAT the Official website has loads of questions http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/bmat/Test+Preparation
On a slightly unrelated note; Why do they make Irish versions of the science exams for leaving cert.?
It makes no sense. Is there a Physics textbook out there as Gaelige? Are there even Irish words for every element on the periodic table? Who would use gaelige in a science lab anyway? Nobody would understand you outside the country (nor inside the country either) and university lecturers don’t teach science in Irish anyway. Why give extra irish bonus points for something that would disadvantage anyone who applied it after school?
Also for those of you who are going to sit a science exam in Irish, Do you have to learn it in english and then again in irish or the other way around??
by Cellena Cm
September 6, 2010 in Study
Since we started back at school, it seems all of the language teachers have been focusing on preparing us for our oral exams. I’m sure they see this as a nice, easy little bit of work to get us settled back in to school but seriously – it is just traumatic for us. Tomorrow, I start Japanese classes again, and inevitably, there will be oral work. If any 4th or 5th years are reading this – I WARN YOU! DO NOT TAKE 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGES PLUS IRISH UNLESS YOU HAVE A MAGNIFICENTLY WIRED BRAIN!
Right. Enough with the pessimism. While last year, I found it entirely amusing that I would wind up speaking Japanese in the middle of Irish class, this year, I’m thinking that such antics would probably cause a slight problem. Aside from that, I seem to aquire most marvellous Irish skills while attempting to do german oral work… Is anyone else having this problem?
I’ll close this with a bit of advice (shamlessly stolen from my german teacher). If you wish to succeed in your oral exam, a good idea would be to hunt down a native speaker of whichever language you are doing (german, french, spanish…) and seduce them.
Use them.
Exploit their fluency.
Bribe them if you must.
Good luck =P
-Hey and if any german or japanese people are reading this…………. 
by misterx
June 14, 2010 in Study
I very nearly punched my supervisor the face again this week (what is it with exams that bring out the foréigean in people?). “Ohohohoho Stately Examinatory Committitorium, you wily old devil,” I’d chuckle to the GIANT ROBOTIC HARP OF EVIL that runs SEC as we swirl our cognac in large glasses beside the fire if we were friends. “Irish, old bean, it’s more joyous than drowning kittens. Say, I sent Jeeves down to Woodies to obtain a durable sack and a pallet of bricks. Fancy taking Eavan for a stroll down the canal?’”
Firt things first though, today’s paper wasn’t that bad. Good God though can someone please tell me why that existential freak was walking hundreds of miles. Had he retired from teaching? Please say he retired from teaching…but for the most parts I found the comprehensions alright. Suspiciously so because my “comprehending” goes as far as:
Step 1: Highlight the words you don’t know in the question that seem to be the big words.
Step 2: Highlight these words in the comprehension.
Step 3: Slap ANY AND ALL OF IT DOWN IN YOUR ANSWER BOOK. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR.
Oh well, I thought it went okay today on that front. But the aiste titles? Future for Ireland in the EU- fuggin impossible in English as it is. People in the Public Mouth – sadly I admit at the start I wigged out at this point forgetting what “béal” meant. Yes, this is what Irish reduces me to when it wants to. I know my place in our relationship and I don’t question it. I did this one so hopefully it’s okay. The Importance of Good News- do I look like a Joe Bleedin’ Duffy researcher???
The aural was alright- a bit better than expected but not altogether great either. The first one was so fast I thought and I ended up guessing the last 2 answers, I guess it takes you a while to get into “The Zone”… although the Irish zone sounds a lot more lame than any other kind… think re-runs of those bits of the Morbegs as Gaeilge you just couldn’t understand as a child: “Fiiiiinnnn? flabababababahfannadhagb….tá? flafnafhabfbgsdgugugugugumorbegnoisesgubagubbagubba.”
Maths this morning was fine. I’d set my alarm to get up and study Statistics 2 hours before the exam. Beautifully planned, I awoke to The Ma “bating” me out of the bed at ten to nine. It was a Christmas miracle (in June) that I made it in on time and there was frantic revision of standard deviation and vectors on the way in but overall I think it went okay. Slightly perplexed by the (b) part of the vectors question though with the diagram? Ah well.
Tomorrow (please God, let me not repeat) we never have to do Irish ever again…..aaaaaaaaand we’re back in the room freaking out about some wan up the duff a few years ago…
Go n-éirí an bóthar le gach duine!!
by valerie
June 11, 2010 in Study
(Note: Ordinary level Maths being discussed here)
Yes, pure gammy. I have done every single exam paper from 2009 back over and over again, yet somehow they manage to pull the most obscure weird little summies out of nowhere. Let me see:
Q1: I have completely forgotton how to do scientific notation or whatever. I punched in the numbers and pressed the EXP button over and over again, yet each time got a different answer. I gave up. The part (c) had me thinking for a bit, but on reviewing the question I figured it out and I’m pretty sure I got it right. Yay! At this point in the exam I liked Maths.
Q2: Oh algebra. We’ve never been friends. At least I can rest happy in the knowledge that I will never have to do it again! Question (b) bothered me a bit as it said “Solve for x and for y” and to me that implies one answer, and I got two. Who knows. Part (c) of that question I completely ignored, as the method for alegbraic division has entirely left my mind. I started to dislike Maths.
Q3: I did the (a) part, then decided I would leave it out completely and only do the required 6 questions. Still disliking Maths.
Q4: Complex numbers = not complex! Except for the (c). I can normally do those sort of questions, but the reals and the imaginaries would not sort themselves out no matter how many times I tried. At this stage I reasoned with myself: Maths isn’t so bad, right?
Q6 (we don’t do Q5, for undisclosed reasons): Again, the part (c) got me. How the hell do you get f ‘(x) of that thing? No idea. The little table thing was a cute idea. Thanks SEC. Hate you.
Q7: The first principles and product rule were ridiculously easy, but they had to make up for it in that weird-ass part (c). I answered (ii), acceleration question, and left it at that. Well and truly despising Maths at this point.
Q8: Part (v)! What was that? Three real roots? Guh?
At half 4, I laboriously treasury-tagged my graph sheets to my exam booklet (how gammy were they? About as gammy as the paper, in my opinion) and handed it up. I just have to pass Maths, as I’m not counting it, but I was kinda hoping I’d be confident enough that I had passed it. Oh well.
Irish next (yes, I just deliberately ignored Maths Paper 2.) I’m slightly worried about the essay, because the only way I’ll be able to produce a good one is if I learn it off. I’ve got Polaitaiocht, An gCulu Eacnamaiochta, Drugai agus Difhostaiocht prepared, but who knows what’ll turn up on the day. Any tips? My teacher doesn’t “do” predictions, but she’s been going pretty heavy on Politics all year, so I’m going to focus on that. Though if we’ve learned anything from English Paper 2: Predictions mean absolutely NOTHING.
Good luck good luck good luck!
Valerie
