Top 5 Tips
1. Make sure to practise your basic skills in geometry, co-ordinate geometry, statistics and so on. These skills will be needed in many different contexts. You should know them well.
2. Be prepared for the unfamiliar. Section B in particular involves problem solving skills, and will be challenging. Don’t give up if a problem is not working out.
3. Read each question carefully before starting. The first step might involve stating a correct formula, drawing a graph or completing a table. Make sure that the axes and points on graphs are clearly labelled. Use a pencil for graphs, diagrams and constructions, so that you can easily rub them out if necessary.
4. Double check what the question has asked for. Give your answer to the correct number of decimal places or in correct form, and in simplest form if relevant.
5. Show all your work clearly, and make your final answer clear. You will lose marks if you haven’t shown all the necessary work, or if the examiner cannot read or make sense of what you have written.
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About the Author
John Scannell
John Scannell has taught Leaving Certificate Higher Level Mathematics in Presentation Brothers College, Cork since 1990. John graduated from University College Cork with a B.A. in Mathematics and Irish and a Higher Diploma in Education. He was an experienced assistant examiner for State Examinations Commission of Junior and Leaving Certificate Mathematics for 10 years. John is a member of the Cork branch of the Irish Mathematics Teachers Association (IMTA).
