Patrick Lee is a Spanish teacher at the Dublin Academy of Education. He has shared some great exam tips and notes to download for the Leaving Cert Spanish exam.
The Leaving Certificate Higher Level Spanish exam is worth 400 marks. The oral exam which took place during Easter holidays accounts for 100 of those marks. Therefore, students already have 25% of the exam completed before sitting the paper in June.
The remaining 300 marks are divided in two exams on Tuesday, 16 June:
- Written Exam – 220 marks (55%)
- Listening Exam – 80 marks (20%)
Resources to download:
- Exam Timings and Breakdown
- Useful Diary Entry and Note Expressions
- Weather Vocabulary — LC Spanish Listening
Here are 5 essential tips to help students maximise their marks:
- Time management - As a general guide, allow around 30 minutes for the 50-mark questions, 20 minutes for the 30-mark question and 15 minutes for the 20-mark questions. This will give you 10 minutes left over to carefully double-check your answers.
- Reading Comprehensions - Always read the title, look at the photo and read the questions before reading the text. The questions provide crucial information about the text and reading them before reading the text will save you time in the exam.
- Synonyms - There will be a total of 13 synonym questions on the paper, accounting for 32 marks and 8% of Higher Level Spanish. It is crucial that students know how to answer the synonym question. Study the word(s) provided by the examiner closely in order to give yourself the best chance of finding the correct answer in the text.
- Listening Exam - Be prepared for the weather. Question 6 every year on the listening exam is a weather forecast. Practice past listening exams and know the different types of weather that appear on the exam.
- Diary Entry/ Note - The last question on the exam gives students the choice between writing a Diary Entry or a Note. Most students will be prepared for both questions and will decide on the day which to answer. Skip a line between each point to make it clear to the examiner that you have answered at least 4 of the 5 points. Each point is marked individually so this is essential to ensure good marks on this question.
Patrick Lee is a Spanish teacher at The Dublin Academy of Education. As a passionate and experienced teacher, Patrick has a deep understanding of the curriculum and the exam structure. Having worked with the State Examinations Commission, he brings invaluable insight to students preparing for exams.
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