I don’t think anyone really anticipates the amount of work that is involved in home economics when they first choose it in 5th Year. From writing all the food assignments to memorising endless amounts of tables and information, it is a lot to take on. I think, however, that with the right attitude and study tactics, it’s a very doable subject that anyone can succeed in.
Guide
How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert Home Ec
By Eimear Dinneen - 9 minute readEimear got a H1 in her Leaving Certificate Home Ec and in this guide, she shares her advice on succeeding in this subject.
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Introduction
Studying this subject
Make the information work for you
Although the home ec textbooks are big and heavy, a lot of the information is pretty irrelevant to the exam. Also, for most topics, an endless amount of information is given so that you can choose and select the specific information you would prefer or that you find easiest to learn (the examiners rarely ask for multiples).
For example, there are many forms of saving schemes taught in the course but in the exam, it has never asked for more than one to be discussed. So, you learn the one which is easiest for you instead of memorising all of them and risking mixing them up or forgetting vital pieces of information. This goes for many topics on the home ec course, such as:
Mortgages
Food poisoning bacteria
Methods of extensive processing
Local authority schemes
Top tip
My advice is to familiarise yourself with the test papers and get an idea of what and how much the examiners generally look for.
Remembering what you learn
There’s an incredible amount to be learned off for home ec but life can be made easier by using rhymes, associations and so on to remember the tricky bits such as vitamins, RDAs, etc. For example, when trying to learn off the sources, properties and functions of vitamin E, I used associations. I said that vitamin E (‘ee’ sound) can be found in seeds (‘ee’ sound) and margarine (‘ee’ sound) and that its function is to prevent eye disease in premature babies (eye = 'e' = vitamin E). It may seem complicated but just use whatever works for you and try to make it fun.
If you’re learning steps, another method would be to come up with a little story like this one that I used to remember the process of making flour:
Colm (cleaning)
Bought (break-rolling)
Seán (sieving)
Ripe (rolling)
Apples (additives)
Top tip
You don’t need to know all of the information; you can pick and choose what suits you best. Even for the process of flour above, you needn’t remember every step as the marking scheme only requires 5 (there are 8 steps). Familiarise yourself with things like this to discard useless information in your head and make room for more essential pieces of information.
Study methods
Everyone has a different way of studying that suits them best, whether it’s drawing out a mind map, making flash cards or just plain reading. For me, especially in home ec, I think that writing things out is the way to go. It may seem daunting but doing out questions from exam papers ensures that you can fully answer that sort of question if it comes up in the future.
The examiners often recycle questions so the more of the test papers you can answer, the better chance you have of answering the questions in your exam. Here are some study techniques you can try:
Write it out
Writing information out on a sheet of paper can be very helpful because it engrains the information in your mind. For example, when learning the process of making cheese, I wrote it out, highlighted the important words, read over it and then wrote it out again without looking at the book to see if I had remembered it (and I had because I remembered writing it out).
Use resources available to you
Use test papers, marking schemes and Studyclix. In the days running up to the home ec exam, I focused almost solely on the test papers. I looked at each question and marked every one that I didn’t think I could answer if it came up in the exam. Then, for each question, I found the answer and ensured that I could answer that question if something similar came up for my exam. It proved extremely helpful.
Stay in 'home ec' mode
Stay in ‘home ec mode’ even when you’re not studying. Remember, home ec is about daily life and things around the house, etc. Therefore, when you see things around you, make yourself recite all you know about them to reinforce the information in your mind. For example, if you’re in your kitchen and you see an orange, say out loud to yourself, “Oranges are a good source of vitamin C, they help the absorption of calcium and prevent scurvy”. You’d be amazed at how things like that can help you remember all of the information.
Keep things short
You’ll have a hard time remembering long sentences so pick out keywords, make bullet points of the essentials and discard the lengthy and pointless extra information.
Answering questions
It can be hard to know how to lay out your answers to optimise your marks. Here's some advice:
Section A
Section A is the short questions. It’s really important that you write as much as possible and spew out all the information you know. If 2 lines are provided, they are provided for a reason and you must fill them in. That extra bit of information you give could award you an extra mark and be the difference between a whole grade.
Section B
Section B, Question 1 can be tricky and everyone has different methods for answering it. I used to just write out headings with information underneath but it proved lengthy and time-consuming. Then, I tried drawing out a table which was truly a time-saver and for me, the best format to do this question. It’s also important to take note of what the question is actually asking. Generally, it’s ‘comment’ and ‘elaborate’. I recommend highlighting this so you know exactly what you must do (see example below).
Example from 2013, Section B, Question 1 (a)
In relation to the information provided in the chart, comment and elaborate on the percentage of respondents consuming the recommended number of daily servings from each shelf of the Food Pyramid (24 marks).
Answer
Answer breakdown
To answer the question, you must refer to the figures in the table and suggest a reason for the figures. I used four rows in my answer: 4 points @ 6 marks each = 24 marks.
As you can see, my answer is clear and concise. The examiner will love to see something that’s easy to read and not too long-winded. This method saves buckets of time so I really recommend it.
Top tip
With regard to other questions, it is important that you take note of how many marks are going for each question as you don’t want to come up short and lose marks or write too much and waste time, e.g. 16 marks = 4 points of info.
How to avoid common mistakes
Be able to distinguish between different terms
Lots of students, myself included, have fallen victim to interpreting questions incorrectly. Unfortunately, home economics has several terms that seem similar but are
different. For example, a common question that comes up is to give details of a food which has undergone extensive processing, has had its shelf life prolonged or has added value. I used to believe that these were all the same thing and that I could use cheese for all of them. I was wrong. You must know the difference and have an answer prepared for each.Read questions correctly
This is a very common mistake and it's important that you read the question thoroughly and ensure you know what you’re being asked. I would advise you to know the definitions of commonly used terms. If you’re asked to ‘list’, then you don’t need to go into detail, merely list out the information needed. If you are asked to ‘discuss’, however, then you must elaborate and give detail.
Read all of the question
I used to often rush into a question that I thought looked doable without reading it fully. Then, I realised that I couldn’t answer the last part, thus losing time and marks. It’s essential that you read all parts of the question.
Be aware of timing
I know this seems basic but you will be caught for time in the home ec exam so it’s crucial that you know your timing. What I did was write the time that I knew I had to be done Section A, Section B and Section C on my hand before the exam. The exam started at 2 p.m. (and probably will for you too) so I knew I had to finish Section A at 2:30 at the latest, finish Section B Q.1 at 3:05 and finish Section B completely by 3:50 to give myself enough time for the elective, Section C. This way, I didn’t spend too much time on one question and lose out on another.
The food assignment journal
The journal is worth 20% of your overall mark and is very important so it’s worth the effort. The good thing about it is that it’s not terribly difficult and is mainly basic research and analysis (the main bother is the time consumption). My advice would be to put in the effort in 5th year so that you’re not obsessing and stressing over it in 6th year when you have more important things to focus on.
Best of luck! You'll be great.
By Eimear Dinneen
Having spent previous years contributing to content creation, sales and communications, Eimear now manages the customer support and communication teams. Her enthusiasm for culture, travel and languages means she's lived in France, Germany and Scotland to date, and her favourite thing to do is try new food.