There's just a week left before the Leaving and Junior Cert begin. Irish Times helpline counsellor Vivian Cassells suggests that you put this time to good use by converting your revision notes into even shorter form. "Organise your notes, preferably in a ring binder, then during this week you should extract material for flash cards which you will use on the day before the exam," he says. "These cards should contain headings or prompts that will help you recall the material in greater detail. On any one card, you should have five or six points."

This is not a time for working on new material. Even if you hear rumours that it is a "dead cert" that a particular question will come up, don't let it divert you from your plan. "It's not a race. There is no such thing as a certainty," cautions Cassells, "and it's quite dangerous to focus only on what you think will come up." The higher-level Leaving Cert history exam last year was a case in point, he adds. There was an outcry over the exam, with many students protesting that it was unfair. But the chief examiner's report states that the reason was not that the exam was unfair but that students had focussed too narrowly on particular aspects of the course.

Cassells says students should use the SQ3R approach to study - survey, question, read, recall and review. This method is outlined by the National Centre for Guidance Counsellors. Surveying should include browsing through the material, noting headings, sub-headings, illustrations, graphs, tables etc. The aim is to get an overall feel for the material.

Headings can then be turned into questions. Read the text, taking notes and highlighting relevant sections. Then once a section is read, close the book or set of notes and jot down the main points. A review at the end of the study session consolidates learning as well as giving you that "feel good" factor. After you have studied, you need to pause, says Cassells, and test what you can recall. We forget 42 per cent of what we learn within 20 minutes of hearing it, he says. One of the best tests of recall is take a question from a past paper and model an answer based on the time allocated in the exam. If you don't have a set of past papers, try the Department of Education's ScoilNet website. Many students will not attend school for the week before the exams. This is a time parents should be wary of requests for friends to come and "help study".

Cassells says that working in a study group is fine if it involves a group of like-minded students working at roughly the same level. Problems can arise when the group includes a "freeloader" who acts as a parasite, feeding off the work done by others, and spoiling the whole rhythm of the group's work. Equally, Cassells says that a group of poorly prepared students may simply end up "swapping mutual ignorances" for the week.

Students may decide to study in groups because they are ill-equipped to study alone. "Put together a plan for the week," advises Cassells, "get up at a certain time each day, study for allotted periods and make sure you include some exercise and fresh air."

As well as studying and condensing material, he suggests students put some time aside to look at the format of the exam papers. Decide how much time you can allocate to each question. Write it down so you can consult your notes the night before.

Use this week to the best of your ability. That means cutting down on distractions. Once a study session has begun, do not answer the phone, make sure you have all the relevant equipment (books, notes, calculator etc) at hand, and turn off the music.

One of the best explanations as to the role of music in study can be found in UCD psychologist Dr Aidan Moran's book, Managing Your Own Learning at University: "To put it simply, it seems that background music does not affect what goes into people's minds (especially if they can control the volume), but it does affect the conditions under which it comes out of the mind best. In other words, background music is more likely to affect memory than concentration, because examinations are done in silence."

The NCGE advises students to study in a similar atmosphere to that in which exams are held.

So, do use this week to study and also to relax, socialise, exercise and play your favourite music - just keep those activities separate. Good luck.