i deserve that! (part2)

ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE paper 1 - hmmm...i cant remember much about paper 1.. really. all i know is i didnt do very well in it. there were 4-8 questions, i think, that i had troubles figuring out the answers, or fishing out the answers from the depth of my head! maybe at some points, i created my own answers using my own logic and knowledge.

oh well, teachers and friends had told me to write the answers succinctly, straight-to-the-point, according to the questions. yeah, that's the main rule when you do the IRK papers. i dont know, maybe i did cross the line a bit and write unnecessary stuff, not that i would be aware of it, coz who knows which points are necessary, and which arent, to the examiners!

ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE paper 2 - you know, i never did finish the IRK sec4 book. (fyi, there are 2 books, green - sec3 and blue - sec4). i didnt even touch the 4 caliphs part, let alone the umaiyyah and abbasiyah period. haha.. so i had to rely on my knowledge from my thick islamic history school book. the problem is, my school book covered more info than the IRK books. that was where the cofusion comes in; which info is in the IRK books and which isnt. mixed up!

needless to say, i was kind of panic on the night of the IRK exam. another minus point was that the exam was on the second day of hari raya!! so i brought my IRK book along with me on the first hari raya day. but there wasnt much privacy or time to read the book peacefully or memorize the facts. so in the end, it was only the morning of the exam that i was able to sit down and force the facts into my head, in approximately 5 hours! can you imagine memorizing 206 pages of info in 5 hours??? not that i managed to, of course. i didnt even get to re-read the 1st book too! so i only hoped that i wouldnt forget whatever i had learnt in the 1st book, hoped that my memory was still good.

anyway, suprisingly - again! - IRK paper 2 was a breeze. alhamdulillah~~ i wouldnt say it was a totally, absolutely smooth ride. but it was definitely better than paper 1. the only thing that set me back was the worry that i might have gotten a question mixed up. the question was about 'sunat-sunat aba'adh', but long after i had finished the paper, i thought, "eh! alamak! me tulis pasal sunat2 aba'adh ke hai'aat??!! oh no!"

even though i never like doing essay questions, i like getting all the points in. i like the feeling of completing the question with points and examples, in paragraph and neat writing. of course, by the end of the paper, my palms were all sweaty, hands tired. but i thought it was worth it. =)

expectation: at least, A2.
what i got: suprise, suprise! i got B3. disappointing huh?

comments: i acted as if i didnt care getting a B for IRK. many people are suprised, of course. me, top student, got B for IRK??? what had she done? written lengthy answers to show off her knowledge? hmmm... i didnt know whether my paper 2 was the cause, or paper 1. but i had thought that i did well in paper 2. i hope you're not calling me 'over-confident' ok? coz i am NEVER over-confident. over-confidence scares me, so sometimes i even try not to be confident!

so, my advice for those who want to take IRK is, READ THE IRK BOOKS NOW! not on the night before the exam! that would be...SUICIDAL! haha. plus, take note of the definitions and procedures of things, eg. fardhu kifayah, fardhu ain, manasik haji..all the rukuns and sunats, syarats etc etc..better memorize them..what is takwa? what is al-sirat?..apakah perbezaan solat jumaat dgn solat lima waktu?...apakah sumbangan umar semasa beliau menjadi khalifah?..apakah denda2 yang dikenakan bg kesalahan2 yang dibuat semasa haji?..riwayat hidup harun al-rasyid...all these, you must know and memorize, or at least, understand.. it's not that difficult! in fact, you CAN score A1 for IRK easily, provided if you read the books and understand and remember the facts. some of the facts are written in point forms..so it's easier..

what else? hmmm...oh! stick to the question. =) dont get far-fetched or anything. and please write neatly and clearly. and not-too-long paragraphs!

yep. i guess that's all.

oh! and maybe you'd like to test yourself. ask a friend to help you: he/she ask you questions, and you answer; it'll be like a quiz. that was what i did. plus, you can also get a group of friends to discuss the subject. do practice sheets n mock exam papers.

yeah...so if you have other questions or doubts, just email me ok? i'll try my best to help you. =)

*hmm..im still not ok with my IRK result. i strongly believe i can do better. so, im thinking of re-taking it. but i still havent discussed with my parents. i bet they wont encourage me to re-take the subject. waste of time and energy, the might call it. hmm..if im not allowed to re-take, i can do nothing but accept my current result. i think i can live with it..sigh~*