Any study tips for Preliminary HSC? (1 Viewer)

secretgirl_1001

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Hi guys,

Being in yr 11 is so daunting. Already the pressure and workload is getting to me. I was just wondering if any of you guys have any study tips you would like to share, so that people like me can use them to not fail this year.

Thanks.
 

BienvenueAMusA

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don't burn out
just gotta get used to it bro
listen in class so you understand content + homework will be easier as a result
sleep early otherwise you'll be tired
 

sadhipsterllama

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Put your mental health first above all else - as mentioned earlier, don't burn out, look after yourself.
 

Lumenoria

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Best tip I have for you, is to NOT get too fraught if you receive a mark that is less than ideal - I know it's notoriously difficult (I was in this position so many times in year 11), but you're only just wasting energy because it's NOT going to contribute to anything in the long term anyway. What will contribute however, is developing the habit of seeking out your errors and working on them. That will carry you into Year 12 - it sure did for me.

In Year 11, my ranks were all OVER the place (1st, 3rd, 5th, 30th, 49th, 93rd), but now I'm ranked in the top 3 across the board. In English, I stuffed up so many assessments that I thought I wasn't going to make the cut off for Advanced (only top 30 get in for HSC English Advanced course in my school, rest get dropped to Standard) - my best mark throughout the year was a fucking 80 lol. First year 12 assessment for English, I handed in 5 creative drafts to my teacher so that it was the best it could possibly get, and initiated the drafting process 5 weeks prior to the date of assessment. I then studied my ass off, writing a shit ton of creatives according to a million possible stimuli under timed conditions. I did about 6 past HSC papers for Discovery short answers. Come date of exam, I legit fucked up my short answers - or so I thought. I literally was so sure I didn't address one of the short answer questions properly that the max I would get for that section would be 11/15. I was so worried because I didn't want to rank so low in HSC again, as had been the case in prelims. In the end, I got 90 overall, ranking 2nd in my cohort - all my stress was for nothing.

In mathematics, I ranked 93rd in prelim on a mark of 49 and I got 95 in my first year 12 exam, placing me at 3rd. This was definitely due to keeping up with exercises in class though. I only expended my efforts into questions that I found difficult at home, nothing more than that. Which brings me to my next point, don't revise shit you know you're good at - in fact, do the opposite. Yes, your stronger subjects are generally subjects you like, but it won't help you if you neglect your weaknesses.

For my humanities subjects as of the start of HSC (it could be applicable to you), is writing essays under timed conditions to random syllabus dot points. I find that always helps me retain information and examine my genuine understanding of the concept. Don't just memorise an essay based on a question you've ascertained on pure speculation and expect to regurgitate it fully in the exam room - make sure you have enough in your brain to ditch your prepared response if a curveball is thrown at you. In that situation, even if your prepared response is 150% quality, it's useless if it doesn't properly address the question at hand. It sucks, sure, but that is just reality. And ensuring that you're intellectually ready for any possibility will help reduce your stress in the long term. I got 25/25 in my legal essay for both prelims and my first HSC assessment by doing so. Wrote out about 10 essay plans for all the potential questions that could be asked.

By no means do you have to live in the library or your desk to do well, you will probably go insane. I know my study regimen may sound like a lot, but mind you, I received all my 85+ marks in my first HSC assessments working 24 hours per week - which I have since brought down to 15. It's really just good time management. Don't overdo yourself. I took prelims more seriously than need be, and in hindsight, it was just a waste of energy. Bad marks don't make or break you, it's really all up to you and your attitude!! Good luck Xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

supR

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I believe it is against the BoS rules to ask for these papers as they are copyrighted.

https://thsconline.github.io/s/yr12/ is a resource run by a moderator on BoS that has plenty of past papers that you are able to use.
 

2loseyourmind4

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Being in yr 11 is so daunting.
I know how you feel - but just remember that its just Prelim and its not the end of the world. Here are some tips I learnt throughout Prelim

1. ASK QUESTIONS! either during class or after class, emails, anything! make sure you fully understand the content before you move on with content

2. Get your study notes updated regularly! dont wait the week before exams to do your notes. allocate an hour every 2 days or so just to update your notes so when exams come, you can just do study with past papers and use your notes as consolidation

3. this point comes off point 2, past papers are your best friend - alittle hard to find cause of copyright lately, but trust me, theyre better then just memorising content over and over, it will expose you to a range of things they can ask, while assessing your knowledge at the same time

4. take breaks. This is the biggest one. You must relax, or you'll burn out and feel shitty for longer and itll just become a negative cycle

5. (this depends on the subjects you do) But, know your syllabus, if you do business studies - its better to memorise your syllabus then to memorise your notes, this will help HEAPS in exams, kids tend to write the wrong content for questions cause they dont know the syllabus. A friend of mine ignored this and lost so many marks in her preliminary exams because she wrote the wrong content under some questiosn.


If you have ANY questions, PM me! or if you just want to talk or vent :) If you need any notes/past papers or resources, hit me up and ill see what I can get you :D
 

Munti

92.25 ATAR! hmu for tutoring :) im cheap
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Best tip I have for you, is to NOT get too fraught if you receive a mark that is less than ideal - I know it's notoriously difficult (I was in this position so many times in year 11), but you're only just wasting energy because it's NOT going to contribute to anything in the long term anyway. What will contribute however, is developing the habit of seeking out your errors and working on them. That will carry you into Year 12 - it sure did for me.

In Year 11, my ranks were all OVER the place (1st, 3rd, 5th, 30th, 49th, 93rd), but now I'm ranked in the top 3 across the board. In English, I stuffed up so many assessments that I thought I wasn't going to make the cut off for Advanced (only top 30 get in for HSC English Advanced course in my school, rest get dropped to Standard) - my best mark throughout the year was a fucking 80 lol. First year 12 assessment for English, I handed in 5 creative drafts to my teacher so that it was the best it could possibly get, and initiated the drafting process 5 weeks prior to the date of assessment. I then studied my ass off, writing a shit ton of creatives according to a million possible stimuli under timed conditions. I did about 6 past HSC papers for Discovery short answers. Come date of exam, I legit fucked up my short answers - or so I thought. I literally was so sure I didn't address one of the short answer questions properly that the max I would get for that section would be 11/15. I was so worried because I didn't want to rank so low in HSC again, as had been the case in prelims. In the end, I got 90 overall, ranking 2nd in my cohort - all my stress was for nothing.

In mathematics, I ranked 93rd in prelim on a mark of 49 and I got 95 in my first year 12 exam, placing me at 3rd. This was definitely due to keeping up with exercises in class though. I only expended my efforts into questions that I found difficult at home, nothing more than that. Which brings me to my next point, don't revise shit you know you're good at - in fact, do the opposite. Yes, your stronger subjects are generally subjects you like, but it won't help you if you neglect your weaknesses.

For my humanities subjects as of the start of HSC (it could be applicable to you), is writing essays under timed conditions to random syllabus dot points. I find that always helps me retain information and examine my genuine understanding of the concept. Don't just memorise an essay based on a question you've ascertained on pure speculation and expect to regurgitate it fully in the exam room - make sure you have enough in your brain to ditch your prepared response if a curveball is thrown at you. In that situation, even if your prepared response is 150% quality, it's useless if it doesn't properly address the question at hand. It sucks, sure, but that is just reality. And ensuring that you're intellectually ready for any possibility will help reduce your stress in the long term. I got 25/25 in my legal essay for both prelims and my first HSC assessment by doing so. Wrote out about 10 essay plans for all the potential questions that could be asked.

By no means do you have to live in the library or your desk to do well, you will probably go insane. I know my study regimen may sound like a lot, but mind you, I received all my 85+ marks in my first HSC assessments working 24 hours per week - which I have since brought down to 15. It's really just good time management. Don't overdo yourself. I took prelims more seriously than need be, and in hindsight, it was just a waste of energy. Bad marks don't make or break you, it's really all up to you and your attitude!! Good luck Xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This was really helpful! Thanks!
 

dontbeasavage

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Messages
25
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100 % go to the library and study on the weekend (depends on your schedule) on top of your weekly study. Its helps you catch up with your notes and to have a clear mindset as well.
 

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