Help me Please (1 Viewer)

[sickb]

So far in the year i have been doing pretty bad and this is hsc year. so i was wondering whether if i improve will i be be able to improve my ATAR. My school is around 40 for rank. I am getting late 80s for general maths coming third in grade, getting 75 for biology overall, getting 53 for english overall*, getting 70 for IPT overall, getting 68 for legal studies overall. i received an ATAR estimate of 70.65 from my careers advisor is it possible for me to get over 80 or not?

*- the reason i have done bad for english is my teacher has been one of the worst ever. we have to hand in essays before our assessment tasks called feedforwards which they give feedback on and my teacher said it was very good and gave me a 12/15 and when i did the actual assessment she marked my essay and said she couldnt read my handwriting at all so she didnt read my essay and just gave me a 8/15. then for midyears the teacher said its distinctively visual so you dont need any quotes just put in visual techniques and you will get band six, so i followed her advice and got a 10/20 and the marker wrote you had no textual evidence to support your visual techniques so thats why i was marked down.
i am thankful for any help possible i am really worried because i want to do law and i reckon i could improve for all my subjects quite a bit now that i have a new english teacher who can actually teach.
thanks

 

[boredofstudiesuser1]

Initially, to figure this out, consider that you've probably only done 30% of your total HSC (if your trials are worth 40%) - and considering that the total assessment mark is only 50%. so you have 70% left. If you average out the marks you've gotten for the 30% and assuming you got 100% for the 70. That would probably show you the highest ATAR which is possible, which I'd assume could come to something at 80 or above (haven't done it myself). I mean, since your school is #40, I'd say that it would be higher because we haven't considered school scaling (so also remember to see your marks in light of a ranked 40 school). I would say apart from English (which you've given a reason for) and maybe the possibility of pushing legal a bit higher, your marks aren't THAT bad.

About the English teacher, even if your new one is good, take all the feedback you get with a grain of salt. If you know they're marking it, ok, but even then usually teachers that give bad advice in feedback will end up changing they're mind in an exam setting (first-hand experience). Ultimately, the biggest portion of your HSC will be markers abiding by the guidelines most past students who have gotten band 6s have used.
So try collect exam past papers (of the module) and look at what they did. Did they use textual analysis in a Distinctively Visual essay? etc. Any question for your teacher, consult sample responses. Alternatively you could ask friends for what their teacher said about it.

Finally, I'm not sure what uni you want to go to, but there are a wide range of pathways to get there (you can look beyond the degree you've seen). Most universities offer pathways where you get into a degree (any degree), show interest in law, they let you do some law units and then depending on how you go, give you admission.

 

[sickb]

thanks for the speedy reply it means a lot
i will use your feedback and i think i can push my marks up but i think english is my only worry but i have looked at past responses and i have written my own too and try to see where i could improve
thanks again