Subject Selection for Year 11 (1 Viewer)

[wangg]

Hi guys! I'm currently in year 10 and subject selection is going to happen in about 4 or 5 months! Students were told to have a general idea about what subjects they want to do so they're not under a lot of stress when the time actually comes, so I'm really getting the ball rolling early.
So far I have these few subjects in mind:

- advanced english
- extension english
- 3U maths
- chemistry
- physics
- legal studies / economics
- modern history

I have a few questions regarding all these subjects and everything, so guys please bear with me!
- With the different units of maths, its quite easy to see how each unit gets harder and harder than the one below it but how would you differentiate something like Extension 2 English from Extension 1?
- Would you guys recommend legal studies or economics? I know economics does scale better, but I've it from both sides that one is easier than the other so I'm not sure which to do. I quite like both of them.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to sacrifice 2 units for a subject I have no interest in for a school with teaching styles for other subjects that I plan to do/enjoy - in terms of compulsory agriculture for schools like Hurlstone Agricultural High School?

 

[happyhunter]

IMO its depends on how much you like english. Are you willing to do the extra work in Extension 2 along with your other subjects?
I quite enjoy both legal and economics but i feel economics is more interesting. Try reading over the syllabus and see what you may enjoy more. You've got a while until you have to choose so have a long think about it. Good luck!

Oh yea with the schools, don't worry about it. You shouldn't do subjects you hate. If you are having a good time at your current school then stay.

 

[dangerouss]

OP, legal studies in my opinion is great if you like concepts in relation to the law. The extended response questions will require you to remember laws and cases whereas, you will not experience such issues if you will - in economics which is a subject that requires depth of knowledge. I cannot shed much light on English, but I have heard that extension 1 English is very time consuming for those candidates that do not hold great interest in literature. You still have time to think about your choices and don't worry: you can still change subjects after you have chosen them. Good luck and all the best



HSC '15- ATAR Goal: 90+

 

[strawberrye]

With the different units of maths, its quite easy to see how each unit gets harder and harder than the one below it but how would you differentiate something like Extension 2 English from Extension 1?
Extension 2 English has a major work while Extension 1 does not have a major work, essentially what this means is that for extension 2 English you decide on the topic of research and you basically compose an extended piece of work and have three terms to do it in. For extension one English, your school will basically select a module to do, and basically you focus on that one module for the entire year as opposed to the four different topics you encounter for your Advanced/Standard English courses. To understand more about how the course structures are different for the English extension courses, go on board of studies and look through the English syllabuses-you will gain a much better idea of the difference in content and expectations.

Would you guys recommend legal studies or economics?
Considering you seem to be interested in both subjects, choose the one you think will have the most relevance to the university degree/career path you wish to pursue. I think what will assist you to make a more informed decision is to read through the syllabus for both subjects as well as grabbing a preliminary textbook for both subjects and have a skim through the headings and information-you might get a much more solid idea of whether you will enjoy the course or not, furthermore, perhaps consider your school teachers as well, sometimes having excellent, experienced and dedicated subject teachers can make a significant difference to your learning experience, even in subjects you do enjoy. Don't choose a subject because only for higher scaling.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to sacrifice 2 units for a subject I have no interest in for a school with teaching styles for other subjects that I plan to do/enjoy?
I don't think so-2 units is pretty significant amount of time, and you are better off devoting that amount of time into acing subjects you actually enjoy and care about. Talk to your teachers and school to see whether they can make an exception, if not, consult with your parents before you make any further decisions.

Hope this helps a bit, all my best wishes for you to ace your studies this year

 

[simplyinsanity]

Since you said you enjoyed commerce, I would recommend economics over legal studies.

And extension 2 is only advisable if you have the creativity and wish to write a lengthy story/essay. You also need to have good time management so that you are not rushing to finish your major work in the last few weeks (like someone in my school tried to do, unsuccessfully).

Also, don't worry about any scaling issues a partial selective cohort may have. As long as you choose subjects that you enjoy and perform well ie near the top of the cohort, you'll be fine.

 

[wangg]

I'm interested in doing either law or PR when I finish high school, so I guess legal studies does sound like the best option for me! Thanks guys who suggested to have a quick flick through a textbook or go search up the syllabus, that really did draw the line between which subject appealed to me more, in turn bringing my interest up in that subject.

As for the Extension Englishes, if I'm understanding this right, what differentiates between that and advanced/standard is that it is more in depth and that it covers one topic for the whole year as opposed to separate topics throughout the year. Understood! I think I'll be going for the two extensions then, as if I'm focusing on one topic for the entire time, surely the examination or assessment at the end will have my work submitted pack a lot more beef than if I were to go through fewer topics briefly. Could you guys please point out the skills I would need for extension English in senior years as my teachers generally do say I'm good at writing, but its never too early to start improving especially because I've started a whole tutoring regime to ready up and grip senior concepts earlier.

As for the decision whether to stay or go back to the school I came from, it does come down to the fact that I don't really enjoy doing agriculture at all as a subject, as doing year 9 agriculture for me was hell enough! Would it be the best decision to stay in the partially selective school I'm at now and just put in maximum effort so I'm out of that percentile where I would otherwise be scaled down by my cohort?

Thank all of you above a lot for your input, its really shed some light on my senior years and given me a few ideas to what I want to do and how to get there!

 

[rumbleroar]

With EE2 and EE1, they're completely different. EA is also different to EE1 and EE2. A general summary of the aforementioned subjects:

EA: to summarise, it's actually just literature studies haha it depends what texts and modules you do, but some (i.e. mod A) are very rich and enlightening (haha to people doing Frankenrunner), but you have some pretty dud modules (i.e. AoS). You have 4 different paradigms/modules to approach analysing/viewing your text throughout the year. Generally, 1 term per module.

EE1: focuses a lot more on context of the world, and how literature emerges from our world. Has very strong relationships with our context and works that emerge from certain movements, i.e. postcolonialism. It's more conceptual, and explores ideas and philosophies more thoroughly, whereas EA is quite superficial in that sense (it doesn't explore ideas and context in the depth EE1 does it)

EE2: a major work of your chosen literary medium (i.e. suite of poetry, film, short story, critical essay, etc.). You can choose whatever you want to write about, and it is often regarded as a challenging but rewarding experience. There's no HSC exams for EE2, just hand in a major and its done! yay!

I don't do legal studies or economics, but I don't think you should allow scaling to be a factor of your subject selection. I'm a firm opposer of choosing subjects for scaling. I prefer to pick my subjects on the basis of personal passion, etc. You're only in year 10, and it's great you've given considerable thought about what subjects you want to do but let the rest of the year unfold to see where your true passions lie in regards to legal/eco.

Personally, I wouldn't sacrifice doing two units on subjects I have no passion for. It's a waste of time and energy. What's the point of trying to perfect two units you abhor? It really just accumulates into misery lol

 

[strawberrye]

I'm interested in doing either law or PR when I finish high school, so I guess legal studies does sound like the best option for me! Thanks guys who suggested to have a quick flick through a textbook or go search up the syllabus, that really did draw the line between which subject appealed to me more, in turn bringing my interest up in that subject.

As for the Extension Englishes, if I'm understanding this right, what differentiates between that and advanced/standard is that it is more in depth and that it covers one topic for the whole year as opposed to separate topics throughout the year. Understood! I think I'll be going for the two extensions then, as if I'm focusing on one topic for the entire time, surely the examination or assessment at the end will have my work submitted pack a lot more beef than if I were to go through fewer topics briefly. Could you guys please point out the skills I would need for extension English in senior years as my teachers generally do say I'm good at writing, but its never too early to start improving especially because I've started a whole tutoring regime to ready up and grip senior concepts earlier.

As for the decision whether to stay or go back to the school I came from, it does come down to the fact that I don't really enjoy doing agriculture at all as a subject, as doing year 9 agriculture for me was hell enough! Would it be the best decision to stay in the partially selective school I'm at now and just put in maximum effort so I'm out of that percentile where I would otherwise be scaled down by my cohort?

Thank all of you above a lot for your input, its really shed some light on my senior years and given me a few ideas to what I want to do and how to get there!

One thing you need to keep in mind is that when you do the extension English course, you will need to do the Advanced English course as well.

MY TOP FIVE TIPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE A BAND 6 IN ENGLISH EXTENSION ONE:

1)put in consistent effort throughout your course-and for the HSC course, put in 10 times the effort you have put for your preliminary-because it is going to be more demanding-to achieve this goal, you must study ahead, stay motivated, self learn-reread your text at least 3 times-understand them, do not give up writing practice essays and creative and getting a harsh marker to give you comments on how to improve

2)make your own notes, read extensively-do not just read extra texts because they are your related, read beyond the requirements-i.e. read and view a range of possible related texts-this will help you grasp the module concept as well as give you ideas for your creative-you should also make the effort to go to the state library or another resource centre-and look up journal articles, study guides etc-to help you develop a unique understanding of the module, but don't copy other people's works

3)ask teachers for resources, tips and any part of the module or requirement you don't understand-use them, they are your friend but more importantly, because English is quite subjective, they will be the ones marking your work-so build a strong relationship with them

4)Don't prepare a generic essay and memorise ONLY quotes and technique-this will not get you anywhere for English extension one-in exam, answer the question and nothing but the question-deconstruct your syllabus/rubric that your school give you to make sure you are answering its criteria.

5)Develop a sincere passion for the subject-perhaps you have already, but if you haven't, try to, because passion combined with continuous hard work will be what will get you a band 6-all the best of luck-any more questions, welcome to pm me

just on a side note, don't get too reliant on your teacher if they are busy, in English extension one-you must take more responsibility for your own learning-you must develop the initiative to do extra work/readings-and it is mostly self-learning-so you must develop more self-discipline compared to other subjects

Hope this helps a bit

 

[wangg]

You're like the most amazing at doing what you do, ever! Haha, so thorough, intuitive and well-explained!
You've helped me a LOT with that response in terms of preparing for senior English, thanks!
Is it okay if I PM you in future if I ever have any more questions or things I need help with in this area?

 

[strawberrye]

You're like the most amazing at doing what you do, ever! Haha, so thorough, intuitive and well-explained!
You've helped me a LOT with that response in terms of preparing for senior English, thanks!
Is it okay if I PM you in future if I ever have any more questions or things I need help with in this area?

Thanks for the praise-I am truly humbled by your comments. Feel free to PM in the future if you have any more questions, however, please do understand once my university degree starts, I will get a bit busy so I may not be able to reply as promptly as you wish, but I will try my best to reply as soon as possible. The advice I have given you on senior English is actually an extract from a senior study guide I have complied with contribution from other BOSers, feel free to check it out-you will still find some of the study tips real handy for year 10
http://community.boredofstudies.org...how-excel-senior-year-studies-yr-11-12-a.html
All my best wishes for you to ace your studies this year

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Hi guys! I'm currently in year 10 and subject selection is going to happen in about 4 or 5 months! Students were told to have a general idea about what subjects they want to do so they're not under a lot of stress when the time actually comes, so I'm really getting the ball rolling early.
So far I have these few subjects in mind:

- advanced english
- extension english
- 3U maths
- chemistry
- physics
- legal studies / economics
- modern history

I have a few questions regarding all these subjects and everything, so guys please bear with me!
- With the different units of maths, its quite easy to see how each unit gets harder and harder than the one below it but how would you differentiate something like Extension 2 English from Extension 1?
- Would you guys recommend legal studies or economics? I know economics does scale better, but I've it from both sides that one is easier than the other so I'm not sure which to do. I quite like both of them.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to sacrifice 2 units for a subject I have no interest in for a school with teaching styles for other subjects that I plan to do/enjoy - in terms of compulsory agriculture for schools like Hurlstone Agricultural High School?

Extension English runs differently from Adv English, it's pretty analytical stuff typically and in Yr 12 you do one module for the year with three core texts and your own related texts. Yr 11 they make you study a lot of different texts for a diversity factor.

On Extension 2 English, don't worry about deciding to take that up till end of Yr 11

Economics versus legal, you should do whatever interests you more. But if that's equal, Economics does scale better but it is also arguably 'harder'. Imho, Eco is a pretty logical unit though. Insert argument about how any subject is how much work you put into it, so don't pick one on the guise of it being 'easier' to do well in. Talk to your teachers about what you do in them, flick through a yr 11/12 textbook of each. Ask what options they do at your school to help split it.