Taking it from another perspective :) (1 Viewer)

[glitterfairy]

Hi all,

I know a fair few of you might be stressing your brains out, so I'm going to try and calm you down

Let's start by having a look at what Trials are. In a nutshell, it's a big fat scary exam (or so you think) and most of you are probably also thinking that you're screwed over and you'll fail and the world will come crashing down around your ears and life will just not go on.

WRONG!

Trials, as the name suggests, is a pain in the butt. On the bright side, the HSC will be a breeze! EDIT - the HSC is also scaled *end edit* But not just because the questions will be set easier - they'll be easier because you will also have a heck of a lot more time to prepare for them.

I imagine that most of you will have only just finished your courses a few days prior to Trials starting - others will not even have finished the course at all. No matter what you do, it is not a realistic expectation to be completely prepared for Trials. And you know what? No-one really expects you to be fully prepared because you haven't been given enough time to really digest the syllabus yet. Oh, and if any of you have major works due around now, that gives another reason why it's not a good idea to study 24/7 until Trials.

Some of you *might* be prepared, if your teachers finished the course ahead of schedule and have given you enough time to get everything into your head - even then, you probably haven't had the glorious two or three months of really getting it into your head, which is what you'll have after Trials for the actual HSC.

Survey says that everyone will have a weak point, and that you'll really feel it in Trials. Ok, so even if you don't do particularly well in a couple of Trials (even if you don't do particularly well in all your Trials) you still have an opportunity to recoup your losses in the actual HSC itself. In other words - if you're going to make a 'mistake' (like not covering paradigms well enough, or chapter 7 of biology) then MAKE IT IN TRIALS! Then *after* Trials, when you have enough time and space to breathe again, you can fix your mistakes, polish the scratches and make general all-around improvement. A few months is a long time - you can improve a lot in the space of a few months!

The most important thing now is not to do EVERYTHING (because that's kinda impossible right now), but to do as much as you can. It's about how much work you're actually doing. Regardless of how you do in Trials (I flunked a couple of mine, and walked off with my 92.95 UAI - not uber-flashy but evidence that you can still do at least pretty well with some dodgy trial marks), the work that you do now will become the foundation of your HSC study, and THIS is real important thing. Depending on the individual and what subjects you do, trying to grasp a little bit of everything may not be as beneficial as learning the most important parts and whatever else you have time for. There is not really any 'right' way, but approaching the Trials with some sort of strategy will probably make you feel better. Personally, I made sure I really knew my stuff for some of my subjects, and just grabbed as much as I could from the others in the time that I had - whilst I still didn't feel ready for Trials, I felt comfortable in some areas, and knew that I had the time to continue working on the floofy bits after Trials.

Trials *will* be hard. Everyone knows that. Everyone also hears that most people don't really do all that well in Trials, and this is true - they want to make the HSC a pleasant suprise for you all Now, this isn't an excuse for you to not study at all, but a little encouragement to set your minds to a more realistic level. Whatever mark you get for Trials, it will be so much easier to take on board if you already have your mind set to "Ok, no matter how I go in Trials, I've done some good preparation for it and I will continue this after Trials so I'm prepared for the HSC".

The Trials is actually a really good indication of your weak points. I know this sounds painful, but until you do Trials you probably won't really get the whole HSC system and how all your modules fit in together. Also, when you get the papers back, you can find out where your weak spots are. If there is lots of red ink, this is actually OK - so long as you take the time between after Trials and the HSC to fix up all your weak points. And most people do!

So good luck to you all, and remember that Trials is just a stepping stone. It may be annoying (or not, some trials can actually be quite alright) but it will be over in a matter of weeks

 

[goan_crazy]

Thanks for those encouraging words of advice glitterfairy
they were greatly appreciated

 

[physician]

This will be a good read after the trials are over and after i get my results back....

thanks glitterfairy... greatly appreciated

*creates shortcut to desktop*

oh and by the way 92.95 is a super duper UAI... maybe not to those who hope to achieve 99 +.... but i think the majority of ppl would actually see that as a DREAM UAI.... anything over 90... inspires me.... 80+ is good as well

 

[glitterfairy]

Keep up the good work physician, I know you'll be ok

Remember, the idea is to do the best you can. If that best is 90, or 80, or 70, or whatever, if you've done your best which is the best for *you* and you should be proud of that.

Adding on: No matter how you do in one trial exam, don't waste time kicking yourself over past mistakes. Focus all your efforts on doing your best in the next one. This is exactly the same thing in the HSC, but this time round you know you have the time to go back and fix the mistakes

 

[Mandy101]

Thankyou for that sense of perspective

 

[sly fly]

Thanks heaps. Just wondering, u know how u said u ''flunked'' a couple of ur trials....what exactly did u get for those exams that u flunked? Oh and for the ones u didn't flunk. It's just that i know im nowhere near ready for trials and i'll probly only get in the 80s or maybe even in the 70s for all my exams yet im aspiring for a mid-90 UAI. So yeah anyway, my point is that i know my trials are gonna bring my internal assessment mark down heaps coz im not ready and i wanna know how realistic my aim is atm by looking at the trial results of someone else who achieved a very good UAI. If that makes sense......lol

 

[fakingtheday]

Here's an idea. Listen in class then yuo shouldn't have to study. Trials are just a half yearly with 30 more marks in some cases and in other cases exactly the same. It's just another test, another brick in the wall, another way to put off real life. Don't lose sight of what is really out there, that's all i have to say.

Also i'm not saying this because i'm going to fail, moreover because i am just sick of it all.


[/end rant

 

[tennille]

Thanks heaps. Just wondering, u know how u said u ''flunked'' a couple of ur trials....what exactly did u get for those exams that u flunked? Oh and for the ones u didn't flunk. It's just that i know im nowhere near ready for trials and i'll probly only get in the 80s or maybe even in the 70s for all my exams yet im aspiring for a mid-90 UAI. So yeah anyway, my point is that i know my trials are gonna bring my internal assessment mark down heaps coz im not ready and i wanna know how realistic my aim is atm by looking at the trial results of someone else who achieved a very good UAI. If that makes sense......lol

Even if you get in the 70s for your trial (as long as there aren't too many), you are still capable of getting a UAI in the 90s

My trial results were 79 for chem, 84 for physics, 89 for maths, 70ish for maths ext 1, 84 for english, 88 for english ext 1 and 94 for food tech and I got in the mid 90s for my UAI. And food tech didn't count!

 

[melsc]

thanks glitterfairy it made me feel a bit better

The hard part of me I guess is I have trials next week and my teachers are still giving us homework on our most recent topics... I know they argue this is to hel u study...but I need time to revise stuff we did much earlier in the year grrr..

 

[tennille]

What you guys will tend to do id study so hard for the trial, and then slack off during the HSC (because you know most of the stuff anyway. Just keep in mind not to over-study or you'll burn yourself out. Like glitterfairy mentioned, don't stress, relax.

Buy yourself a treat everytime you achieve something. When your HSC exams approach, eat what you feel like, whether it's chocolate, lollies or even brussel sprouts (yum). If you feel like McDonald's, get it. Even though this may not realte to your studies, it will help with your state of mind and keep you happy. Once you're depressed, everything will begin to go downhill. Be happy.

 

[glitterfairy]

I got some great marks in trials - 98% for EE1, other averages of around 86/100, and some flunky 73/100? and 68/100

Trying to prepare for Trials sucks, but just do as much as you can whilst still staying sane (listen to Tennille!). I always treated myself after an exam. No matter what day it was, I took the rest of it off to let my brain recouperate. Chocolate and junk food ruled back then

 

[goan_crazy]

Ok glitterfairy Ive got one for ya
Im doing pretty well in most of my subjects except 2unit maths
Im coming 1st in IPT
1st in legal
5th in Business
SOR1 iv got pretty well for assessments. Did the trial 2day
ive improved in adv english and topped the last two assessments
[im really worried about the trials tomorrow- its prob gonna drop my rank down down down] i screwed up my area of study assessment tho coz i wasnt taking yr12 seriously enough in term 4 last year.
so yeah maths basically sucks for me... Ive FAILED two assessments. i.e. 45% and 46%
im prob gonna do really bad in the maths trial too coz CSSA maths trials r hard as!

I only do 11 units but am afraid that IPT and maths r gonna bring my UAI down
ipt coz my teacher is really crap. My whole class dont care and i feel my IPT trial will go bad coz we havent been taught everything we need. I,e. A WHOLE TOPIC! :s but its still in the trial. AND its on the same day as legal

anyway, can i still do well if i screw up the maths and IPT trials?
worried about legal 2 even though im generally alrite at it as both are this thursday and yeah thats 6 hours of exams on teh same day!

thanks glitterfairy

/blog lol

 

[glitterfairy]

I guess it really depends on scaling/how you go/the exams etc. As I don't go to your school and don't know you personally, I can't really guess how you'll go.

That being said, if you can get some spectacular marks in the HSC it can hoick your marks up a little bit. It's very daunting to think about having to teach yourself a module, but there are a lot of good study guides out there and there is always BOS (in other words, make like a TAFE student ). You'll have to run around a lot more and do more work on your own, but everything is still possible

Remember what I've said earlier about trials - if you're going to stuff up (which you probably feel that you did) then stuffing up in Trials is the best thing you can do - it'll motivate you to study well for the HSC Eng AOS will be pretty easy to pick up again Stay cool!

 

[sly fly]

Thanks Tennille and glitterfairy, that makes me feel alot better

 

[sunjet]

<3 glitteryfairy

also remember it's internal =)

 

[Cheezy-G]

If you get mid seventies in the trials, is that bad or ok? I heard that if you really want to do well in the HSC you have to aim for 90 and above for trials. Apparently it will hep in the HSC with good trial results