Can anyone attest to this? The way I'm studying right now is pretty much formless, and I'm not really getting anything done. Specifically for the biology and chemistry course I noticed that the syllabus points for the units are pretty well written, and I guess they can't ask you anything that isn't on these points anyway. I was thinking about just reading over the points every once in a while and just writing an answer for each one.
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Using HSC syllabus as study material (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hzlturtl
- Start date
Yeah that was basically what I was looking to do, though it looks like this method could possibly lack depth if you used the vanilla syllabus exclusively, I feel like that 'learn about' column is pretty much compacted into small sentences and the 'students' prac column isn't really possible to do at home.
Really need to fix my study processes in general.
rumbleroar
Survivor of the HSC
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The syllabus is a really great way to begin structuring your notes, although it is really dependent on your subjects. You need to read through what is expected of you, i.e. coherent essays, responses, etc. You need to ensure your notes are concise and detailed enough so you encompass every aspect of the syllabus dot point. There is no point doing things halfway. I wouldn't necessarily use the syllabus as a set of study notes, but rather a study guide that enables you to develop your own set of notes.
strawberrye
Premium Member
A very important thing to ensure you retain knowledge is to revise it on a regular basis, make sure you do that for the syllabus and any notes you make on it, it is also important for you to understand the interrelationships between syllabus dot points because often dot points across modules-particularly for science subjects will be synthesised in one question to test just how thoroughly you have understood the syllabus as an integrated body of knowledge.
Below is an extract from a senior study guide I have complied which you will find helpful in shedding some more light on how to ace your study for science subjects:
My top 3 tips for preparing for excelling in science subjects (e.g. Chemistry, Biology, Physics etc)which includes the main types of assessments you will encounter in your senior school science courses.
1)PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTS:
Make sure you know reliability, validity, accuracy, sources of error, possible areas for improvement, independent/dependent/controlled variables, risk assessment for all the experiments you have done in class, make sure you can master basic science skills such as drawing line of best fit, drawing experimental set up accurately, using numbered points in writing a logical procedure, understand the requirements of the exam(I.e. how much time, how many parts) and allocate your time accordingly, make sure you understand the chemical principle/theory behind why you did each experiment
2)THEORY ASSESSMENT AND EXAMS:
Make sure you PERSONALLY write a set of summarised notes according to each dot point of the syllabus in a concise but detailed manner-make sure you include appropriate diagrams as well, after you wrote the notes, make sure to start practising questions and CHECKING YOUR ANSWERS in textbooks-i.e. Roland Smith's Conquering Chemistry has an exam question section which is quite good, ask your teacher for practice questions and make links between dotpoints and across modules to reinforce your understanding. Throughout the year, you should be progressively cutting down your notes as you store more things into your long term memory-revise regularly. Before your final trial exam-you should try to get your hands on as many preliminary exams as possible to practice-and look at the marking guidelines, remember to practice under EXAM CONDITIONS. Make sure when you make notes you are at least referring to 3 different sources to synthesise your information. (colour-code and use mind-maps to make your notes engaging and easy to remember). In your notes, don't neglect to include all your experiments and second-hand investigations.
3)OTHER:
For other types of assessments such as group presentations, individual research assignments, second-hand investigations-you should strive to always include a comprehensive bibliography that indicates you have sourced your information not only from websites, but from journals/books as well, you should understand how to evaluate accuracy/reliability/validity in relation to the sources of information you are using, like other types of assessment, pay close attention to the marking criteria and make sure you fulfil it as much as possible, make sure your information is comprehensive, non-repetitive and answers the verb of the question: i.e. discuss, evaluate, compare, contrast, assess, examine (so for that matter, memorise what the main verbs used in your exam questions means).
Essentially, to succeed in the science subjects(Biology, Chemistry, Physics etc), you need to understand, constantly apply your understanding through practising questions and adopting feedback from your assessments to do better in year 12-with repetition and consistent application you will achieve your desired marks.
For the complete senior study guide, feel free to check out: http://community.boredofstudies.org...how-excel-senior-year-studies-yr-11-12-a.html
Below is an extract from a senior study guide I have complied which you will find helpful in shedding some more light on how to ace your study for science subjects:
My top 3 tips for preparing for excelling in science subjects (e.g. Chemistry, Biology, Physics etc)which includes the main types of assessments you will encounter in your senior school science courses.
1)PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTS:
Make sure you know reliability, validity, accuracy, sources of error, possible areas for improvement, independent/dependent/controlled variables, risk assessment for all the experiments you have done in class, make sure you can master basic science skills such as drawing line of best fit, drawing experimental set up accurately, using numbered points in writing a logical procedure, understand the requirements of the exam(I.e. how much time, how many parts) and allocate your time accordingly, make sure you understand the chemical principle/theory behind why you did each experiment
2)THEORY ASSESSMENT AND EXAMS:
Make sure you PERSONALLY write a set of summarised notes according to each dot point of the syllabus in a concise but detailed manner-make sure you include appropriate diagrams as well, after you wrote the notes, make sure to start practising questions and CHECKING YOUR ANSWERS in textbooks-i.e. Roland Smith's Conquering Chemistry has an exam question section which is quite good, ask your teacher for practice questions and make links between dotpoints and across modules to reinforce your understanding. Throughout the year, you should be progressively cutting down your notes as you store more things into your long term memory-revise regularly. Before your final trial exam-you should try to get your hands on as many preliminary exams as possible to practice-and look at the marking guidelines, remember to practice under EXAM CONDITIONS. Make sure when you make notes you are at least referring to 3 different sources to synthesise your information. (colour-code and use mind-maps to make your notes engaging and easy to remember). In your notes, don't neglect to include all your experiments and second-hand investigations.
3)OTHER:
For other types of assessments such as group presentations, individual research assignments, second-hand investigations-you should strive to always include a comprehensive bibliography that indicates you have sourced your information not only from websites, but from journals/books as well, you should understand how to evaluate accuracy/reliability/validity in relation to the sources of information you are using, like other types of assessment, pay close attention to the marking criteria and make sure you fulfil it as much as possible, make sure your information is comprehensive, non-repetitive and answers the verb of the question: i.e. discuss, evaluate, compare, contrast, assess, examine (so for that matter, memorise what the main verbs used in your exam questions means).
Essentially, to succeed in the science subjects(Biology, Chemistry, Physics etc), you need to understand, constantly apply your understanding through practising questions and adopting feedback from your assessments to do better in year 12-with repetition and consistent application you will achieve your desired marks.
For the complete senior study guide, feel free to check out: http://community.boredofstudies.org...how-excel-senior-year-studies-yr-11-12-a.html
Yeah as I said, the dotpoints themselves are pretty much abridged so they aren't much use as a dedicated tool. More so just something that you can use to know what you should go back and check on.
And this is where we find the root of the problem ladies and gentlemen.
strawberrye
Premium Member
What do you mean by this is 'where we find the root of the problem'?
