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Recommended Texbooks/Study Guides for Preliminary HSC? (3 Viewers)

darkcounty

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heyys
Is it better to buy books brand new or second hand?
Depends, if the book is less than 10 years old, go ahead and buy it second hand. Any older and you might as well buy the latest copy because some of the information may not be as relevant and/or outdated.

The exception would be maths.
 

Riot09

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what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

the subjects im doing are on my signature so what books should i buy?.
 

annarh-saur

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Re: what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

lols, i've started buying prelim books too :) I recommend for 3 unit maths the 3 unit Cambridge one and Chemistry - Jacaranda, Conquering or Dotpoint. Yeh i KNOW i haven't done the subjects yet, but my brother said these were really good for those 2 subjects, so yeh.. :D
 

laila09

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All cambridge guides are fantastic!
For english top notes study guides are great!
 

laila09

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DO NOT PURCHASE ANY TEXTBOOKS UNLESS YOU HAVE DISCUSSED WITH YOUR TEACHER WHICH TOPICS YOU ARE DOING!
Many books do not contain certain topics teachers do and therefore some textbooks may be useless to you.
Also try and get guides that contain both the year 11 and 12 syllabus and not just the preliminary. Therefore you will NOT have to buy another stack of textbooks next year.
ALSO dont forget to claim back 50% of your education payment on taxback so keep reciepts!
;)
 

Shadowdude

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Re: what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

3 unit - Fitzpatrick.
Chemistry - Roland Smith (Conquering Chemistry)

You also said chemistry twice ;)
 

adriano_negr0

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Re: what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

Just wondering is dotpoint prelim physics recommended for the study of physics in prelim?
 

Shadowdude

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Re: what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

If it's Dot Point Prelim Physics, although I wouldn't buy any Prelim books because really, HSC wise it's only background knowledge and you'll revise it in the HSC course anyway. 3u Fitzpatrick is different because it's for both years.
 

iMAN2

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Re: what books should i buy for the pre-lim course?

the subjects im doing are on my signature so what books should i buy?.
Maths - Cambridge year 11 and year 12 (As some schools do the chapters in different order)

Chemistry - Personally, all i bought for prelim was dot point chem. However, for the HSC i highly recommend Jacaranda Chemistry 2 (it is the best!) and the new excel chem as a supplementary text.

I'm unfamiliar with the other subjects so I cannot recommend anything specific for them.

Good luck :)
 

mioumiou

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Which book is more helpful??

I've been my nearest local bookshops recently, they have some summary books for year 12. Can anyone help me by suggesting which one is better and which one I should not buy. I'm doing English, Maths Extension 1, Chemistry, Biology, Modern History and Japanese Continuers next year for my Year 11 subjects.

Study Guide:
1. Excel Revise in a month
2. Macquarie Study Guide
3. Cambridge Study Guide

Past Papers:
1. Success One
2. Coroneos (maths)
3. Odlum and Garner Publishing (science subjects)

And also, can anyone suggest which textbook or study guides are the best for the subjects that I'm doing next year?

Thank you. :angel:
 
Last edited:

pman

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

Macquarie or excel (not revise in amonth) for study guide..

Success 1 for past papers
 

ValentinesM

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

Maths Extension 1 for HSC:
You should consider getting the HSC solutions (fully worked out and sometimes includes alternate solutions) book from MANSW. This will give you very good practice.
Btw, which textbooks do you use at school for 3u? you should try to get hold of Cambridge if you don’t use it at school. Some of the questions are quite challenging.
Chemistry:
Jacaranda textbook by Geoffrey Thickett – very comprehensive explanations for theory, good coverage for practicals.
Context by Irwin – complements Thickett well
For HSC, you might also want to consider getting Creelman Chemistry, which categorises past HSC questions into the four modules, that way, you can easily tackle one module at a time. I also find that the answers provided are better than the ones in Success. Despite the sample answers, you should still add your own ideas to these answers because sometimes you may find that they don’t answer the question as well as you can.
I don’t suggest Conquering Chemistry because Smith doesn’t go into enough depth to cover the dot points adequately.
I didn’t use study guides for my HSC. I think textbooks and past papers are better ways to revise.
Good luck
 

lyounamu

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

For Maths 3 unit, Fitzpatrick + Cambridge combination seems like the best way to go.

For Chemistry, I heard that Conquering Chemistry + Chemistry in Context are your best bet.

BTW, don't bother getting study guides for those subjects. Really really useless AND nothing BEATS PAST PAPERS.
 

Fortify

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

Maths - Fitzpatrick/Cambridge; Success One for Past Papers
Chemistry - Jacaranda/Conquering (Newer Edition); Success One for Past Papers
 

Shadowdude

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

Check your School Library if they have past paper booklets and study guides. If they do, loan them out!
 

study-freak

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Re: Which book is more helpful??

I've been my nearest local bookshops recently, they have some summary books for year 12. Can anyone help me by suggesting which one is better and which one I should not buy. I'm doing English, Maths Extension 1, Chemistry, Biology, Modern History and Japanese Continuers next year for my Year 11 subjects.

Study Guide:
1. Excel Revise in a month
2. Macquarie Study Guide
3. Cambridge Study Guide

Past Papers:
1. Success One
2. Coroneos (maths)
3. Odlum and Garner Publishing (science subjects)

And also, can anyone suggest which textbook or study guides are the best for the subjects that I'm doing next year?

Thank you. :angel:
is prob one of the best.
 

gunat61

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best legal books / syllabus change

hey,
i'm just wondering if i can still buy books for legal studies to study for year 11 because the syllabus is changing for 2011 HSC .. cos i cant really tell whats changed or what hasn't... what legal studies books would u recommend, btw?

ty
 

Shadowdude

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Re: best legal books / syllabus change

Excel HSC Legal Studies - my teacher swears by it.

Still, since the syllabus is changing - hold off on any purchases, find out what's changing, and get a new edition with the new syllabus quickly.
 

gunat61

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Re: best legal books / syllabus change

Alright thanks. Yep, I borrowed the Legal Studies Excel book to have a look through it and it's pretty good. I probably won't buy anything till next year.
 

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